What is Community Pharmacists

Delivering their services to large mass, community pharmacists are the health professionals most accessible to the public. They supply medicines in accordance with a prescription or, when legally permitted, sell them without a prescription. In addition to ensuring an accurate supply of appropriate products, their professional activities also cover counseling of patients at the time of dispensing of prescription and non-prescription drugs, drug information to health professionals, patients and the general public, and participation in health-promotion programs. They maintain links with other health professionals in primary health care.

The activities of community pharmacists are described below :

• Processing of prescription
• Care of patients or clinical pharmacy
• Monitoring of drug utilization
• Extemporaneous preparation and small scale manufacture of medicines
• Traditional and alternative
• Responding to symptoms of minor ailments
• Informing health care professionals and the public
• Health promotion
• Domiciliary services
• Agricultural and veterinary practice

Community Practice in India

A community pharmacy is also referred as retail pharmacy or retail drug outlets, is places where medicines are stored and dispensed, supplied or sold. The general population usually calls community pharmacies ‘medicine stores’

Predicting a Change

If unofficial estimates are to be believed, there are over 600,000 licensed retail outlets for medicines sale and supply. In India, consumer’s expectations from community pharmacists are that the medication should be effective, safe, and affordable. Other expectations from Indian pharmacists would be dispense the drugs according to the rules with proper advice on how and when medicines should be taken, and what to do in the case of adverse reactions as well as the provision of advice on common ailments.

In Nutshell, India faces massive challenges in providing health care for its vast and growing population. Despite many barriers, community pharmacy services are central to the safe and effective medicines management in advancing health.