Profesionals...............

Pharmacists

Pharmacists are health professionals who practice the art and science of pharmacy. In their traditional role, pharmacists typically take a request for medicines from a prescribing health care provider in the form of a medical prescription and dispense the medication to the patient and counsel them on the proper use and adverse effects of that medication. In this role, pharmacists ensure the safe and effective use of medications. Pharmacists also participate in disease state management, where they optimise and monitor drug therapy – often in collaboration with physicians and/or other health professionals. Pharmacists have many areas of expertise and are a critical source of medical knowledge in clinics, hospitals, and community pharmacies throughout the world.

Pharmacists are sometimes small-business owners, owning the pharmacy in which they practice. They are also very skilled and specialized individuals with specific knowledge that makes them a vital part of any healthcare team. They act as a learned intermediary between patients and other healthcare providers to ensure that proper medical therapy is chosen and implemented in the best way possible.

Pharmacists are sometimes referred to as chemists (or dispensing chemists), which sometimes causes confusion with scientists in the field of chemistry. This term is a historical one, since pharmacists originally were required to complete an undergraduate degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry (PhC) and were known as "Pharmaceutical Chemists".

Skills and roles
Pharmacists are exceptionally trained in medicine-related fields including pharmacology, chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacy practice (including drug interactions, medicine monitoring, medication management), pharmaceutics, pharmacy law, physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, kinetics, nephrology, hepatology, and compounding medications. Additional curriculum covers basic diagnosis with emphasis on disease state management, therapeutics and prescribing (selecting the most appropriate medication for a given patient).

Pharmacists are often the first point-of-contact for patients with health inquiries. This means that pharmacists have large roles in the primary care of patients. These roles may include, but are not limited to:

clinical medication management
the assessment of patients with undiagnosed or diagnosed conditions and for decisions about the clinical management required, including prescribing
specialized monitoring of simple and complex disease states
reviewing medication regimens
monitoring of treatment regimens
general health monitoring
compounding medicines
general health advice
providing specific education to patients about disease states and medications
oversight of dispensing medicines on prescription
provision of non-prescription medicines
counseling and advice on optimal use of medicines
advice and treatment of common ailments
referral to other health professionals if necessary
dosing drugs in renal and hepatic failure
pharmacokinetic evaluation
education of physicians and other healthcare providers on medications and their proper use
prescribing medications in collaboration with other healthcare professionals
providing pharmaceutical information
promoting public health by administering immunizations