Pharmacy's Scope of Practice and Role
in Interprofessional Healthcare

Role of Pharmacy in Interdisciplinary Health Care

Pharmacists, perhaps the most accessible member of the health care team, provide a broad array of pharmaceutical services, for the purpose of achieving specific therapeutic outcomes that contribute to an improved quality of life for patients. The widely recognized task of preparing and dispensing medications is but one aspect of contemporary pharmacy practice. Drug discovery, development, production and distribution continue to undergird the pharmacy profession as contemporary emphasis refocuses practice on the application of drug-related knowledge through pharmaceutical care. Pharmacists have a long held respect for collaboration and an interprofessional approach to patient care. This attitude of respect allows pharmacists to view the multi professional practice arena as a stimulating environment in which to deliver this knowledge to patients. Pharmacists perform several major tasks on behalf of patients including:

• Identifying potential and actual medication-related problems,
• Resolving actual medication-related problems, and
• Preventing medication-related problems.

Additionally, pharmacists act daily in concert with other health care providers to attain good patient outcomes through leadership in:

• Drug evaluations and analysis
• Drug therapy management
• Pharmacoeconomic analysis
• Drug adherence management