Pharmacist - Nature of The Work

Nature of The Work

Historically, the fundamental role of pharmacists as a healthcare practitioner was to distribute drugs to doctors for medication that had been prescribed to patients. In more modern times, pharmacists advise patients and health care providers on the selection, dosages, interactions, and side effects of medications, and act as a learned intermediary between a prescriber and a patient. Pharmacists monitor the health and progress of patients to ensure the safe and effective use of medication. Pharmacists may practice compounding; however, many medicines are now produced by pharmaceutical companies in a standard dosage and drug delivery form. In some jurisdictions, pharmacists have prescriptive authority to either independently prescribe under their own authority or in collaboration with a primary care physician through an agreed upon protocol.

Increased numbers of drug therapies, ageing but more knowledgeable and demanding populations, and deficiencies in other areas of the health care system seem to be driving increased demand for the clinical counselling skills of the pharmacist. One of the most important roles that pharmacists are currently taking on is one of pharmaceutical care. Pharmaceutical care involves taking direct responsibility for patients and their disease states, medications, and the management of each in order to improve the outcome for each individual patient. Pharmaceutical care has many benefits that may include but are not limited to: decreased medication errors; increased patient compliance in medication regimen; better chronic disease state management; strong pharmacist-patient relationship; and decreased long-term costs of medical care.

Pharmacists are often the first point-of-contact for patients with health inquiries. Thus pharmacists have a significant role in assessing medication management in patients, and in referring patients to physicians. These roles may include, but are not limited to:

• clinical medication management, including reviewing and monitoring of medication regimens
• assessment of patients with undiagnosed or diagnosed conditions, and ascertaining clinical medication management needs
• specialized monitoring of disease states, such as dosing drugs in renal and hepatic failure
• compounding medicines
• providing pharmaceutical information
• providing patients with health monitoring and advice, including advice and treatment of common ailments and disease states
• supervising pharmacy technicians and other staff
• oversight of dispensing medicines on prescription
• provision of non-prescription or over-the-counter drugs
• education and counseling for patients and other health care providers on optimal use of medicines (e.g. proper use, avoidance of overmedication)
• referrals to other health professionals if necessary
• pharmacokinetic evaluation
• promoting public health by administering immunizations