Vision and Mission for the Pharmacy Profession

** The original link posted above is no longer available. I believe it was a statement from the APhA about the vision and mission of the pharmacy profession. I will instead focus on what my vision for the pharmacy profession is and how organizations like APhA are helping towards it. 

I think it’s crucial to understand how far our profession has come and its roots. The history of the pharmacy profession is a rich tapestry that spans ancient civilizations, evolving through distinct phases. In the ancient world, pharmacists, often in the role of priests or shamans, prepared remedies from plants, minerals, and animal products in cultures such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India. The Greek physician Hippocrates emphasized the compounding of medicines, laying the ethical foundation for the profession. During the Islamic Golden Age, scholars made significant contributions, translating and expanding upon Greek and Roman knowledge. The Renaissance marked a revival of scientific interest in pharmacy, leading to formal education and the establishment of pharmaceutical societies. This is when apothecaries played a crucial role in compounding and dispensing medications.  The 18th and 19th centuries brought standardization, with the introduction of educational requirements and licensing, while the mid-20th century witnessed significant advancements in drug development. The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) was founded in 1852, becoming one of the first professional organizations for pharmacists in the United States. In recent decades, pharmacists have expanded their roles to include clinical services and medication management, reflecting ongoing advancements in technology and a focus on personalized medicine. Today, the pharmacy profession continues to play a vital role in ensuring the safe and effective use of medications within the broader healthcare system.

As our profession continues to grow, the needs of the healthcare system will too.  The profession has easily adapted to societal needs, scientific advancements, and changes in healthcare paradigms, making it an integral part of the overall healthcare system. My vision for the profession is for us to work more interprofessionally with other healthcare practitioners. For pharmacists, to truly be recognized as part of the healthcare team. 

APhA’s vision statement is, “The American Pharmacists Association inspires, innovates, and creates opportunities for members and pharmacists worldwide to optimize medication use and health for all.”  They accomplish this by “advancing pharmacists’ optimal roles in team-based, patient centered care,” by lobbying and garnering interest. Another way APhA strives to further the profession is by, “raising societal awareness about the role of pharmacists as essential in patient care for optimal medication use.” In this social media frenzy day and age, APhA’s social media helps garner a positive impression of our profession what we do, and how we help out. 

It is important that as student pharmacists we continue to defend our profession and educate the general public about what we truly do.

Natalie Eshaghian & Donna Salib

Vision & Mission for the Pharmacy Profession

According to APhA, the vision for the pharmacy profession is to optimize medication health and use for all people. The mission of the pharmacy practice according to APhA is the role of the pharmacist as a medication expert within the patient’s medical team. Pharmacist’s are to continue their education on past and current treatments available. According to APhA, pharmacist’s are seen to be essential within the patient care team since they are the medication expert.

We agree with APhA’s statement that pharmacists are an essential factor of the medical team. Pharmacists are found in various different medical settings, such as in the community setting, hospital/clinical setting, as well as the industrial setting. As medications rise in quantity and quality, it is important to have a special member of a patient's medical team to be profound in the knowledge of medicine. A pharmacist is that key factor of the team who can provide information on medications, interactions, and compositions of all medications. Being in a minimum 4 year program to enhance their knowledge on all things medicine, pharmacist’s are geared to provide the necessary information to aid in a specific treatment plan for each patient.

Pharmacist’s are essential in a patient’s medical treatment in terms of drug counseling as well. It is important for patients to take their medications, as well as knowing what they are taking each medication for. It is very easy for each patient to receive multiple different medications from many different providers, however, the pharmacist is the key factor to ensure there are no drug interactions, as well as to sit with the patient and evaluate their drug list. In addition, pharmacists are essentially one of the last medical professionals to be in contact with the patient before they take their medications, so it is vital for the pharmacist to evaluate each patient's medication list and counsel them on each medication.

