Pharmacy

Pharmacy (from the Greek φάρμακον = drug) is the profession of compounding and dispensing medication. More recently, the term has come to include other services related to patient care including clinical practice, medication review, and drug information. Some of these new roles are now mandated by law in various legislatures. Pharmacists, therefore, are drug therapy experts and the primary health professionals who optimize medication management to produce positive health-outcomes.

Separation of prescribing from dispensing

In most jurisdictions (such as the United States), pharmacists are regulated separately from physicians. That is, the legislation stipulates that the practice of prescribing must be separate from the practice of dispensing. These jurisdictions also usually specify that only pharmacists may supply scheduled pharmaceuticals to the public, and that pharmacists cannot form business partnerships with physicians or give them "kickback" payments.

Related Topics:
United States - Pharmacist - Physician - Pharmaceutical - Partnership

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In the minority of jurisdictions (such as China), doctors are allowed to dispense drugs themselves and the practice of pharmacy is integrated with that of the physician.

Related Topics:
Jurisdiction - China - Doctor - Drug - Practice - Physician

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The reason for the majority rule is the high risk of a conflict of interest. Otherwise, the physician has a financial self-interest in "diagnosing" as many conditions as possible, and in exaggerating their seriousness, because he can then sell more medications to the patient. Such self-interest directly conflicts with the patient's interest in obtaining cost-effective medication.

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