Qais Alefan

R.Ph, B.Pharm, M.Pharm, PhD

18/4/2012

When asked about pharmacy?!,

a drugstore or a place where you buy your medication

Most people do not think about pharmacy as a profession! Pharmacy is a place, a profession, and sometimes a business!

18/4/2012

a place where licensed pharmacists dispense medicine on receiving a valid prescription written by a legal prescriber A pharmacy is not a drugstore. Some businesses today do not have pharmacies, but do sell medicines bought without a prescription (OTCs) They also usually sell nonmedical items like cosmetics, hardware, and magazines A pharmacy can be a free-standing building, or it may be found inside other places like a drugstore, a medical office building, or a hospital
18/4/2012

The word medicine in defining pharmacy (as a place) is preferable to the word drug In todays society, drug usually means an unlawful drug or drug abuse The word medicine is more positive, as its consumption usually improves health

18/4/2012

A profession is a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards and uphold themselves to and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognized body of learning derived from research, education, and training at a high level, and who are prepared to exercise this knowledge and these skills in the interest of others The three commonly recognized characteristics of a profession: study & training, measure of success, and associations
18/4/2012

Early humans most likely discovered that applying water, mud, & some plants soothed the skin By simple trial and error, humans slowly discovered things in nature that helped them The earliest known record of the art of the apothecarythe forerunner of the pharmacist-is in Babylon, the jewel of the ancient Mesopotamia Practitioners (ca. 2600 B.C.) were priests, pharmacists, and physicians, all in one

The Chinese also contributed to early pharmacy (ca. 2000 B.C.).

18/4/2012

From this point forward in history, the art of crude medicine preparation and pharmacy became more refined by the Egyptians, the Greeks, & the Romans One Roman in particular, Galen (A.D. 130-200), practiced and taught pharmacy & medicine in Rome

His principles of preparing and Compounding ruled in the Western World for 1500 yrs
Separation of pharmacy & medicine took place ca. A.D. 300 and is portrayed by twin brothers of Arabian descent, Damian, the apothecary, and Cosmas, the physician

18/4/2012

Plants with medicinal value were cultivated in monasteries by monks during the 5th to 12th centuries The Arabs were the first to have privately owned drugstores called apothecary shops

Public pharmacies like these did not appear in Europe until the 17th century
The first official compendium of drugs, or pharmacopoeia, originated in Florence, Italy, in 1498 The Society of Apothecaries of London was the first organization of pharmacists in the Anglo-Saxon world
18/4/2012

Even some pharmacists, answer by saying to supply the medication The purpose of pharmacy practice is to help patients make the best use of their medication

From a public health point of view, pharmacists are needed to assure the rational & safe use of the medication

18/4/2012

Medicinal therapy is the most frequently used form of treatment Medications use has grown dramatically
The population has aged The prevalence of chronic disease has increased New infectious diseases have emerged

18/4/2012

Medicines can be purchased in new settings, & are handled by non-pharmacists Compounding has been largely replaced by the commercial manufacture

Medicines can be bought in:

supermarkets, drug stores markets Can be obtained by mail order or over the Internet they are sold by medical practitioners dispensed by computerized dispensing machines

18/4/2012

Do we still need pharmacists? What is the value of pharmacy services?

18/4/2012

Professions exist to serve society

The mission of the pharmacy profession must address the needs of society
Previously, the acts of deciding on drug therapy & implementing it were relatively simple, safe & inexpensive
Physician prescribed & the pharmacist dispensed

However, there is substantial evidence to show that the traditional method of prescribing & dispensing medication is no longer appropriate to ensure safety, effectiveness & adherence to drug therapy
18/4/2012

The consequences of medicine-related errors are costly in terms of hospitalizations, physician visits, laboratory tests, etc In developed countries, 4%10% of all hospital inpatients experience an adverse drug reaction mainly due to the use of multiple drug therapy
In the USA, it is the 4th-6th leading cause of death & is estimated to cost up to US$130 billion a year In the UK it accounted for 466 million (over US$812 million) in 2004
18/4/2012

It is important for society to be assured that spending on pharmaceuticals represents good value for money In view of their extensive academic background & their traditional role in preparing & providing medicines & informing patients about their use, pharmacists are well positioned to assume responsibility for the management of drug therapy

18/4/2012

In the traditional relationship between the doctor as prescriber & the pharmacist as dispenser, the prescriber was accountable for the results of pharmacotherapy

Recently, the practice of pharmaceutical care assumes the pharmacist to be responsible for patients under their care, & society will not only accept that assumption but hold the profession to it

18/4/2012

Pharmacy students and practitioners must be educated to assume the responsibility for managing drug therapy, so that they can maintain & expand their position in the health care system & are compensated for their role in providing pharmaceutical care Dispensing is, & must remain, a responsibility of the pharmacy profession While fewer pharmacists may be actually engaged in dispensing medication, predominantly in rural areas, more pharmacists will be managing the dispensing process and assuming responsibility for its quality and outcomes

18/4/2012

Over the past 4 decades there has been a trend for pharmacy practice to move away from its original focus on medicine supply towards a more inclusive focus on patient care The role of the pharmacist has evolved:
Compounder & supplier of pharmaceutical products a provider of services & information a provider of patient care

18/4/2012

The pharmacists task is to ensure that a patients drug therapy is appropriately indicated, the most effective, the safest, & convenient for the patient Pharmacists can make a unique contribution to the outcome of drug therapy & to their patients quality of life This new approach has been given the name

pharmaceutical care

18/4/2012

Pharmaceutical care is the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve a patients quality of life. (Hepler and Strand, 1990)
In 1998, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) added one significant amendment: achieving definite outcomes

that improve or maintain a patients quality of life.

18/4/2012

The practice of pharmaceutical care is new, in contrast to what pharmacists have been doing for years Because pharmacists often fail to assume responsibility for this care, they may not adequately document, monitor and review the care given

18/4/2012

The knowledge base of pharmacy graduates is changing Pharmacists already in practice were mainly educated on the basis of the old paradigm of pharmaceutical product focus

If these pharmacists are to contribute effectively to the new patient-centred pharmaceutical practice, they must have the opportunity to acquire the new knowledge & skills required for their new role
To do this they must become life-long learners, one of the roles of the new pharmacist
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