Research & Reviews in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Menue-ISSN:2320-1215 p-ISSN: 2322-0112
e-ISSN:2320-1215 p-ISSN: 2322-0112
1Faculty of Medicine and Allied Medical Sciences, Isra University, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan.
2Department of Physical Therapy, University of Sargodha Lyallpur Campus, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
3Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Peshawar, Khyber (KPK), Pakistan.
Received date: 22/04/2015 Accepted date: 26/06/2015 Published date: 29/06/2015
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Article describes a brief outline explaining the profession of Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy and the important role of a Pharmacist. This profession, therefore, requires a complex and well developed set of competencies to explore one of the most health and financially rewarding careers. Pharmacy is the science and technique of preparing and dispensing drugs. This is a health profession that links health sciences with chemical sciences and it aims to ensure the safe and effective use of Pharmaceutical drugs. The scope of Pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications, and it also includes more modern services related to health care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information. The discipline of Pharmacy embraces the knowledge on synthesis, chemistry and preparation of drugs, while, Clinical Pharmacy is more oriented to the analysis of population needs with regards to medicines, ways of administration, patterns of use and drugs effects on the patients. So, the focus of attention moves from the drug to the single patient or population receiving drugs. The experts on drug therapy are known as Pharmacists that are primary health professional who optimize use of medication for the benefit of the patients. Pharmacists play an important role in helping the peoples to get the best results from their medications. Pharmacognosy studies herbs like drugs, adverse reactions and interactions; therefore, Pharmacognosy is an important course of Pharmacy. For that reason the Pharmacists role is very important in this regard and it is important that they should understand all about correct use, adverse reactions and interactions of herb-drugs and herbs-foods.
Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technicians.
Medical Science is significant for the perfection of human life, lifespan and quality of human life. It helps to prevent human suffering and also cures the diseases that are the result of advancing civilization. It is helpful to develop new drugs, new techniques and new equipment’s to study, analyze and cure the diseases [1]. Medical education is the bedrock on which first-class healthcare system is built. Of course, the training is important, but education is vital, and newly educated Physicians need an extensive knowledge and practical skills, so, the training is very important in this profession [2]. A good clinical teaching is central to medical education, but there is concern about maintaining this in contemporary and pressured health care environments [3]. Actually, Pharmacy is an exceptional and important component of the discipline of medical science. Therefore, this paper aims to demonstrate the roles of the pharmacy and clinical pharmacy in providing healthcare services to the peoples.
The phrase Pharmacy has been originated from the root word Pharma that is the knowledge and procedure of manufacturing as well as administration of drugs. This is a health profession and it contacts health sciences by chemical sciences and intends to make certain the secure as well as valuable exercise of Pharmaceutical drugs. The range of Pharmacy exercise includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications, and it also comprises extra up to date services linked to health care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information. Pharmacy is one of the most financially rewarding careers and it combines science, health care, computer technology, business, math and counselling. Over and over again, employments in the sciences engage partial relations with the community; however Pharmacy presents an unusual equilibrium of liberty and dealings with clients that may be capable of extremely pleasing for grassroots or individuals. The Pharmacy is capable of an incredibly stimulating occupation and this preserves proffer a lot of motivating chances throughout the period of a whole profession. The subject of Pharmacy can normally be categorized into the three most important disciplines:-
1. Pharmaceutics
2. Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy
3. Pharmacy Practice
The borders involving in between these disciplines and by other sciences, for instance Biochemistry, are not at all times straightforward. Repeatedly, joint groups from a variety of disciplines (Pharmacists and other Scientists) can toil collectively for introducing of latest methods and therapeutics for care of patients. Conversely, Pharmacy does not belong a fundamental or else biomedical discipline in its distinctive structure. Medicinal Chemistry, by itself, is as well a discrete subdivision of science of Synthetic Chemistry uniting Chemical Biology, Organic Chemistry and Pharmacology. Occasionally, Pharmacology is believed like the 4th discipline of Pharmacy. Even though to study of Pharmacy, Pharmacology is crucial, but it is not definite to Pharmacy and both are separate disciplines. Individuals who desire to exercise Pharmacology (a biomedical science requiring the scientific method) and Pharmacy (patient oriented) equally, have to entertain training and degrees sole to either discipline separately. Pharmaco-informatics (also referred to as Pharmacy Informatics) is thought a different innovative discipline for systematic drug invention and expansion by way of effectiveness and wellbeing [4,5].
