Community Pharmacy (W. 23)

"Community pharmacy means any place under the supervision of a pharmacist where the practice of pharmacy occurs or where prescription orders are compounded and dispensed other than a hospital pharmacy or a limited-service pharmacy."

• Community pharmacy is also known as retail pharmacy.
• Community pharmacy is a diverse, dynamic and constantly changing practice environment comprising of several different practice settings and offering many opportunities for pharmacy practitioners.
• The main aim of community pharmacy is to educate the community about health and disease.
• Community pharmacy is a pharmacy that deals with people in local area.

Scope of Community Pharmacy Practice

The community pharmacy practice has a scope in various areas of healthcare system which are as follows:

1. In processing prescriptions: In the community pharmacy practice, the legality, safety and appropriateness of the prescription order is verified and the patient medication record is checked before dispensing the prescription. This helps to ensure that the quantities of medication dispensed are accurate, and decide whether the medication should be handed to the patient.
2. Clinical pharmacy: The community pharmacies seek to collect and integrate information about the patients medication history and dosage regimen.
3. Patient care: The community pharmacies provide advice on the mode of administration and precautions to be taken while taking prescribed medicines to the patients based on their records of medication history.
4. Drug monitoring: The community pharmacies are involved in research projects and schemes to analyze prescriptions for the monitoring of adverse drug reactions.
5. Extemporaneous preparation: In community pharmacy, medicines are prepared in small quantities following good manufacturing and distribution practice guidelines.
6. Alternative medicines: In some community pharmacies, traditional medicines and homeopathic prescriptions are dispensed and supplied to the patients.
7. Checking symptoms of minor ailments: Community pharmacies supply non-prescription medicine with advice to consult a medical practitioner, if the symptoms persist for more than a few days. Additionally, patients are advised on the symptoms of minor ailments without supplying medicines.
8. Healthcare professionals: Community pharmacies provide the necessary information to other healthcare professionals and to patients, and use it in promoting the rational use of drug by providing advice and explanations to physicians and to members of the public.
9. Counselor: Community pharmacies provide an advisory, supply and counselling service to residential homes for the elderly, and other long-term patients.
10. In prophylaxis and health promotion: They take part in health promotion campaigns at local and national levels, on a wide range of health-related and drug-related topics and topics concerned with other health problems and family planning.

Role of Community Pharmacists

Community pharmacist: A community pharmacist (drug specialist) is the professional who is in direct access to the public and whose duties are widely required for the public and patients.

Community pharmacist plays an important role in reducing the mortality and morbidity in the public.

The community pharmacists play following roles in the healthcare system:

1. Processing prescription: Community pharmacists check prescription order from the physicians and prepare medicines for the patient.
2. Checking for drug interactions: Community pharmacists make sure that the medicines and doses are appropriate, considering health factors and other medicines under use by patients.
3. Dispensing of medicines: A community pharmacist, labels the medication correctly with instructions for the patient about how and when to take the medicines. He dispenses medicines with a prescription and in certain cases without a prescription as for OTC drugs.
4. Disposal of medicines: Community pharmacists collect unwanted used/unused medicines from patients and dispose them safely as per disposal guidelines.
5. Providing advice: Community pharmacists help patients to understand their health and medicines and give appropriate advice for rational use of drugs and provide information on the administration and storage of the medicines.
6. Counselling: Community pharmacists support patients through personal counselling to make healthier choices such as food habits, importance of exercise, regular checkups, etc.
7. Women welfare and infant care: Community pharmacists guide the mother in the matters of personal hygiene and management. They encourage breastfeeding and can play a major role by guiding the mothers for the protection of the child by following proper immunization schedule.
8. Patient education: Community pharmacist can educate people in the prevention of HIV/AIDS by explaining to what HIV is, its transmission, risk reduction, etc.
9. Alcohols, drug abuse and smoking cessation: Community pharmacists help individuals who are dependent of alcohol and drug abuse. They take an active role in helping the smokers to stop smoking and advising on the products available to assist the patients in giving up smoking.
10. Family planning: Community pharmacist talks about various family planning measures available in the market and educates the people and convinces them about the advantages of having small families.

