A brief introduction
Pharmacy is a discipline that exists within the boundaries of the overall health care system. The professionals who practice pharmacy are referred to as pharmacists; a few people, however, refer pharmacists as drug therapy experts. The pharmacists provide therapy evaluations, recommendations, and, quite importantly, medications to patients as well as health care professionals. The clinical pharmacists who work in specialty pharmacy sectors often solve complex medical problems such as:-
- Hemophilia
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Organ transplants
- Hepatitis C
- Multiple sclerosis
- HIV
- Oncology
The role of pharmacists, in general, has been viewed as someone who dispenses drugs and gives medications to patients.
Knowledge possessed by a clinical pharmacist
A drug therapy expert has medical knowledge that suffices for letting patients know:-
- The disease they suffer from
- The possible drug or medication required to get rid of the disease (although doctor’s consultancy is important)
- The probable side effects for the prescribed drugs or medications
Every aspiring drug therapy expert has to take Bpharma courses in Dehradun. Only after successfully completing an educational program of pharmacy, an aspirer can get absorbed in the worlds of medicines and drug production.
The role of a clinical pharmacist
More often than not, the pharmacists are engaged in the production of specialty drugs that can cure even the most chronic, acute conditions. Pharmacists have unique pharmacology profiles and easily monitor (the manufacturing) as well as handle life-saving medications.
Also, drug therapists have to ensure that medications are manufactured as per the prescribed norms and standards. Non-adherence can possibly lead to:-
- Increased health care costs (estimated costs have spiralled up to $100 billion in the U.S.A. alone)
- Worse therapeutic outcomes
- Higher hospitalization rates
Why more and more patients do not wish to have prescribed medications?
A general negative idea permeates for medications among patients. Medicines bring frown on every face, however, they are important. No one can ignore medicines if their need is essential. Specialty medications, in most cases, are necessary for saving lives of patients. Therefore, skipping such medication schedules can cause life-threatening circumstances to develop. Close to 50 percent of patients do not consume the prescribed medications. However, why do people skip prescribed medications? It is because of a dearth of professional pharmacists to dispense drugs accurately.
Some common reasons why people avoid medications are:-
- Specialty drugs are very expensive. Such medicines burn a hole in the pocket.
- The absence of educated pharmacists has taken the wind out of the sail of many to take the right drug.
- Adverse side effects of specialty drugs
Many drug therapy experts and pharmacies have designed specialized disease management programs to combat the reasons of non-compliance toward necessary medications.
The various roles of a clinical pharmacist
On any day, a clinical pharmacist has to act as a:-
- Research analyst
- Pharmacokinetic guru
- Patient’s advocate
- Educational psychologist
Each of the above-mentioned roles is successfully performed once a person has completed the program of Bachelor of Pharmacy.