Professionals

The World Health Organization estimates that there are at least 2.6 million pharmacists and other pharmaceutical personnel worldwide.[3]

Pharmacists[edit]Main article: Pharmacist
Pharmacists are healthcare professionals with specialised education and training who perform various roles to ensure optimal health outcomes for their patients through proper medication use. Pharmacists may also be small-business proprietors, owning the pharmacy in which they practice. Since pharmacists know about the chemical synthesis mode of action of a particular drug, and its metabolism and physiological effects on the human body in great detail, they play an important role in optimisation of a drug treatment for an individual.

Pharmacists are represented internationally by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). They are represented at the national level by professional organisations such as the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in the UK, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA), the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), See also: List of pharmacy associations.

In some cases, the representative body is also the registering body, which is responsible for the regulation and ethics of the profession.

In the United States, specializations in pharmacy practice recognized by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties include: cardiovascular, infectious disease, oncology, pharmacotherapy, nuclear, nutrition, and psychiatry.[4] The Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy certifies pharmacists in geriatric pharmacy practice. The American Board of Applied Toxicology certifies pharmacists and other medical professionals in applied toxicology.

Pharmacy technicians[edit]Main article: Pharmacy technician
Pharmacy technicians support the work of pharmacists and other health professionals by performing a variety of pharmacy related functions, including dispensing prescription drugs and other medical devices to patients and instructing on their use. They may also perform administrative duties in pharmaceutical practice, such as reviewing prescription requests with doctor's offices and insurance companies to ensure correct medications are provided and payment is received.

A Pharmacy Technician in the UK is considered a health care professional and often does not work under the direct supervision of a pharmacist (if employed in a hospital pharmacy) but instead is supervised and managed by other senior pharmacy technicians. In the UK the role of a PhT has grown and responsibility has been passed on to them to manage the pharmacy department and specialised areas in pharmacy practice allowing pharmacists the time to specialise in their expert field as medication consultants spending more time working with patients and in research. A pharmacy technician once qualified has to register as a professional on the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register. The GPhC is the governing body for pharmacy health care professionals and this is who regulates the practice of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.