Pharmacy Overview and Types

Pharmacy

• Pharmacy is the science and practice focused on developing, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications.
• The goal of pharmacy is to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medications.

Pharmaceutics

• Pharmaceutics is the comprehensive process of transforming a new chemical entity into an approved therapeutic treatment.
• This process aims to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the treatment in the prevention or treatment of disease.

Types of Pharmacy

• Community pharmacy: Pharmacists work directly with patients in a community setting to dispense medications and provide advice.
• Hospital pharmacy: Pharmacists manage medications in a hospital setting, ensuring patient safety and efficient medication use.
• Clinical pharmacy: Pharmacists collaborate with healthcare professionals to ensure the safety and efficacy of medication therapy for individual patients.
• Industrial pharmacy: Pharmacists participate in the research, development, production and manufacturing of medications within pharmaceutical companies.
• Compounding pharmacy: Pharmacists prepare customized medications according to specific patient needs.
• Veterinary pharmacy: Pharmacists dispense medications and provide pharmaceutical care for animals.
• Nuclear pharmacy: Pharmacists prepare and dispense radioactive medications for diagnostic imaging and therapeutic purposes.

Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms

• Based on the route of administration, the most commonly used dosage forms are:
  • Oral: Tablets, capsules, powders, elixirs, solutions, and suspensions.
  • Parenteral: Intramuscular (I.M), intravenous (I.V), and subcutaneous (Subcut).
  • Intra-respiratory: Inhalers.
  • Rectal: Suppositories, enemas, creams, and ointments
  • Topical: Creams, gels, and ointments

Medical Prescription

• A medical prescription is an order issued by a licensed healthcare professional to a pharmacist for a specific treatment for a patient.
• Some prescriptions utilize Roman numerals instead of Arabic numerals.

Prescription Abbreviations

• Multiple abbreviations are used in prescriptions to communicate specific instructions.

This quiz explores the field of pharmacy, including its science, practice, and the various types such as community, hospital, clinical, and industrial pharmacy. Learn about the roles pharmacists play in ensuring medication safety and effectiveness. Test your knowledge on pharmaceutics and the medication management process.