THE “PHARMACISTS’ PRODUCT” IS BEING REDEFINED    

 

Pharmacists use their scope of competency framework to address medication-related needs of individuals and populations.  The Pharmacy Profession evolves from one that focuses on compounding and dispensing drugs to a profession that seeks to achieve “value (positive therapeutic and economic outcomes)” as the “product” of cognitive pharmaceutical services.

Patients and payers still view the “Pharmacist’s Product” as the “dispensed tangible drug”. However, pharmacy practice in the 21. Century includes the delivery of “patient-centered” and “outcome-focused” care, working within interprofessional teams, practicing evidence-based medicine, engaging in pharmacy practice innovation, and pharmacy service quality improvement, all of which are the “Pharmacists’s Intangible Product”. 

“The Pharmacist’s Intangible Product Spectrum” can be a concept (e.g., pharmaceutical care), an innovation (e.g., pharmacist prescribing), a process (e.g., Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process), a competency (e.g., patient interview), a practice (e.g., comprehensive medication review), a service (e.g., drug information service), a public health procedure (e.g., cholesterol screening), an activity (e.g., a poison prevention campaign), an intervention (e.g., improving patient adherence), a project (e.g., a health promotion project), or a program (e.g., smoking cessation).

The “competency standards” describe the level of competence required for pharmacists to reflect on their practice, to identify needs for continuous professional development and to acquire new competencies to advance their practice systematically. “Competency Framework for Pharmacists” should be redesigned to enable the Pharmacists to deliver their “redefined product” effectively and efficiently. Expert skill and knowledge pertaining to “pharmapreneurship (pharmacy entrepreneurship”), “innovation in pharmacy practice”, and “pharmacoeconomic analysis of pharmacy services” is of paramount importance within this context.

 

Professor Nazmi ÖZER, PhD

GAU, Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy                 

Medya-14.5.24 - 'MESAJ' - İNGİLİZCE.docx