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Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts


Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts?

Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts

  • Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts? Pharmacists are medical experts who play important roles in all aspects of the healthcare system continuum. World Pharmacists’ Day on 25th September is a global annual event designed to promote the pharmacist’s role in improving health. Patient care can be improved by collaboration between physicians and pharmacists.
  • Pharmacists are experts in the clinical use of medication, the composition of drugs, their chemical and physical properties, and their manufacture.
  • Moreover, pharmacists play a vital role in ensuring drug safety and optimal use of drugs at every point of the drug industry and the patient’s use.
  • Pharmacists work in retail pharmacies, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry, and scientific research.

The retail pharmacist’s role involves:

  • Medication dispensing and patient education.
  • Administering immunisations.
  • Evaluating a prescription medication for proper dosage, drug interactions, contraindications, and potential abuse).
  • Retail pharmacists also are quick-to-reach experts for recommending over-the-counter remedies for common ailments (such as flu, cough, headaches, skin irritations, and stomach pain).
  • Additionally, pharmacists are highly trained health professionals with relatively flexible available hours. This provides trust and accessibility to the patients.
  • Pharmacists contribute to public health resources by providing a broad spectrum of services that fit patients’ needs. 
  • Pharmacists show patients how to use inhalers, pillboxes, medication reminder products, and other medical equipment. In addition, they can inject prescribed medications and measure blood pressure.
  • Pharmacists also provide patients with information about medications and required vaccinations.
  • Moreover, physicians may potentially contribute to patient non-adherence by prescribing complex medication regimens and non-consider the therapy cost.  This leads to inadequate communication or a gap between patient and physician.
  • Patients’ poor adherence to therapies results in poor health outcomes and increased health care costs.
  • Pharmacists play a role in educating patients and addressing these communication gaps between patients and physicians, enhancing medication adherence and chronic disease management.
  • Additionally, pharmacist patients’ consultation should follow counselling standards as stated by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, known as OBRA ’90. 

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Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts?

Patient Counseling Standards:

 This counselling should include the following information:

  • The name and description of the medication
  • Route of administration and precautions for preparation
  • Dosage and scheduled medication administration
  • Storage
  • Possible side effects.
  • Therapeutic contraindications and how to avoid them.
  • A self-monitoring and proper action in the missed dose
    • Moreover, the pharmacist role has expanded lately in various aspects, including research, formulation, manufacturing, quality assurance, licensing, marketing, distribution, storage, supply, information management, dispensing, monitoring, and education.

Pharmacist’s role in chronic disease management:

  • Pharmacists may acquire specialized experience through postgraduate training in hospitals such as oncology, critical care, cardiology, psychiatry, and geriatrics. This allows them to collaborate with different health professionals to meet the health needs of patients. 
  • However, the pharmacist’s role in developed countries has focused on dispensing drugs, providing advice, improving patient care, and researching.
  • In addition, the pharmacist’s role in the health care system is to provide chronic disease management care. Chronic disease management is a multi-component intervention that aims to control symptoms and slow or stop disease progression. 
  • Pharmacists have been involved in chronic disease management services that can improve outcomes for patients with complex clinical chronic conditions such as diabetes and attenuate the risk for cardiovascular disease.

Pharmacists-led chronic disease management intervention includes:

  • Medication therapy review
  • Medication monitoring
  • Patient medication education
  • Immunization
  • Patient self-care in disease.
  • Prescribing authority

Pharmacists are categorized as:

Community pharmacists 

  • Community pharmacists work in pharmacies, local pharmacy chain stores, and health care institutions. They dispense medicines based on a doctor’s prescription and check dosages.
  • Furthermore, community pharmacists provide medicines for minor ailments such as coughs, flu, gastric reflux, and headaches.
  • Moreover, community pharmacists played an important role in the covid-19 pandemic by offering an accessible first line of advice. Advise patients about the corona vaccine and prescribe drugs to manage vaccine side effects.
  • Community pharmacists educated the public about the virus and testing, treatment, and prevention of COVID-19. That’s why we have to know Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts.

