Pharmacists
Pharmacists are health care professionals with specialised education and training who perform various roles to ensure optimal health outcomes for their patients through the quality use of medicines. Pharmacists may also be small-business
proprietors, owning the pharmacy in which they practice. Since
pharmacists know about the mode of action of a particular drug, and its
metabolism and physiological effects on the human body in great detail,
they play an important role in optimization of a drug treatment for an
individual.
Pharmacists are represented internationally by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). They are represented at the national level by professional organisations such as the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in the UK, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), the Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA), and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), See also: List of pharmacy associations.
In some cases, the representative body is also the registering body, which is responsible for the regulation and ethics of the profession.
In the United States, specializations in pharmacy practice recognized by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties include: cardiovascular, infectious disease, oncology, pharmacotherapy, nuclear, nutrition, and psychiatry. The Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy certifies pharmacists in geriatric pharmacy practice. The American Board of Applied Toxicology certifies pharmacists and other medical professionals in applied toxicology.
Pharmacy technicians
Pharmacy technicians support the work of pharmacists and other health
professionals by performing a variety of pharmacy related functions,
including dispensing prescription drugs and other medical devices to
patients and instructing on their use. They may also perform
administrative duties in pharmaceutical practice, such as reviewing
prescription requests with medic's offices and insurance companies to
ensure correct medications are provided and payment is received.
A Pharmacy Technician in the UK has recently been referred to by some
as a professional. Legislation requires the supervision of certain
pharmacy technician's activities by a pharmacist. The majority of
pharmacy technicians work in community pharmacies. In hospital
pharmacies, pharmacy technicians may be managed by other senior pharmacy
technicians. In the UK the role of a PhT in hospital pharmacy has grown
and responsibility has been passed on to them to manage the pharmacy
department and specialised areas in pharmacy practice allowing
pharmacists the time to specialise in their expert field as medication
consultants spending more time working with patients and in research.
Pharmacy technicians are registered with the General Pharmaceutical
Council (GPhC). The GPhC is the regulator of pharmacists, pharmacy
technicians and pharmacy premises.
In the US, pharmacy technicians perform their duties under
supervision of pharmacists. Although they may perform, under
supervision, most dispensing, compounding and other tasks, they are not
generally allowed to perform the role of counseling patients on the
proper use of their medications.
Hospital pharmacy
Pharmacies within hospitals
differ considerably from community pharmacies. Some pharmacists in
hospital pharmacies may have more complex clinical medication management
issues whereas pharmacists in community pharmacies often have more
complex business and customer relations issues.
Because of the complexity of medications including specific
indications, effectiveness of treatment regimens, safety of medications
(i.e., drug interactions) and patient compliance
issues (in the hospital and at home) many pharmacists practicing in
hospitals gain more education and training after pharmacy school through
a pharmacy practice residency and sometimes followed by another
residency in a specific area. Those pharmacists are often referred to as
clinical pharmacists and they often specialize in various disciplines
of pharmacy. For example, there are pharmacists who specialize in
hematology/oncology, HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, critical care, emergency medicine, toxicology, nuclear pharmacy, pain management, psychiatry, anti-coagulation clinics, herbal medicine, neurology/epilepsy management, pediatrics, neonatal pharmacists and more.
Hospital pharmacies can often be found within the premises of the
hospital. Hospital pharmacies usually stock a larger range of
medications, including more specialized medications, than would be
feasible in the community setting. Most hospital medications are
unit-dose, or a single dose of medicine. Hospital pharmacists and
trained pharmacy technicians compound sterile products for patients
including total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and other medications given intravenously. This is a complex process that requires adequate training of personnel, quality assurance of products, and adequate facilities. Several hospital pharmacies have decided to outsource
high risk preparations and some other compounding functions to
companies who specialize in compounding. The high cost of medications
and drug-related technology, combined with the potential impact of
medications and pharmacy services on patient-care outcomes and patient
safety, make it imperative that hospital pharmacies perform at the
highest level possible.
Clinical pharmacy
Pharmacists
provide direct patient care services that optimizes the use of
medication and promotes health, wellness, and disease prevention. Clinical pharmacists care for patients in all health care settings, but the clinical pharmacy movement initially began inside hospitals and clinics. Clinical pharmacists often collaborate with physicians and other healthcare professionals to improve pharmaceutical care. Clinical pharmacists are now an integral part of the interdisciplinary approach to patient care. They often participate in patient care rounds for drug product selection.
The clinical pharmacist's role involves creating a comprehensive drug
therapy plan for patient-specific problems, identifying goals of
therapy, and reviewing all prescribed medications prior to dispensing
and administration to the patient. The review process often involves an
evaluation of the appropriateness of the drug therapy (e.g., drug
choice, dose, route, frequency, and duration of therapy) and its
efficacy. The pharmacist must also monitor for potential drug
interactions, adverse drug reactions, and assess patient drug allergies
while designing and initiating a drug therapy plan.
Pharmacy Colleges in India
- Kamla Nehru Institute of Pharmacy & Research, Sultanpur, U.P.
- Kanpur Institute of Technology & Pharmacy, Kanpur
- Roorkee College of Pharmacy, Roorkee, Uttarakhand
- Institute of Pharmacy, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal
- Bengal College of pharmaceutical sciences & Research, Durgapur, West Bengal
- Rajasthan Pharmacy College, Jaipur
- Regional College of Pharmacy, Jaipur
- Alwar Pharmacy College, Alwar, Rajasthan
- Himalayan Pharmacy Institute, Rangpo, Sikkim
- College of Pharmacy, Madurai Medical College, Madurai
- V.S. College of pharmaceutical sciences, Coimbatore
- Madras Medical College& Research Institute, Chennai
- St Mary’s College of Pharmacy, Secunderabad
- Sarojini Naidu Vanita Pharmacy Mahavidyalaya, Hyderabad
- Kamla Nehru College of Pharmacy, Nagpur
- Indira Gandhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bhubaneswar
- Gayatri College of Pharmacy, Sambalpur, Orissa
- Rishiraj College of Pharmacy, Indore
- Rajeev Gandhi College of Pharmacy, Bhopal
- M.R. College of Pharmacy, Bengaluru
- Basaveshwara College of Pharmacy, Bidar Karnataka
- University College of Pharmacy, Kottayam, Kerala
- Vaish Institute of pharmaceutical Education & Research, Rohtak, Haryana
- School of Medical & Allied Sciences, Gurugram, Haryana
- Himachal Institute of pharmaceutical Education & Research, Nadaun, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh
- Department of pharmaceutical Science, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi
- Bhagwan Mahavir College of Pharmacy, Surat, Gujarat
- Bihar College of Pharmacy, Patna
- Department of pharmaceutical Science, Dibrugarh University, Assam
- K. College of Pharmacy, Chhattisgarh
- Delhi Institute of pharmaceutical Sciences & Research, New Delhi
- Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Pharmacy, New Delhi
