pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health science and practice concerned with medicines, their discovery, characterization, production, distribution, dispensation, and appropriate use. It encompasses the design and formulation of pharmaceutical products, quality assurance, pharmacovigilance, and patient care. Pharmacists are trained professionals who prepare, dispense, and counsel patients on medications, while also collaborating with other health care providers to optimize therapy.

Practice areas include community or retail pharmacy, hospital or clinical pharmacy, and pharmaceutical industry roles such as drug development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs, and pharmacovigilance. In community settings, pharmacists provide medication dispensing, dose adjustment, adherence support, and information about side effects and interactions. In hospitals, clinical pharmacists work within patient care teams to optimize medication therapy and safety. Pharmacy also includes compounding, logistics, and the use of automation and health information technology to manage inventories and records.

Education and regulation: entry typically requires a professional degree in pharmacy (for example PharmD, BPharm, or MPharm), followed by licensure or registration in the relevant jurisdiction and ongoing continuing professional development. Regulatory authorities, pharmacopoeias, and drug registries oversee product quality, safety, and appropriate prescribing practices.

History and impact: modern pharmacy evolved from ancient apothecaries into specialized pharmaceutical sciences. The development of formal education, standardized drug regulation, and clinical pharmacy has shaped the profession into a patient-centered field that advances public health, rational medicine use, and access to safe therapies.