Q .2. Write a note on "history and development of community pharmacy". (S. 23)

History and Development of Community Pharmacy

• History of community pharmacy (drugstore) is as old as human development where man adapted the speciality of recovering through cool water, a leaf and soil or mud.
• Middle Easterners were the primary who began proficient drugstore setups.
• The primary ever sedate store in the world was built in Baghdad.
• The preparatory type of drugstore spread later to Egypt, antiquated China and furthermore to Europe.
• In 1763, Benjamin Franklin contacted the Principal community pharmacists in Pennsylvania Doctors facility, for the drugstore calling.
• In 1729, the first community pharmacy was founded in Philadelphia.
• The first college in India where professional training was given to students for treating patient with drugs was Madras Medical College established in 1835.
• The first two years professional course 'chemist and druggist diploma' was started in Madras Medical College in 1874.
• In 1932, pharmacy education was started at Banaras Hindu University and introduced Bachelor's Pharmaceutical Chemistry and was the first university to start a 3-year bachelor's program in pharmacy.
• Proficient drugstore instruction began in Banaras Hindu College in 1937. In the same year in Punjab, Lord Edward Douglas MacLagan began a similar entire drugstore program. This prompted the creation of community pharmacists equipped for running a community pharmacy.
• Community pharmacists (drug specialists) offer an asset to take part in instructive projects that encouraged and enhanced collaboration between group drugstores and private offices.

Q .3. Discuss international and Indian scenario of development and community pharmacy practice. (S. 24)

International and Indian Scenario of Development of Community Pharmacy

• Pharmacy is a multidisciplinary profession, which connects health sciences with chemical sciences and aims to ensure the safe and effective use of pharmaceuticals.
• Pharmacists comprise the third largest healthcare professionals in the world.
• Today, community pharmacist's role has been transited from dispensing to pharmaceutical care by maximizing the benefits of medications and their safety.

International Scenario

In developed countries, community pharmacy is positioned at top second contrast to other alternate professions. In developing countries only 10% of entire pharmacists works in community pharmacies, while in sub-developing countries only 2% of aggregate personnel and community pharmacists are working as community pharmacists.

Developed Countries

Developed countries have clearly established the role of community pharmacists by providing them with knowledge and techniques to counsel patients, provide information about medicines and disease conditions or advice about lifestyle modifications, drug administration, dosage side effects, storage of drugs and drug--drug and drug--food interactions.

Developing Countries

In contrast to developed countries, community pharmacy practice in developing countries is underutilized. In developing nations, difficulties include deficiency of community pharmacists, underutilization of community pharmacists, poor acknowledgement of community pharmacy and pharmacists as a human services supplier, poor education to these professionals and appointment of poor attendants (laymen) to run community pharmacies.

Sub-developing and Underdeveloped Countries

The absence of assets and associations, it is hard to obtain the real scenario of community pharmacy practice in underdeveloped and sub-developed countries.

These nations include Ghana, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Tanzania.

Indian Scenario

• The pharmacy profession in India is evolving due to industrialization and increase in patient needs, leading to an increase in the demand of pharmacists.
• According to the PCI New Delhi, there are about 8 lakh registered pharmacists in India. Presently, there are around 7 lakh retail pharmacies in India and most of them are located in the urban areas.
• The community pharmacy sector is the prime source of medicine for both ambulatory and hospitalized patients.
• The activity of community pharmacy practice is regulated by Pharmacy Act, 1948 and Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945.
• In developed states of India, such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the key role that pharmacists offer is patient counselling.
• Community pharmacists play an important role in providing quality healthcare through patient counselling.
• The pharmacy officers are working under a medical officer at the Community Health Centres (CHC) and Primary Health Centres (PHC) levels.
• The problem faced by community pharmacies includes inadequate incentives and profit margin, overcrowding of pharmacies in urban and semi-urban areas.
• Community pharmacy includes corporate pharmacy chain, pharmacy department in supermarket, and independently owned retail pharmacy.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS IN BOLD LETTERS

1. Pharmacists are registered under the Clause (i) and Section (2) of the Pharmacy Act, 1948.
2. Community pharmacy is the pharmacy which links between the community and health.
3. Pharmacists working in India must have a pharmacist registration certificate issued by the state comes under provisions of the Pharmacy Act, 1948.
4. To obtain a registration certificate, the pharmacist must acquire the minimum diploma in pharmacy.
5. Community pharmacy is also known as retail pharmacy.
6. A community pharmacy is a pharmacy that deals directly with people in local area.
7. The history of community pharmacy in India starts with opening of chemist shop in 1811.
8. The first regular two-year course for "chemist and druggist diploma" was started at Chennai.
9. All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) was formed in 1979.
10. In 1729, the first community pharmacy was founded in Philadelphia.
11. John Buchner discovered salicin in willow bark.
12. The first pharmacopoeia of world is published in Nuremberg, Germany.
13. The first degree pharmacy program was started in BHU in the year 1932.
14. In 1993, the International Pharmaceutical Federation adopted the guidelines for GPP.
15. WHO published the first International Pharmacopoeia in Geneva, Switzerland in 1951.