Submitted to: Sir Irfan

Submitted by:Umme Yarza

Sap id: 70059151
Semester: 6th A

Department of pharmacy
Practical application and aspects of community pharmacy

COMMUNITY PHARMACIST:
Community pharmacists work at the front line of healthcare in cities, towns and villages.
They work from their own pharmacies or out of local healthcare centres and doctor’s
surgeries. As a community pharmacist your job would be all about helping patients and the
public, assessing their conditions and making decisions about which medicines they should
take. Pharmacists are the experts on medicines. A pharmacist has studied the composition
and actions of drugs and will be able to tell patients/customers all they need to know about
medicines.

APPLICATION ANS ASPECTS:

1. Dispense Prescriptions:
This is the "filling, licking and sticking" most people imagine when they conjure a mental
image of a pharmacist counting out tablets, preparing a bottle label and handling medications
to patients.

2. Communicate With Prescribers:

Any time a prescription order is unclear or potentially harmful for a patient, you need to
confirm the dosage and formulation (e.g., liquid or tablet), as well as whether brand name
product is required or if you can substitute a generic equivalent.

3. Ensure Patients' Safety:

Check each patients’ medication record every time he or she gets a new or refill prescription
filled. This is the best way for a pharmacist to prevent potentially dangerous interactions
between drugs.

4. Counsel Patients;
This involves more than informing about adverse reactions and interactions with other
medications, food, alcohol and other beverages like grapefruit juice. Counseling includes
training patients how and when to take doses, following up with patients to see if medications
are working, sharing tips on how to minimize side effects while maximizing benefits and
listening to all of a patient's concerns.

5. Work With Patients on General Health:

Maintaining health requires more than taking prescription medications, Pharmacists can help
patients heal and avoid getting sick by sharing advice on using nonprescription remedies,
taking health supplements such as vitamins, using herbal and natural health products,
exercising and maintaining a good diet.

6. Manage Staff:
Pharmacists have the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the “three Rs” of right drug, right
patient and right dose. Meeting this responsibility requires overseeing the work of and
mentoring pharmacy technicians, student interns and residents. Pharmacy owners and
supervisors also have responsibilities for making hiring decisions and setting and enforcing
workplace policies.

7. Perform Administrative Tasks:

Everyone in a pharmacy has some responsibilities for keeping patient files up to date, making
sure needed products are stocked and required reports get generated and filed. If you hold a
supervisor or management position, you can spend as much or more time on administrative
duties as on patient care.

8. Pharmacists as a Community Resource

Medication errors and interactions have a financial cost as well as an impact on the well-
being of an individual. When patients become ill due to safety issues, recovery time increases.
As the health care industry and patients look at ways to reduce health care costs, community
pharmacists can be part of the solution.

9. Arranging campaigns:
Community pharmacists can also organise public health campaigns, health screenings, blood
donations and health talks to promote health and well-being of the community.community
pharmacists is to provide you with health advice and health education on disease prevention
such as weight reduction, smoking cessation, and healthy lifestyle. They also help raise
awareness and share important information on the latest health issues within the local
community.

10. Consumer demand:

Changes in disease and demographic patterns, and better standards of living have impacted
patient perceptions and expectations of health, leading to increased demand for medical care.
Resource constraints complicate access to expensive and sophisticated treatment in many
developing countries. By addressing such types of issues, that is by meeting the patients’
expectation health care providers can bring a positive change in the system, provided all
healthcare professionals work in their own domains and honor the domains of their peer
professionals.

Conclusion:
Pharmacists play a vital role connecting patients and medical professionals. They are
specially trained to help manage side effects and counsel patients on taking multiple
medications effectively and safely, and they are also more easily accessible than physicians.
Community pharmacists offer a trusted environment in which to reduce medication errors and
improve safety, while reducing costs and improving the quality of care.
Due to their accessibility and flexibility, community pharmacies are well suited to support
and reach out to those with diabetes, particularly those who may be most at need. An
increased public awareness of the skill set and role pharmacists have to play is key to
building public trust.
It is hoped that with increasing recognition in government policy this will begin to be
achieved. Measures also need to be put in place to facilitate improved communication and
collaboration with other healthcare professionals and services, so that pharmacists can offer a
synergistic role, becoming more fully integrated and equipped to facilitate a more responsive
and flexible healthcare system.
References:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-9-pharmacist-responsibilities-2663854
https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/communitypharmacists_medsafety

https://www.segi.edu.my/blog/the-life-of-a-community-pharmacist

http://as4qol.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/jas4qol-3-3-1.20170930.pdf