Hospital/ clinical pharmacists 

  • Hospital pharmacists dispense and supply medicines based on a doctor’s prescription, checking dosages and food/drug interactions or drug allergies, and proper use of medications. Moreover, they collaborate with patients and healthcare providers to achieve drug compliance and the best patient outcomes.
  • Hospital pharmacists provide recommendations to improve standards of patient care in hospital committees. The responsibilities of pharmacists in this era are extended to medication therapy management. 
  • Hospital pharmacists should maintain a patient records system and update patient profiles. Hospital patient records should include the following information:
    • Patient’s full name, address, and mobile number
    • Gender and date of birth 
    • Comprehensive list of medications
    • Chronic conditions, known allergies, and drug reactions
    • Hospital pharmacists may also be known as clinical pharmacists. Clinical pharmacists cooperate with physicians in suggesting medication therapy and instructing patients to ensure patients receive the correct dosage of medication and follow-up treatment plans. 
  • In addition, clinical pharmacists are gaining significant attention worldwide as valuable members of the patient care team for ambulatory and acute care patients. 
  • Hospital pharmacists are responsible for monitoring the medicine supply used in the hospital. They are also in charge of purchasing, manufacturing, dispensing, and quality testing medication stock.
  • Clinical pharmacists have licensed as practitioners with advanced education and clinical experience in all types of patient care settings for comprehensive medication management. These specialized pharmacists focus on achieving optimal use of medications, required dosing, and monitoring adverse effects to achieve optimal patient outcomes. That’s why we have to know Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts.

Clinical/ hospital pharmacist’s intervention in drug-related problems:

  • Multi-drug therapies require pharmacists’ pharmacotherapy expertise in special fields like oncology and chronic diseases. Drug-related problems (DRP) will end in drug-related morbidity or death. 
  • Clinical/ hospital pharmacists track drug dosages and toxicity for cancer patients. Moreover, reviewing adverse effects, advising other oncology team members on symptoms management, and reviewing new study protocols.
  • In addition, clinical/ hospital pharmacists play an important role in optimizing medication therapy for intensive care patients (ICU). Selecting medications and appropriate doses for better care of ICU patients.
  • Clinical pharmacists are very important in addressing drug therapy in hospitals to manage patient care by reducing inappropriate prescribing and disease management, diminishing adverse side effects, and reducing hospital stay, adverse drug reactions, and mortality.
  • Furthermore, pharmacists play a key role in reducing the incidences of DRPs by making appropriate interventions at each stage and working with other healthcare professionals. DRP is a condition that may end in drug-related morbidity or death. 
  • Pharmacists should update their clinical knowledge to create interventions to reduce the incidence of DRPs. An accurate DRPs reporting system in hospitals and other health care settings is important.
  • Also, the hospital committees should encourage the pharmacists to report medication use within the hospitals continuously. Pharmacists should be encouraged to ensure patient education and patient counselling to prevent DRPs incidence.

Clinical Pharmacist services

  • Conduct clinical pharmacy programs in line with policies and regulations.
  • Collaborate with healthcare professionals to enhance patient care.
  • Monitor medication plans and patient progress.
  • Follow-up patient records for appropriate medication therapy.
  • Evaluate patient’s condition, medication plans, and patient progress.
  • Identify untreated illnesses and refer patients to appropriate physicians.
  • Conduct effective medication plans that minimize the risk of adverse side effects and contraindications.
  • Consult the patient with proper drug administration.
  • Assess the results of pharmaceutical treatment plans for hospital patients.

Informatics pharmacists

  • Medical technological innovation continues to shape health care and drug management within health informatics. 
  • Health informatics bridges health care with information technology to improve clinical care and ensure patient safety. Pharmacy informatics is a subset of health informatics.
  • Informatics pharmacists use clinical experience and information technology knowledge to enhance medication management and ensure drug administration safety.  That’s why we have to know Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts.

Academic pharmacists 

  • A faculty member of educational institutions involved in teaching and mentoring pharmacy students and performing scientific research.
  • Research may include new drug discovery, manufacturing technology innovation, and drug product formulation to enhance patients’ therapeutic and health outcomes. 
  • Academic pharmacists are public healthcare professionals involved in teaching service to university students, consultancy, working in international health-related organizations, public service, and patient care.

