Pharmacy plays a crucial role in our lives. It can be defined as a place where prescriptions of medicines are filled by licensed physicians or technicians. The functions of pharmacy include preparation of medicines for sale and distribution of pharmacy supplies to pharmacies. Thus, pharmacy provides necessary services and plays a vital role in our society.

Pharmacy employs pharmacists or licensed technicians who maintain a stock of different medicines required by customers. A typical pharmacy involves pharmacists or certified technicians who are responsible for providing patients the right medications in the right quantity at the right time. Apart from this, pharmacy provides consultation to pharmacists and helps them in explaining their patient about the medications that should be taken. In fact, pharmacy helps reduce the complications in people suffering from various diseases. The pharmacist also acts as an important link between healthcare professionals like physicians and patients. Therefore, pharmacy helps save both time and money of both patients and physicians.

Types Of pharmacists:

There are mainly three types of pharmacists namely an ambulatory care pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy, and an office pharmacy. An ambulatory care pharmacy usually provides patients with over-the-counter medications as well as other prescription-based drugs and supplies. A pharmacy that is engaged in providing prescription drugs should be registered under the National Formulary Drug Administration (NDA). A pharmacy engaged in providing pharmacy services should also comply with all the rules and regulations imposed by the regulatory body. Pharmacy that acts as an office pharmacy provides prescription services and sells products not under the exclusive control of a manufacturer.

Although most pharmaceutical representatives would claim that they are educating patients on their medications, the fact is that only doctors themselves can do this. Therefore, it can be said that only pharmacists play a major role in educating patients about their medication. Although there are many schools that have pharmacy courses for pharmacists, the best course to take up is pharmacy administration and management. The course in pharmacy administration and management covers both classroom and clinical training and includes lectures and case studies on pharmaceutical issues.

Consulting pharmacy has gained popularity as a profession these days. This type of pharmacy job involves planning, developing and implementing plans to ensure that the supply of prescriptions meets the demand. Consultancies are frequently involved in managing and running drug stores. On the other hand, clinical project management is focused on coordinating clinical trials and monitoring the progress and results of such studies.

Many people think that pharmacists work only in hospitals and clinics. However, the number of pharmacists who work independently is increasing day by day. Some of the common jobs that pharmacy technicians perform include stocking shelves, filling capsules, mixing medicines, giving advice to patients on various ailments and illnesses, filling medical records, and handling correspondence. In addition, some pharmacists work in rehabilitation clinics and health departments. They can work at research facilities, pharmacies and hospitals.