The practice of pharmacy

The practice of pharmacy has undergone a major transformation in the twentieth century. Pharmacists have evolved from herbalists, compounding and dispensing a limited formulary of poorly controlled products to drug information specialists handling thousands of sophisticated and highly refined pharmaceutical products. Although pharmacists are still in a period of significant professional change, it is doubtful that their role in compounding and dispensing products will ever be totally replaced with other professional responsibilities. Regardless of his or her other professional duties, the pharmacist is responsible for ensuring that the products which he or she dispenses are safe, accurate, and appropriate for the patient. Hence, the pharmacist must possess skills, knowledge, and understanding of basic principles which allow him to maintain accuracy in compounding and dosing.

The skills and activities inherent in the provision of pharmaceutical care include, though are not limited to, the following:

a) patient assessment;

b) patient education and counseling;

c) patient-specific pharmacist care plans necessary for recognition,

prevention, and management of drug interactions;

d) drug treatment protocols;

e) dosage adjustment;

f) selection of therapeutic alternatives;

g) preventive services;

h) managerial skills.

An integral part of pharmaceutical care is proper documentation, which involves systematic recording of patient information, drug monitoring, data processing, inventory record maintenance for dispensing of controlled substances, and reporting information on adverse drug reactions to the local and regional Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees.

The practice of pharmacy embraces a variety of settings, patient populations, and specialist, as well as generalist, pharmaceutical settings. In today’s pharmacy practice, a pharmacist must be able to provide services in all settings, including home, hospital and ambulatory care, primary care, consultation, long-term care, and community pharmacy practice.

Pharmacy care is increasingly being augmented by activities that may be described as focused areas of practice when the pharmacist is engaged in drug monitoring for a specific drug or therapy, disease monitoring or drug disease management by protocol. A pharmacist may specialize within a narrow field of practice, or incorporate one or more areas of focused practice into a general practice of pharmacy. Examples of highly specialized practice include pharmacist-directed diabetes management clinics, hypertension clinics, hospital-based infectious disease services, and others.

II.3. Ответьте на вопросы по содержанию текста.

1. How has the practice of pharmacy changed in the twentieth century?

2. What is the chief responsibility of the pharmacist?

3. What skills do you consider to be most important for the pharmacist to possess?

4. *What activities and services do you perform in your work as a pharmacist?

5. *In which of the settings listed in the text do you work? In which would you prefer to work and why?

6. *Do you work in a specialized or general practice of pharmacy?

* Задания, помеченные звездочкой, предусмотрены для студентов заочного отделения, имеющих среднее специальное образование и опыт работы по специальности.

II.4. Найдите в тексте А эквиваленты следующих слов и словосочетаний:

специалисты в области лекарственной информации, через руки которых проходят тысячи сложных лекарств; переживать период больших перемен; обладать навыками и знаниями; соблюдать точность дозировки; образование (обучение) пациентов; распознавание, предотвращение и лечение (последствий) лекарственных взаимодействий; профилактическая служба; управленческие навыки; правильная документация; систематическая регистрация информации о пациентах; ведение инвентарного учета контролируемых лекарств; оказывать услуги во всех условиях; специализироваться в узкой области фармацевтической практики; фармацевтическая служба; на базе больницы.

II.5. Ознакомьтесь со словами к тексту В:

II.6. Найдите в правой колонке слов эквиваленты для слов и словосочетаний, обозначающих элементы оборудования, наличие которых, согласно тексту, обязательно в рецептурно-производственном отделе муниципальной аптеки.

II.7. Прочтите и переведите текст В. Назовите приборы и оборудование (из перечня, приведенного в тексте), имеющиеся в вашей аптеке. Скажите, чего у вас недостает. Используйте образец:

We’ve got... We haven’t got...

Text B