By monitoring patients in that process, the pharmacist has the opportunity to identify mistakes and other difficulties that could result in errors in drug administration. In a more general sense, pharmacists represent a valuable source of medical information for patients that could help prevent or identify problems before they manifest themselves in presentations that, in the most serious cases, result in unnecessary emergencies and hospitalizations. Technology and Communications:
The evolution of modern technology has had a profound effect on the pharmacy profession, just as it has on medicine in general. Computerization of internal systems, mobile communication, instantaneous access to published research, advisories, and warnings enables the professional pharmacist to provide comprehensive care that far exceeds mere drug dispensation and distribution.
The age of Internet connectivity means that all communications devices and data storage systems are now interconnected. Beyond the logistical and patient safety considerations with which interconnectivity in pharmacy facilitates direct communication of timely information, these technological tools also allow a qualitative difference in the manner in which physicians and pharmacists collaborate to provide quality patient care.
Specifically, pharmacists now have immediate access to physicians' notes and vice-versa, by virtue of the capability of modern system technologies to record entries directly into patient charts. In addition to the general benefit of saving valuable time (on both ends) required to confirm problematic information, the mutual access to the entire patient history and to all professional notes dramatically decreases the relative likelihood of mistake by increasing the ability of pharmacists to identify them before they result in harm to patients.
The Evolution of Modern Pharmacy:
The pharmacy profession has evolved profoundly since the days when pharmacists worked in a little room within a drug store when their main responsibility was to count pills and fill orders. Certainly, drug dispensation...
Second, the evolution of modern medicine, health science, and drug therapy necessarily involves more responsibility on the part of the patient. That, in turn, requires greater patient education, which in many instances, comes from the pharmacist.
The challenges of pharmacy still emphasize efficiency and safety, two competing concerns that sometimes cause frustration among patients. From the perspective of the patient, it is a very simple matter for the pharmacist to read a prescription and simply fill it from the stock shelves, something that should not take longer than a few minutes.
However, from the pharmacist's perspective, each prescription requires a more careful review of the patient's history, concurrent medications, non-pharmaceutical contraindications, and notes entered into the patient's medical record. In this regard, greater communication between pharmacist and patient would also increase patient appreciation for the complexities required to ensure their safety against mistake and oversight. Conclusion:
All three interview subjects shared the view that the pharmacy profession has evolved tremendously since the middle of the 20th century, although only one actually practiced in that era. Naturally, perspectives differed by virtue of specific vocational setting because the daily responsibilities associated with hospital and outpatient pharmacy differ so much. Nevertheless, all the subjects expressed similar concern for the importance of their role in ensuring patient safety. It was surprising to the interviewer that the oldest subject, at the age of 72, expressed the greatest imagination in implementing the latest technological advances for pharmacy applications, only because one might have expected such a subject to be more reluctant to depart from traditional methods.