Pharmacists’ role within the pharmaceutical industry

  • Pharmacists’ role within the pharmaceutical industry involved all stages of the development and marketing of drugs.

roles in the pharmaceutical industry field provide services to the health care system, which include:

  • Development of new drugs or reformulating dosage.
  • Research development, conducting and managing clinical trials.
  • Monitor and manage safety reporting for drug products.
  • Drug formulation, production, and quality control.
  • Working with Health regulatory authorities on regulation of drug development.
  • Drug information specialists or medical writers for medical publications.
  • Educating and mentoring professionals on the use and efficacy of specific drugs.
  • Sales, marketing, and distribution of pharmaceutical drugs. 
  • Pharmacists act as the link between the company and the local regulatory authorities relating to drug quality, safety, and efficacy issues.
  • Pharmacists work in the authorization of medicines for use in clinical trials, registration, and marketing. Moreover, they are drug evaluators of new medicinal products, clinical uses, or new formulations for marketing approval and safety updates.  Some research pharmacists in the hospitals are involved in performing research to enhance the effectiveness of certain drugs within the body.
  • Pharmacists are responsible for preparing medications, quality testing, formulating dosage forms, monitoring, reporting drug safety, and preparing medications.
  • However, the introduction of new medicines requires that pharmacists pursue lifelong learning. They must keep updated with knowledge about new drugs, vaccines, drugs prevented, or dose reformulating. That’s why we have to know Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts.

 skills and services:

  • Pharmacists’ main role is to dispense prescriptions and ensure medicine doses are correct. 
  • Ensure good quality of medicines supplied to patients.
  • Pharmacists ensure that the medicines supplied to the patient are legal.
  • Counselling patients about infectious diseases and providing nutrition care advice.
  • Pharmacists educate and counsel patients on their medications’ safe and appropriate use. 
  • Ensure that the medicines prescribed to the patients are suitable and not expired.
  • Offering advice to the patients about medicines and how and when to take them (before or after eating, inhaled, injected, or swallowed).
  • Moreover, answering patients’ questions and informing them about side effects.
  • Pharmacists cooperate with doctors to properly use drugs, help reduce medication errors and mitigate complications related to multi-drug treatments.
  • Additionally, medication storage and planning for medication quantities are the responsibilities of the pharmacist.
  • Pharmacists also help patients by providing medical services, such as measuring blood pressure and checking blood glucose levels.
  • In addition, pharmacists recommend over-the-counter products, including vitamins, supplements, and natural products for patients.
  • Pharmacists can help patients identify digital health tools like medical devices and health applications. They can help in interpreting data from these tools. 
  •  Pharmacists are responsible for ensuring that patients are proficient in using their prescribed high-risk medications. That’s why we have to know Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts.

The Pharmacists and innovations in medication therapy

  • Pharmacogenomics is an interesting research field for pharmacists that studies the genome’s role in drug response. Pharmacists and other healthcare providers will be able to use that information to select the best medicines, early treatment of diseases, and prevent serious comorbidities. Pharmacists will be able to conduct individually tailored drug therapies. 
  • Additionally, Future pharmacists will be able to offer patients tailored pill packs. The pill pack is a customizable fast medication service; it will provide an efficient way to manage one’s health concerns. Pharmacists will create custom order packs that can be ripped off daily. The packs will be delivered daily to the patients. That’s why we have to know Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts. 

In conclusion:

  • Pharmacists are experts in the clinical use of drugs.  They contribute to public health resources by providing a broad spectrum of services that fits patients’ need.  A pharmacist’s responsibility is to ensure patient access to medications and improve medication adherence and affordability.
  • Moreover, governments should also realize that pharmacists are urgently needed in hospitals, especially in public sector hospitals, to improve patient health outcomes. Creating a professional relationship among physicians and pharmacists to strengthen the objectives and functioning of the health care team. 
  • In addition, pharmacists’ role in health care is to ensure the appropriate use of pharmacogenomic information and biomarkers to optimize drug therapy selection, prevent adverse events, and reduce costs across the care continuum. That’s why we have to know Why Pharmacists are Medication Experts.

 

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