The Future of Pharmacy Practice

Introduction

Pharmacy is a branch of medicine that deals with the preparation and distribution of drugs (Griffin, 2009). It is a sensitive field since errors made during drug administration may result in people taking the wrong drugs and this may affect body processes. The need to have qualified manpower in the field is, therefore, important in order to avoid the dire consequences of poor handling or dispensing of medicine. The following are some of the important aspects of pharmacy practice that I learned in the course.

Pharmaceutical Terminology

This refers to the different names that are used in the field of pharmacy. It is important to have standard terms that describe objects, situations, chemicals, and so on. This makes the field universal and as a result, a person trained in one sector can work in another without much orientation. This is important in situations involving the transfer of manpower and enhances one’s relations with his colleagues. Though there are very many terminologies used in the pharmaceutical field, I learned just a few of them, especially those described by Griffin (Griffin, 2009).

ANDA is an acronym for Abbreviated New Drug Application which represents the submission form of drugs that have been passed, especially if they have similar ingredients with other drugs. Accuracy refers to the closeness of a sample to the actual sample value, while adjuvant refers to the material that increases the drug’s action. A clinical trial refers to the studies that are carried out by physicians to determine the effects of a drug that arise as a result of other factors apart from the drug itself.

The last pharmaceutical terminology which I learned is user fees and this refers to the amount of money charged to a person or corporation for a given drug product.

Job responsibilities in community pharmacy operations

People working in this field should give the necessary guidelines concerning the usage of a drug such as time between doses and amount/quantity of a dose (Salek & Edgar, 2002). The operations should prescribe the drugs for various ailments that may be observed and determined to be a specific disease. The operators are also responsible for passing information to patients of diseases that are not curable but are manageable such as diabetes and cancer. They should inform patients of the different effects of various drugs. Another major responsibility in community pharmacy operations involves patient confidentiality whereby the pharmacist is not supposed to expose information concerning those treated or issued with medicine (Stonier, 2003).

Drug origins

Drug origin refers to the primary source of a drug. Most drugs are derived from plants and some from animals. However, there are those that are chemically manufactured in laboratories through complex synthetic processes. Today, synthetic drugs are more common in the market compared to those extracted from plants and other organisms.

How might these three things enhance patient safety?

Pharmaceutical terminology will help the patient to obtain the best drugs for a given diagnosis and if the drug is not available, its perfect equivalent is given in the perfect dosage. This will improve the health of the patient as well as keep the diseases intended at bay and avoid their spread. It will also help create a common language across the world and one’s mobility will not affect his health and safety since anyone in the field can understand any prescription (Salek & Edgar, 2002).

People have different reactions following the ingestion or injection of drugs.

Allergies arising from drugs can be associated with the raw materials used in its production, and knowledge on the origin of the drug will reduce such cases. The code of conduct of community health operations describes the responsibilities of an operator and ensures that services offered are monitored. Therefore, the patient will have proper services, and the drugs offered will be of the right choice.

Based on the evolution of what we now know as modern-day pharmacy practice, where do you see pharmacy practice going in the future?

Pharmacy is a field with lots of promising opportunities as people strive to find solutions to their health problems (Griffin, 2009). With the emergence of many diseases as well as unprecedented cases of pathogens shifting from one species to another, there is a need to learn more on the field and come up with the necessary remedies. An example of this is the swine flu case which was believed to be an exclusive disease affecting livestock. To curb this and other related health issues, pharmacy as a field has to get busier and determine how human beings can be saved from such occurrences. Many people are not comfortable with natural processes such as aging and are always looking for drugs to reduce their aging process. Other areas that are yet to be fully exhausted include cancer, impotence, and barrenness. Furthermore, there are still more that are yet to be determined. The issue of global warming is presently known to increase the rate of malaria spread and prevalence, and it is yet to be determined if there are any other diseases that the phenomenon would affect. The pharmaceutical field has, therefore, to stay alert and determine the remedies to the problems as they arise.

With the changing environment and modernization, the field of pharmacy will remain dynamic for as long as humankind lives (Jacobsen & Wertheimer, 2010). Research shows that within the next half a century, the field will have to undergo revolutions to curb the problems that are set to be experienced. This is because new diseases are emerging while the ones that were thought to have been completely wiped out are reemerging. It is believed that global warming is among the major causes of health issues especially due to the melting of the ice caps in the Polar Regions. These icecaps withhold toxic material in the cold soil and once the caps melt, the material is released back to regions where a man can have contact with them causing diseases.

The changes in pharmacy are expected to affect society positively. This is because there will be remedies for diseases and other pathogens that have had a negative effect on human beings (Jacobsen & Wertheimer, 2010).

Conclusion

Pharmacy is an integral field for human survival. With the increasing rate of diseases in the world, there is a high prospect that the field will finally give solace to humankind. More research in the field should be carried out and more resources pumped into the field to guarantee the future generation a better future. I appreciate that I have learned many things in the field of pharmacy and have realized that the impact of these practices is vital in contemporary society.

References

Griffin, J.P. (2009). The textbook of pharmaceutical medicine. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons

Jacobsen, T.M., & Wertheimer, A.I. (2010). Modern pharmaceutical industry: a primer. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers

Salek, S., & Edgar, A. (2002) Pharmaceutical ethics. New York: J. Wiley

Stonier, P.D. (2003) Careers with the pharmaceutical industry. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons