The Role of Pharmacists in Patient Care: Beyond Dispensing Medication

Abstract

Historically, medication dispensing has been the focal role for pharmacists. Graduated in 1884 during the establishment of Health Sciences at The University of Sydney, the key role of pharmacists clerical was preparing and dispensing medicine. With community pharmacy presents in the community through Baltimore, community pharmacy has a role in dispensing medications (Steeb, 2017). In contemporary society, community pharmacists spend a significant portion of their time and resources in a dispensing role due to diverse dispensing services. With advancements in pharmacy education and the public’s growing demand for health services, the role of community pharmacy is evolving rapidly. The scope of pharmacy services is expanding, with a transition from the product-based role as dispensers to a patient-focused role that optimises pharmacotherapy (Taylor et al., 2020). A greater emphasis on clinical pharmacy services operational nursing homes in regard to reconciliation role is increasingly evident in community practice. However, prior to the transition and implementation of enhanced clinical pharmacy services, it is vital to better understand the current perceptions of the community pharmacists’ role. There is currently limited research regarding community pharmacists’ current role perception, notably their perceptions of the expanded role. With shelf-stable medications, properly enrolled pharmacists would define medications of the patient to change the active drug substance or to modify the release. The advent of the community pharmacy in the pharmaceutical care era opened various opportunities for Australian community pharmacists with a burning passion for patient care. Recent developments of pharmacy practice globally indicate an increasing trend toward a patient-focused approach in the delivery of pharmaceutical care services. However, the practice has been challenged by diverse issues or commentaries. A better insight into the flourishing and promising pharmacist professional era is important to handle these issues. Transformed communities and the variety of health service delivery formats require versatile and all-round pharmacists. An ever-growing evidence base regarding safety consideration and health outcome betterment has confirmed the eminence of pharmaceutical care. Though relatively novel in Australia, the service has been explored and implemented by different health professional societies in practice. In Australia, although recent health policy reform is anticipated to revolutionise and better health service delivery, impediments in pharmacy practice to improve consumer protection and quality are apparent and maximal. By understanding every challenge, optimal solutions can be sought to render the reasonable expansion of the pharmacist’s role to better enhance public health.