Pharmacists are trained health professionals who work with a variety of prescribed and over-the-counter medications each day. A pharmacist is required to properly handle medications to ensure patient safety and dosage requirements that have been ordered and prescribed by the patient's doctor. Pharmacists frequently interact with patients and answer any questions or concerns related to the medication that is being prescribed to them. It is also the pharmacist's responsibility to understand the laws about each type of medication that is being prescribed to be aware of any potential liability from selling the medication to an underage patient or distributing a medication that is not legal for purchase at the time. Abiding by all federal and state laws when distributing any type of medication is required for all pharmacists.
Researching and consistently learning about new medications and prescribing trends helps to ensure patients are not receiving medications that can cause a negative interactions or side effects. Keeping patients from abusing medications that are being excessively prescribed is also a duty of anyone working as a pharmacist. Pharmacists also understand how to store, use and monitor the side effects of all prescribed drugs. Most pharmacists work within dispensaries at hospitals, doctors' offices and drugstores and generally have traditional work hours.
Pharmacist Tasks
- Educate patient on medication use, storage and side effects.
- Solicit information from patients regarding past and current medication to prevent drug interactions.
- May collaborate with other health care professionals to plan, monitor, review and evaluate patient effectiveness.
- Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions.
- Dispense and review prescriptions to ensure accuracy, and compliance with professional, state and federal regulatory requirements.
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