Pharmaceutical Public Health Roles of a Pharmacist
Learning Outcomes
Be able to:
- Illustrate areas where pharmacists can have a significant impact on public health
Introduction
ðActivity 1
What can Pharmacists do to improve the health of the community or population?
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Self Reflection Exercise
From your current knowledge and understanding of Pharmaceutical Public Health and pharmacy practice services in your own country and local area within that country. Consider the following:
- What do you understand by the term pharmaceutical public health?
- What local and national initiatives or services contribute towards pharmaceutical public health in your country?
- What roles do pharmacists currently have or, in the future, could have in improving the health of communities or populations?
- What medicines usage data and information is available at a national, local or individual pharmacy level in your country that may be utilised to inform the public health agenda?
- Are there any key players, stakeholders or champions leading the development of pharmaceutical public health in your country or locality?
- Do you agree or disagree that pharmacists are underutilised in the area of public health?
Pharmacists, especially community pharmacists, have always been recognised as suppliers of medicines, but also as providers of health education, medicinesârelated information and a variety of other services that come under the public health umbrella. Historically, in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the UK, these additional education or information services have often provided free of charge. However, as we have said before, increasingly the governments of many developed countries are realising that pharmacists offer a highly accessible, wellâtrained, skilled and motivated workforce that would allow them to better meet the public health goals and priorities for their populations. Likewise, international public health organisations such as the WHO have also recognised that pharmacists may also provide a useful additional public health workforce in many developing countries where there are currently shortages of other health professionals. In some countries, such as the UK, pharmacy professional bodies are now working closely with government bodies and public health professional bodies to develop public health services and pharmacies are
contracted and paid to provide these services from community pharmacies.
Using the UK as the exemplar country, we will now examine the potential skills that pharmacists can offer in the area of public health, the development of pharmaceutical public health services and the priorities that both government and the professional bodies have determined for pharmaceutical public health.
Learning Activity
- What public health activities are UK pharmacists involved in as part of their roles in primary and secondary care?
- What are the roles of academia and the pharmaceutical industry in the development of pharmaceutical public health?
- Is there a need for the development of pharmacist public health specialists?
- What are the suggested training needs for pharmacists working in the area of pharmaceutical public health?
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