What Is Pharmacy?
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing, and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure their safe and effective use. The discipline of pharmacy is a mixture of health sciences and pharmaceutical sciences, with significant cross-over into natural sciences such as chemistry.
Pharmacists work with other health care professionals to assess a patient’s medication therapy, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, herbal products, and dietary supplements. They also provide patients with comprehensive medication information and education, identifying and preventing harmful drug interactions. Pharmacists are trained to dispense prescribed medications in the proper dosage to the patient, ensuring that each dose is accurate and safe. They are also experts in advising patients and caregivers on safe storage, use, and side effects of medications.
In addition to dispensing medications, pharmacists are qualified to perform a number of other healthcare procedures such as testing blood pressure and temperature, checking cholesterol levels, detecting rashes and infections, and identifying and recommending over-the-counter treatments for common ailments. They can also assist with navigating healthcare systems and ensuring that patients are getting the best value for their health care dollars.
Although some pharmacists choose to specialize in certain areas of medicine, most are trained in a broad range of topics including public health, clinical practice, and pharmaceutical research and development. Many countries regulate the practice of pharmacy by licensing its practitioners, who must typically have a degree from an accredited college of pharmacy and pass a national or international examination.
The emergence of pharmacy as an internationally recognized profession has raised questions about the role of pharmacy in the global arena. Some have advocated for separation of the disciplines of pharmacology and pharmacy, while others argue that combining them promotes unnecessary medicalization of daily life, increases conflicts of interest in the pharmaceutical industry, and drives up costs of health care.
This think piece aims to expose the issues relating to defining what constitutes the pharmacy sector in order to create dialogue. While it is expected that a model of this nature would raise more questions than it answers, the intention is to begin the discussion and move toward increased clarity in and consistency of terminology across the pharmacy sector locally, nationally and internationally.
A key challenge for the pharmacy educator is to develop future practitioners who are aware of the need to engage in scientific research and discovery as part of their professional activity. To achieve this, it is useful to consider the theory of knowledge production. In particular, Mode 2 knowledge production which focuses on the dynamic interaction between knowledge and its application. This is particularly relevant in the context of pharmacy as a knowledge-based profession.
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing, and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure their safe and effective use. The discipline of pharmacy is a mixture of health sciences and pharmaceutical sciences, with significant cross-over into natural sciences such as chemistry. Pharmacists work with other health care professionals to assess a patient’s medication therapy, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, herbal products, and dietary supplements. They also provide patients with comprehensive medication information and education, identifying and preventing harmful drug interactions. Pharmacists are trained to dispense prescribed medications in the proper dosage to the patient, ensuring that each dose is accurate and safe. They are also experts in advising patients and caregivers on safe storage, use, and side effects of medications. In addition to dispensing medications, pharmacists are qualified to perform a number of other healthcare procedures such as testing blood pressure and temperature, checking cholesterol levels, detecting rashes and infections, and identifying and recommending over-the-counter treatments for common ailments. They can also assist with navigating healthcare systems and ensuring that patients are getting the best value for their health care dollars. Although some pharmacists choose to specialize in certain areas of medicine, most are trained in a broad range of topics including public health, clinical practice, and pharmaceutical research and development. Many countries regulate the practice of pharmacy by licensing its practitioners, who must typically have a degree from an accredited college of pharmacy and pass a national or international examination. The emergence of pharmacy as an internationally recognized profession has raised questions about the role of pharmacy in the global arena. Some have advocated for separation of the disciplines of pharmacology and pharmacy, while others argue that combining them promotes unnecessary medicalization of daily life, increases conflicts of interest in the pharmaceutical industry, and drives up costs of health care. This think piece aims to expose the issues relating to defining what constitutes the pharmacy sector in order to create dialogue. While it is expected that a model of this nature would raise more questions than it answers, the intention is to begin the discussion and move toward increased clarity in and consistency of terminology across the pharmacy sector locally, nationally and internationally. A key challenge for the pharmacy educator is to develop future practitioners who are aware of the need to engage in scientific research and discovery as part of their professional activity. To achieve this, it is useful to consider the theory of knowledge production. In particular, Mode 2 knowledge production which focuses on the dynamic interaction between knowledge and its application. This is particularly relevant in the context of pharmacy as a knowledge-based profession.