Clinical Pharmacy is a frequently utilized word in Pharmacy practice, and in the literature of Pharmacy this is a health specialty that depicts the services and actions rendered by the clinical Pharmacist to build up and support the reasonable and suitable utilize of medical devices and medicinal products. Clinical Pharmacy takes an account of all the actions executed by Pharmacists who practice within hospitals, nursing homes, community Pharmacies, home-based care services, private clinics and whichever other setting wherever medicines are recommended and utilized. The word "clinical" does not essentially involve an action put into operation inside a hospital setting. But, it illustrates that the nature of an action is associated to the health of the patients. This means that community Pharmacists and hospital Pharmacists together are able to carry out Clinical Pharmacy performance.
Taken as a whole, the aim of Clinical Pharmacy actions is to encourage the accurate and suitable make use of medical devices and medicinal products. Such actions are intended at:
1. Making best use of the medical consequence of medicines, i.e., by means of the largely helpful cure for all categories of patients.
2. Diminishing the danger of treatment-induced to unfavorable measures, i.e., supervising the rehabilitation way and the patient's fulfillment by means of treatment.
3. Curtailing the expenses involved in Pharmacological dealing beard through the patients and by the national health systems, i.e., efforts to make available the finest cure substitute for the maximum digit of patients. Clinical Pharmacy actions can manipulate an accurate make use of medicines on three
Clinical Pharmacy actions can manipulate an accurate make use of medicines on three diverse stages before, during and after the prescription is written on paper:-Before the prescription is written, there are clinical testing, formularies and medicine information. Clinical Pharmacists encompass the prospective to put into practice and manipulate drug-related course of actions, i.e., building of choices on drugs which justify to be sold, and which medicine ought to be integrated in nationwide and limited formularies, and which recommended course of action and healing procedure must be put into operation. Clinical Pharmacists are furthermore dynamically concerned into clinical trials at different levels, participating in ethical committees, study monitoring, dispensation and preparation of investigational drugs.
For the duration of the prescription writing there engrosses the counseling action. Clinical Pharmacists is capable of persuade the thought and precedence of prescribers in their selection of an accurate healing. The Clinical Pharmacists scrutinize, perceive and avoid injurious medicine dealings, unfavorable results and drug mistakes in the course of appraisal of prescription's profiles. The Clinical Pharmacists lay out particular concentration to the prescribed quantity of medicines that requires therapeutic monitoring. Community Pharmacists also know how to make recommendation choices in a straight line, whenever the contradict medicines are counseled.
After the prescription, there is counseling, preparation of personalized formulation, drug use evaluation, outcome research and Pharmaco-economic studies. After the prescription is written, Clinical Pharmacists play a key role in communicating and counseling patients. Pharmacists can improve patient's awareness of their treatments, monitor treatment response, and check and improve patient's compliance with their medications. As members of a multidisciplinary team, Clinical Pharmacists also provide integrated care from hospital to community and vice versa, assuring a continuity of information on risks and benefits of drug therapy.
For pursuing a profession in Clinical Pharmacy, at present some Schools of Pharmacy do not satisfy the minimal requirements for an appropriate education. These are still largely focused on an old model of Pharmacy activity e.g., based on Chemistry and basic sciences knowledge. A few Universities have modified and broadened their curriculum including topics as Epidemiology, Pharmaco-economics, clinical medicine and communication skills, the latter being particularly important for Community Pharmacists. The majority of new graduates in Pharmacy can therefore work either in the community or the hospital setting to learn the skills unique to a Clinical Pharmacist. Membership and participation in Clinical Pharmacist courses, conferences and symposia can provide important learning platforms for Pharmacy graduates wishing to specialize in Clinical Pharmacy [6,7].
