The Changing Roles Of Pharmacists In Society
- Author:
Stephen Arthur Hudson
;
John Jackson Mc Anaw
;
Barbara Julienne Johnson
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
clinical pharmacy, pharmacy education, pharmaceutical care, chronic disease management, drug therapy problems, public health
- From:
International e-Journal of Science, Medicine and Education
2007;1(1):22-34
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
A clinical role for pharmacists has developed in
response to the societal need to improve the use of
medicines. Clinical role development has been led by
initiatives in the hospital sector which have enabled
Schools of Pharmacy to make shifts in the pre-graduate
education of pharmacists. The increasing complexity in
the management of drug therapy has given pharmacists
clear roles that integrate within the healthcare team.
The history is one in which the development of
changing roles of pharmacists is an example of progress
in healthcare delivery creating the need for revision of
the curriculum for a whole profession.
Milestones in the changing roles and in the preparation
of pharmacists for those roles have been; Establishment
of clinical pharmacy in the US hospitals and the
doctorate (PharmD) as the professional entry
qualification; postgraduate clinical pharmacy education
in UK and elsewhere, notably Asia and Australasia;
hospital pharmacist specialisation across the wide range
of medical specialties; the clinical teaching of
pharmacists; the concept of ‘pharmaceutical care’ as a
factor in public health; changes in Schools of Pharmacy
– with professors of pharmacy practice and a shift to
patient-centred teaching.
Future evolution of pharmacist roles will follow the
wider use of quality systems to address errors in
prescribing and drug administration; the automation of
systems of drug prescribing and administration and
improved documentation of care; widening of
prescribing roles; increased patient education and
higher patient expectations; patient-centred research in
Schools of pharmacy; development of primary care and
improved accessibility to pharmaceutical advice;
integration of pharmacists’ public health roles in
strategies to address prevention and management of
disease.
- Full text:W020150928350908269055.pdf
