Pharmacy in Practice

Pharmacists are experts in medicines and their use. Most pharmacists practice in either community pharmacies or hospital settings where they are responsible for:

Increasingly pharmacists focus on effective medicines management and aim to optimise the benefit that patients gain from their prescribed treatment as well as the supply of medicines.  Pharmacists can also train as independent prescribers.

In hospitals, many pharmacists have specialist clinical roles reflecting the increased complexity of modern medicines treatments.  This involves advising clinicians on the pharmaceutical and therapeutic aspects of drug use and many pharmacists specialise in areas including:  

Pharmacists working in hospitals are valued members of multidisciplinary teams working with other clinicians to improve patient outcomes.

Hospital pharmacists also work in specialist areas of:

In community pharmacies, the traditional role of pharmacists is

However, community pharmacists also provide a range of medicines management and public health services including:

They also work closely with local communities to address health inequalities through the work of the Building the Community Pharmacy Partnership .  

Pharmacists also work for:

Information on what pharmacists do

What to expect from your pharmacist