Fundamentally, Pharmacognosy is an area under discussion that in reality deals to Botany. However, Pharmacognosy learning much more relates to other subject matters than Botany. Moreover, this is at all times good to keep in mind that Pharmacognosy completely did not relate singly to plant objects. Pharmacognosy skillfulness needs awareness regarding Botany, Pharmacology, Chemistry and slightly of Anthropology, along with others. In actual fact, Pharmacognosy is an origin of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Commonly, the certain persons use plants and plant extracts to self-medicate. In Asia, traditional and alternative medicines are highly used and practiced as Ayurveda, herbal and unani along with conventional medicines and therapy. Folk medicines play part of the culture of many of peoples in the Middle East and other areas of the world, and it is important to optimize and rationalize the use of herbal drugs. Pharmacognosy as a subject ought to be one of the elementary components of Pharmacy programme of study in consideration of its importance and the content of the course. A number of the orthodox drugs presently utilized for the avoidance and curing of diseases are derived from animals or plants. For instance, digoxin that is a glycoside utilized in congestive heart malfunction is derived from leaves of Digitalis lanata plant. Quinine, that is an antimalarial, and quinidine which is an antiarrythmia are alkaloids originated from the bark of cinchona plant. At present, the requirements of the public for healthiness and nutritional satisfactoriness have resulted in the make use of Nutraceutical supplement both as complementary otherwise substitutes devoid of look upon to the matters of medicine dose, frequency, duration, route of administration adverse drug reactions, drug-food, drug-drug, drug-disease and drug-physiological state interactions. A lot of recent advances for medicines invention from ordinary products and appraisal of botanical drugs can be anticipated, which is now as new trends, and the world is coming back to olden days medicines [8,9].
Pharmacy students should be equipped with the necessary skills needed for them to discharge their responsibilities as experts on drug and drug-related issues on completion of graduation. Hence, the teaching of Pharmacognosy to Pharmacy students is very important. A Pharmacist ought to be familiar with the ordinary treatments and how they work together with other drugs, made with customary and artificial ways. The responsibility of Pharmacist is to be aware of the malady and take care of it by means of most excellent accessible choice (no issue whether it is a natural or synthetic drug). In general, herbs are as well paramount source of new drugs; consequently, it is essential to be aware of the medicinal functions of herbs. As a community Pharmacist, it is imperative to be acquainted with the house-hold therapies for instances diseases that are extremely quite sophisticated. As a result, in Pharmacy for the entire types of medicines, natural, hemi and synthetic ways are studied.
Pharmacognosy is not just the study of botanical aspects of plants, but actually it is the study of medicinal aspects of various parts of plants and other natural products in their crude forms. It is the fundamental element of Pharmaceutical sciences. Essentially, it is the cause of origin of various branches of Pharmaceutical sciences like Pharmacology, medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics etc. as various plant parts in their crude forms, are the only source of medical treatment in earlier times. So, it can be said that Pharmacognosy is the oldest branch of Pharmacy which has already played crucial role in the further emergence and development of other branches. Complete understanding of medicinal plants involves a number of disciplines like commerce, botany, horticulture, chemistry, enzymology, genetics, quality control and Pharmacology etc. Pharmacognosy is not anyone of itself, but it is a combination of all such disciplines for better understanding and utilization of medicinal plants. Whether any one likes it or not, Pharmacognosy is not a subject of the past, but it has evolved and developed over the years to adapt itself with the changing environment, and it now fits to meet the challenges of the present and the future of drug discovery and development. Accordingly, the significance of Pharmacognosy in Pharmacy cannot be exaggerated. Pharmacognosy will stay on to be a noteworthy and a vital donor to the awareness and appreciative of medicines and healing, and hence may be an essential component of any significant academic Pharmacy program around the humankind. Pharmacognosy program can be named as a natural products way and its contents should comprise the make use of and relations of herbal products, marine products and other natural products.
