Pharmacists have an academic training so they can act as health care professionals…
We should start providing care instead of pills…
The number of medicines available on the world market has increased massively over the past few decades. Globalization has brought countries closer together in terms of products and services available, while the health care environment has become increasingly complex thanks to increased travel and migration.
There is therefore a need to develop and generate a new understanding of pharmaceutical care. Hepler and Strand, in 1990, defined this as the “responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve a patient quality of life”.
This means that today´s pharmacist needs to be able to take on multiple roles. The World Health Organization (WHO) has introduced the concept of the seven–star pharmacist, supported by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) in its policy statement on Good Practice Education in Pharmacy, which sees the pharmacist as:
- Caregiver
- Communicator
- Decision-maker
- Teacher
- Life-long learner
- Leader
- Manager
For those people who do receive medicines, data from the WHO and the FIP suggest that over half of all prescriptions are incorrect, and more than half of patients fail to take them correctly. We therefore need a rational approach to the use of medicines that ensures they receive the appropriate medication for their needs, in doses that meet their own individual requirements, for an adequate period of time at the lowest cost to them and their community.
This, in turn, means that there is an important and rewarding professional role for pharmacists beyond managing and supplying pharmaceutical products. We need to provide Medication Therapy Management to optimize therapeutic outcomes for individual patients.
By improving the way patients take medicines, for example, we can reduce adverse drug reactions. By increasing the knowledge of predisposing factors, we can greatly improve programs and campaigns to help vulnerable groups of patients.
The idea is to improve patient´s health benefit.
apothemary advice
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Thanks for stopping by! We’re connected now. Looking forward for every fit advice!
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I’ve had students from my previous life as a high-school chemistry teacher go on to Pharm.D. programs, and they look to be making their way there just fine. They’re noticing the same things as well – it’s not just about taking and filling scripts (which a tech is fully capable of), it’s about learning all of the drug-drug interactions that can take place if you’re not careful.
There’s a lot of biology, chemistry, and anatomy involved that people don’t seem to appreciate when you’re dealing with a Pharm.D. (and increasingly, techs). We can even go on about counseling – who better to know of meds and what they do than a person who STUDIES these things?
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Thanks for this fantastic explanation Jonny! I have these exact words in my mind… I couldn’t have expressed all that any better.
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I agree that MTM management needs to become more promenent in the field, but this does require that the training and education of the technicians needs to be increased to allow the Pharmacist the opportunities to provide these services. The technician needs to step up and take the supply and management roles, which will mean better training, and testing of technicians.
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I strongly agree on your point of view. Time, training and education will get all health professionals closer to this goal. Thanks for your approach!
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