Skip to main content

Pharmacy

 Pharmacy is the clinical health science that links medical science with chemistry and it is charged with the discovery, production, disposal, safe and effective use, and control of medications and drugs. The practice of pharmacy requires excellent knowledge of drugs, their mechanism of action, side effects, interaction, mobility and toxicity. At the same time, it requires knowledge of treatment and understanding of pathological process. Some specialties of pharmacists, such as that of clinical pharmacists, require other skills, e.g. knowledge about the acquisition and evaluation of physical and laboratory data.

The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing of medications, and it also includes more modern services related to health care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information. Pharmacists, therefore, are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize the use of medication for the benefit of patients.

An establishment in which pharmacy (in the first sense) is practiced is called pharmacy (this term is more common in the United States) or the chemist's (which is more common in Great Britain  although pharmacy is also used). In the United States and Canada, drugstores commonly sell medicines, as well as miscellaneous items such as confectionery, cosmetics, office supplies, toys, hair care products and magazines, and occasionally refreshments and groceries.


In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients, the work of the apothecary may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology, prior to the formulation of the scientific method.

The field of pharmacy may be generally divided as follows:
  • Pharmaceutics
  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy
  • Pharmacy Practice
The boundaries between these disciplines and with other sciences  such as biochemistry, are not always clear-cut. Often, collaborative teams from various disciplines (pharmacists and other scientists) work together toward the introduction of new therapeutics and methods for patient care. However, pharmacy is not a basic or biomedical science in its typical form. Medicinal chemistry is also a distinct branch of synthetic chemistry combining pharmacology, organic chemistry, and chemical biology.

Pharmacology is sometimes considered the fourth discipline of pharmacy. Although pharmacology is essential to the study of pharmacy, it is not specific to pharmacy. Both disciplines are distinct. Those who wish to practice both pharmacy (patient-oriented) and pharmacology (a biomedical science requiring the scientific method) receive separate training and degrees unique to either discipline.

Pharmacoinformatics is considered another new discipline, for systematic drug discovery and development with efficiency and safety.

Pharmacogenomics is the study of genetic-linked variants that affect patient clinical responses, allergies, and metabolism of drugs.

x--------x

This post is sponsored by Rolex.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stoichiometry

 Stoichiometry refers to the relationship between the quantities of reactants and products before, during, and following chemical  reactions. Stoichiometry was founded on the law of conservation of mass where the total mass of the reactants equals the total mass of the products, leading to the insight that the relations among qualities of reactants and products typically form a ratio of positive integers. This means that if the amounts of separate reactants are known, then the amount of the product can be calculated. Conversely, if one reactant has a known quantity and the quantity of the products can be empirically determined, then the amount of other reactants can also be calculated. This is illustrated in this example, where the balanced equation is:          CH4 + 2O4 -----> CO2 + 2H2O Here, one molecule of methane reacts with two molecules of oxygen gas to yield one molecule of carbon dioxide and two molecules of water. This particular chemical...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gospel Harmony

 A gospel harmony is an attempt to collate the Christian canonical gospels into a single account. Harmonies are constructed by some writers in order to make the gospel story available to a wider audience, both religious and secular. Harmonies can be studied by scholars to establsh a coherent chronology of the events depicted in the four canonical gospels in the life of Jesus, to better understand how the accounts relate to each other, and to critically evaluate their differences. The terms harmony  and synopsis  have been used to several different approaches to consolidating the canonical gospels. Technically, a "harmony" weaves together sections of scripture into a single narrative, merging the four gospels. There are four main types of harmony : radical, synthetic, sequential, and parallel. By a contrast, a "synopsis," much like a parallel harmony, juxtaposes similar texts or accounts in parallel format, synchronized by time, while preserving their individual iden...
Post a Comment
Read more

Narrative Conflict

In works of narrative, conflict is the challenge main characters need to solve to achieve their goals. Traditionally, conflict is a major literary element of narrative or dramatic structure that creates challenges in a story by adding uncertainty as to whether the goal will be achieved. A narrative is not limited to a single conflict. While conflicts may not always resolve in narrative, the resolution of a conflict creates closure or fulfillment, which may or may not occur at a story's end. Conflict in literature refers to the different drives of the characters or forces involved. Conflict may be internal or external--that is, it can occur within a character's mind or between a character and exterior forces (or point/s of view). Conflict is most visible between two or more characters, usually between a protagonist and antagonist/villain/enemy, but can occur in many different forms. A character may as easily find himself or herself in conflict with a natural force, such as an an...
Post a Comment
Read more