Pharmacy is a great career of choice, therefore, Pharmacists are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize use of medication for the benefit of the patients.The Pharmacist is an accessible liaison to whom patients can talk faceto- face, without an appointment. He or she is someone who can answer health-related questions like what foods, cold drinks, activities or other drugs could have an effect on medication or what to do regarding a missed dosage. Basically, Pharmacists facilitate to the persons with approximately everything interrelated to the usage of drug, meaning that they facilitate to public to keep on as healthy as feasible. Pharmacists are constantly graded as a few of the largely very reliable professionals as a consequence of the key care and health-related services they grant. There is a position for Pharmacists on the front lines for contributing services for the period of natural catastrophes, outbreaks and other emergencies. There is a need of Pharmacists in a broad diversity of exertion settings like as community Pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, Pharmaceutical industry, mail order Pharmacy centres, managed care organizations, and government agencies (Defence, Veterans Affairs, and Health Service). What is more, these with advanced Pharmacy training can often move easily between these different areas. Changes in the Pharmacist’s role and in the community Pharmacy are impacting healthcare delivery, and these trends will continue to accelerate in this rapidly transitioning environment. Today’s Pharmacies are offering expanded healthcare services in the retail setting and are also ideal locations to raise disease awareness and deliver educational information at multiple points of contact. These include the counter and personal care aisles, the Pharmacy counter, in specialty publications and in the prescription pick-up areas. Great Pharmacists pursue continuing of education opportunities not only because they are required in order to maintain their licenses, but also because they are interested in new developments in the industry. They also keep up with research journals and other relevant news.Not only are these innovations are beneficial to Pharmacy customers, but they also create opportunities for Pharmaceutical marketers and offer a measurable return on investment. Pharmacists are healthcare professional with specialized education and training who perform various roles to ensure optimal health outcomes for their patients through proper medication uses. Pharmacists may also be small-business proprietors, owning the Pharmacy in which they practice. Since Pharmacists know about the mode of action of a particular drug, and its metabolism and physiological effects on the human body in great detail, they play an important role in optimization of a drug treatment for an individual [10-12].
Pharmacy Technicians maintain the exertion of Pharmacists and other health professionals through providing a range of Pharmacy linked roles, as well as providing prescription of medicines and other medical devices to patients and educate on their treatments. They might as well carry out managerial obligations in Pharmaceutical ways, like evaluation of prescription requirements with medic’s offices and insurance companies to guarantee that accurate medications are presented and expense is received. A Pharmacy Technician within only some localities is recognized as a health care expert and frequently does not work under the direct supervision of a Pharmacist (if working in a hospital Pharmacy), however instead is organized and supervised via other leading Pharmacy Technicians. Within some localities, the function of Pharmacy Technicians has been fully fledged and tasks are passed on to them to administrate the Pharmacy sector, and particular areas in Pharmacy practice allocating to Pharmacists to have the time to concentrate in their professional pitch as medication consultants spending further moments by functioning with patients and in research. A Pharmacy Technician once acquired skill has to catalogue himself as a professional on the register of General Pharmaceutical Council. Within other some localities, Pharmacy Technicians carry out their responsibilities under the direction of Pharmacists. Even though they can carry out work under supervision, however for many dispensing, compounding and other tasks, they are not commonly authorized to execute the function of counseling to patients on the appropriate utilize of their medications [13,14].
The profession of Pharmacy is at a significant crossroads between its conventional drug-dispensing identity and a pioneering clinical role with health care provider status. In the coming decades, Pharmacists are expected to become more integral within the health care system. Rather than simply dispensing medication, Pharmacists are increasingly expected to be compensated for their patient care skills. Specifically, Medication Therapy Management comprises the medical packages that Pharmacists are capable to make available for their patients. These services contain the detailed examination of the entire medicines (prescription, non-prescription and herbals) presently being taken by a person. The consequence is an understanding of medicines and patient’s learning ensuing in improved patient’s wellbeing results and declined expenses to the health care system. Additionally, the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) degree at present is necessary prior to going into practice and several Pharmacists currently have to complete one or two years of residency or fellowship training subsequent to graduation course. Besides, consultant Pharmacists, who customarily manoeuvre mostly in nursing homes, are at the present intensifying addicted to direct consultation with patients, underneath the poster of "Senior Care Pharmacy”. For Pharmacists, fresh responsibilities can be framed that facilitate to serve the ever-increasing patient inhabitants and requirements of the novel health concern system. Within a further existing time, Pharmacists should have to show their significance inside the health care system. Inside the settings of health care system, their importance can produce alterations ranging from the new opportunity of jobs to the extension of services presented.