PHARMACISTS' ROLE IN COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION

Abstract

The role of the pharmacist in community health and disease prevention is rapidly evolving. Pharmacists find themselves being pulled away from their traditional roles and instead assisting patients with an increased emphasis on health and disease prevention. This focus is partly a result of soaring healthcare costs and an overwhelming shift towards self-care across the world (Steeb, 2017). Though this is encouraging news in efforts to improve the overall health of patients, particularly in less affluent communities around the world, it also brings attention to the importance of pharmacists’ training and expertise. The purpose of this article is to explore the innovative roles that pharmacists are taking on in community health and disease prevention. Historically, the role of the pharmacist has focused around product-centered services such as compounding and dispensing medications. For many years, the question of how to find a role for pharmacists in public health seemed rhetorical, with the common belief that pharmacists could not leave their pharmacies due to ethical and legal reasons. However, recently more attention has been given to what the role of the pharmacist could be within public health. The World Health Organization identifies the following components of public health: health condition, health promotion, health protection, preventive health, and health services. These components are accomplished through the work of health departments and can be broken down into a set of ten essential public health services. At least some of these services are easily adaptable to the pharmacist’s understanding and expertise of medications and their use. In many developed countries, pharmacy services have evolved to incorporate elements of public health and have been utilizing pharmacists to promote health in their communities.