PHARMACY SERVICES

WHAT IS PHARMACY SERVICES?

It is the science and technique of preparing as well as dispensing drugs and medicines. It is a health profession that links health sciences with chemical sciences and 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. Therefore, the pharmacists are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize the use of medication for the benefit

TYPES OF PHARMACY AND THEIR SERVICES:Community Pharmacy and Services:

- A community pharmacy is a healthcare facility that is able to provide pharmaceutical services to people in a local area or community.

- It dispenses medicine and typically involves a registered pharmacist with the education, skills, and competence to deliver professional services to the community.

-Community-based pharmacists' responsibilities include: checking and dispensing of prescription drugs, providing advice on drug selection and usage to doctors and other health professionals, and counselling patients in health promotion, disease prevention and the proper use of medicines.

CLINICAL PHARMACY AND THEIR SERVICES:

- Clinical pharmacy is the branch of Pharmacy where pharmacists provide patient care that optimizes the use of medication and promotes health, wellness, and disease prevention.

Clinical Pharmacy Services are;

• Prescribing drugs

• Administering drugs

• Documenting professional services

• Reviewing drug use

• Communication

• Counseling

• Consulting

• Preventing Medication Errors

Scope of clinical pharmacy:

• Drug Information

• Drug Utilization

• Drug Evaluation and Selection

• Medication Therapy Management

• Formal Education and Training Programs

• Disease State Management

HOSPITAL PHARMACY AND THEIR SERVICES:

-Hospital pharmacies can usually be found within the premises of a hospital.

- Hospital pharmacies usually stock a larger range of medications, including more specialized and investigational medications (medicines that are being studied, but have not yet been approved), than would be feasible in the community setting.

-Hospital pharmacies typically provide medications for the hospitalized patients only, and are not retail establishments.

-They typically do not provide prescription service to the public. Some hospitals do have retail pharmacies within them, which sell over-the-counter as well as prescription medications to the public, but these are not the actual hospital pharmacy.

MILITARY PHARMACY AND THEIR SERVICES:

A military pharmacy is a pharmacy which meets the needs of a military health care system, such as TRICARE in the United States military. Military pharmacies dispense medications to members of the military, their dependents, and military retirees. These pharmacies operate much like civilian pharmacies do, with a few key differences. Civilians with pharmacy training, including fully qualified pharmacists, can be offered signing bonuses and other benefits for joining the military to work in a pharmacy, and people without training who are interested in pharmacy work can receive training after enlistment, if they are qualified and the military needs pharmacy personnel.

Like a civilian pharmacy, a military pharmacy keeps an array of needed medications in stock, sometimes referring to these as “formulary medications.” Medications which are listed in the formulary established by the military must be available at military pharmacies, with many pharmacies using generic drugs whenever possible to save costs. Drugs outside the formulary may or may not be available, depending on the pharmacy in question, and sometimes special arrangements can be made to bring a specific medication to a particular pharmacy.

SERVICES:

Inpatient

provides comprehensive pharmaceutical care through integrated drug distribution, patient counseling and teaching.

Outpatient:

provides pharmaceutical care to active duty, retiree, and their dependent(s).

Clinical:

provides in depth medication therapy management.

NUCLEAR PHARMACY AND SERVICES:

Nuclear pharmacy is a specialty area of pharmacy practice dedicated to the compounding and dispensing of radioactive materials for use in nuclear medicine procedures. A specialty area of pharmacy practice is one that requires a concentration of knowledge in a once specific area.

As nuclear medicine procedures became more widely used, the need for someone to prepare the labeled products for administration to the patients became more evident. While many large hospitals were able to use pharmacists with training in the handling of radioactive material, smaller hospitals were unable to utilize nuclear medicine procedures because they did not have the staff to prepare the necessary doses in a cost effective manner.

As a result, in the early 1970's, the concept of centralized nuclear pharmacies was born. When developed, the centralized nuclear pharmacy served as the "drugstore" for the nuclear medicine department. When a particular radioactive material was needed, a trained nuclear pharmacist was available to prepare the product and dispense it to the end user.

When you look at a nuclear pharmacy, its operation is not much different than that of a traditional pharmacy - a "prescription" for a particular product is presented, and the nuclear pharmacist must prepare and dispense that "prescription". Where a traditional pharmacist will dispense doses in milligram weight units, a nuclear pharmacist will dispense in millicurie activity units.

Where a traditional pharmacist dispenses tablets and capsules, a nuclear pharmacist dispenses the radioactive material in liquid or capsule form. Where a traditional pharmacist will generally dispense the prescription to the patient, the nuclear pharmacist will dispense to a hospital or clinic nuclear medicine department where the dose will be administered to the patient. In general however, the 2 branches of pharmacy are strikingly similar.

AMBULATORY CARE PHARMACY AND THEIR

SERVICES:

-Ambulatory care pharmacy is based primarily on pharmacotherapy services that a pharmacist provides in a clinic.

-Pharmacists in this setting often do not dispense drugs, but rather see patients in office visits to manage chronic disease states.

- In the federal health care system (including the VA, the Indian Health Service, and NIH) ambulatory care pharmacists are given full independent prescribing authority. In some states such North Carolina and New Mexico these pharmacist clinicians are given collaborative prescriptive and diagnostic authority.

COMPOUNDING PHARMACY AND THEIR SERVICES:

-Pharmacy compounding is the art and science of preparing personalized medications for patients. Compounded medications are “made from scratch” – individual ingredients are mixed together in the exact strength and dosage form required by the patient. This method allows the compounding pharmacist to work with the patient and the prescriber to customize a medication to meet the patient’s specific needs.

-Compounding pharmacies specialize in compounding, although many also dispense the same non-compounded drugs that patients can obtain from community pharmacies.

Industrial Pharmacy or Pharmaceutical Pharmacy

and Services:The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceuticals licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic or brand medications and medical devices. They are subject to a variety of laws and regulations regarding the patenting, testing and ensuring safety and efficacy and marketing of drugs.