SCOPE OF PHARMACY
About Pharmacy…
“Pharmacy has historic roots as the art and science of preparing and dispensing medications.”
There are various types in the field of pharmacy, and other places where a trained pharmacist may work. This includes:
- Retail & Community pharmacy
- Hospital pharmacy
- Clinical pharmacy
- Industrial pharmacy
- Compounding pharmacy
- Consulting pharmacy
- Ambulatory care pharmacy
- Regulatory pharmacy
- Home care pharmacy
Retail & Community Pharmacy
The community pharmacy, often known as a retail pharmacy, is the most well-known type of pharmacy. This would be the type which is most commonly referred to as a pharmacy or chemist shop. A community pharmacist usually works in a store that provides the community with access to the medications they need, as well as advice to promote the safe and effective use of the medicines they provide. They can tell their customers what drugs may interact with each other or with alcohol, and help prevent dangerous or troublesome combinations or side-effects of medication. Part of their responsibilities include assisting patients with drug reimbursement, overseeing pharmacy specialists, and maintaining drug inventory.
Hospital Pharmacy
A hospital pharmacy is a facility where medications are managed at a hospital, medical clinic, or nursing home. A hospital pharmacist often works in close collaboration with other health professionals to ensure that the medication regimen for each patient is optimized to achieve the best outcomes. Clinical trials as well as compounding pharmaceuticals for individual dose, and sterile medications are all possibilities. Teaching, administrative functions in the selection, proper storage, distribution and prescription protocols of drugs, education of medical staff in the aspects of selection, administration and monitoring of drug safety, as well as assessing drug levels and drug safety may all be part of their work. Inpatient and outpatient pharmacists work in hospitals, and they may specialize in one or more areas of pharmacotherapy.
Clinical Pharmacy
The clinical pharmacy exists in a number of settings, including hospitals, nursing homes and other medical centers. The goal of Clinical pharmacy is to ensure that patients get the optimal use of their drugs by providing drug information to understand drug safety and efficacy. They can predict drug interactions and so prevent many adverse reactions to medication.
Industrial Pharmacy
The pharmaceutical industry is involved in industrial pharmacy, which encompasses pharmaceutical research, production, packaging, quality control, marketing, and sales. An industrial pharmacist may work as a representative for a particular pharmaceutical company to advocate for the use of its products, as well as to inform practitioners about their actions and benefits.
Compounding Pharmacy
A compounding pharmacy is a facility that creates and prepares medicines in new forms. Reformulating a powder tablet into a solution, for example, can help in drug administration for certain patients.
Depending on the purpose of their formulation, a compounding pharmacist may work in a community, clinical, or residential context. In rare cases, they may also deliver ready-made drugs.
Consulting Pharmacy
Consulting pharmacy is a relatively new branch of pharmacy, having only been established in 1990. Rather of delivering prescriptions, it focuses on a theoretical evaluation of medications. Consultant pharmacists frequently work in nursing homes or visit patients in their homes to help them get the most out of their drugs.
Ambulatory Care Pharmacy
Many patients in rural areas, particularly older populations, benefit from ambulatory pharmacy services. Due to a lack of control over their condition, these pharmacists assist in the care of patients who are at a higher risk of drug-related difficulties or disease consequences. Ambulatory pharmacy is a mobile service that can meet patients wherever they are, reducing the number of hospital visits required by their patients.
Regulatory Pharmacy
Regulatory pharmacy, often known as government pharmacy, is responsible for creating rules and regulations for the safe use of drugs in order to promote positive health outcomes. This type contains pharmacists in public health and regulatory health boards, such as the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.
Home Care Pharmacy
The preparation and distribution of injectables to severely sick patients in the home is the main focus of home care pharmacy. This is also sometimes referred to as infusion pharmacy, as only injectable medications are dispensed, and not medication administered in other forms, such as oral or topical. They may major in one or the other area of illness, such as infusions for nutritional support, chemotherapy, mental illness or oncology.
Managed care pharmacy
In health maintenance organizations such as hospitals, nursing homes, and extended healthcare facilities, managed care pharmacy involves the planning and management of medicines.
Sales and marketing
Pharma sales and marketing is the most profitable area of pharmacy practice, most of the national and multinational pharmaceutical companies choose pharmacist for the pharma sales and marketing sector.
Sales and marketing
Research pharmacists work on developing new drugs and profiling their actions, effectiveness, side-effects and interactions.
Specialties in Pharmacy
With a master’s degree or other continuing education, some pharmacists can focus in a certain field of medication therapy. This enables them to achieve expertise and recognition in specific domains. This may include areas such as:
- Oncology pharmacy
- Nuclear pharmacy
- Geriatric pharmacy
- Psycho pharmacotherapy
- Personal pharmacy
- Nutritional support pharmacy
- Hospice pharmacy
- Pediatric pharmacy
- Pharmacy benefit manager
- Poison control pharmacy
- Forensic pharmacy
- Pharmaceutical quality management
- Veterinary pharmacy
Each of these disciplines is its own category of pharmacy, albeit most of these pharmacists work in hospital pharmacies. They are able to deliver medical information in certain scenarios because to their distinct knowledge base.