Lastly, pharmacist’s are found to play an important role in different types of health initiatives, such as vaccine administration as seen this past year with COVID. When our community is in need, the patient’s rely on their pharmacists for help. Many times a patient’s physician may not be as accessible as they need them to be, and pharmacists are that link in the puzzle. Instead of waiting in long lines at the doctors office, patients can receive their vaccines, such as COVID, influenza, and Td/Tdap vaccines, as well as other vaccines to certain patients in the pharmacy. This allows patients to receive the necessary care that they need more efficiently as well as help the physician's workload. Pharmacists are a key factor in educating the public on various health questions and issues.

The vision for the pharmacy profession under the APhA’s website is making sure that pharmacists are an integral and essential part of the healthcare system. Pharmacists are there to help optimize medication use for patients and improve patient health. The mission for the pharmacy practice is to serve society as the profession responsible for appropriate use of medications, devices, and services to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes. The Joint Commission also stated a vision for the pharmacy practice which is that pharmacists will be the health care professionals responsible for providing patient care that ensures optimal medication therapy outcomes.

My understanding of the vision and mission of the pharmacy practice aligns with many pharmacy organizations such as APhA and the Joint Commission. As a future pharmacist, I plan to be able to provide patients with the greatest quality of care for them whether it pertains to their medications, showing them how to use devices, patient counseling, motivational interviewing, and public health improvement. Pharmacists play a huge role in the lives of patients daily. There are many instances where patients see a pharmacist more often than their own primary healthcare provider. This makes it important for patients to receive proper counseling and guidance on their health because a pharmacist may be able gather clues on a patient’s condition and relay that information to their primary care provider. Pharmacists are also readily available to help answer drug information questions anytime a patient walks into a retail pharmacy. Pharmacists can also provide their extensive knowledge about medications within the hospital setting. Having a collaborative approach to a patient’s health care plan can increase therapeutic outcomes and may give the patient an overall feeling of relief knowing that there is a team working together to treat and manage their disease. They can help and encourage patients to make lifestyle choices to better their health outcomes. Motivational interviewing is a skill developed through communication with patients to help guide them and listen to each individual patient and their needs. Pharmacists can work directly with the patient to establish what they want to accomplish at the time and being understanding if they do not wish to change their lifestyle as well.

Pharmacists can also have an impact on major public health initiatives. For example, having pharmacists being able to vaccinate patients was a huge step in the right direction in optimizing patient care and improving public health. This allowed more patients to get vaccinated and increase herd immunity with vaccines such as the influenza vaccine. We may see a similar effect with the COVID-19 virus. As more vaccines are being produced by manufacturers, retail and independent pharmacies may offer COVID-19 vaccines on a regular basis compared to appointment scheduling due to the vaccine shortage. There are plenty of other ways pharmacists can influence public health such as becoming health educators, policy makers, going into research and development, etc. Pharmacists are an integral part of the healthcare system and it is important to continue to remember the mission and vision set out for not only the entire profession, but each individual pharmacist

Mission of pharmacy

I agree with Christy, that patient care, education and research are all very important parts of the pharmacy profession. A pharmacist is able to work in many care settings where he or she has the clinical knowledge to make educational counseling points to patients and making informed decisions based on clinical data.

Below are some pathways a pharmacist can take after graduating.

Retail

Hospital

Clinical

Industry

Compounding

Consulting

Ambulatory care

Regulatory

Home care

Managed care

Research

And much more! Pharmacist do not need to have face to face interactions with patients in order to make a difference in lives. Many pharmacist deal with population health, where your decisions can impact many lives. Either way, each pharmacists shares a common mission to optimize medication use and improve patient health.

APhA's Vision for the Profession :

Pharmacists are essential for optimizing medication use and improving patient health.

The mission of Pharmacy Practice

To serve society as the profession responsible for the appropriate use of medications, devices, and services to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes.

My understanding of the vision and mission for the pharmacy profession aligns with APhA's vision and mission for the profession.

My mission is to achieve the highest standards of practice of pharmacy and to promote public health and safety

Patient Care: I value being part of the healthcare team and being accountable for the outcomes related to the medication use process.

• Playing a part in and accepting responsibility for best therapeutic outcomes to promote wellness.

• Cultivating an environment that promotes the safe, efficacious, and cost-effective use of medications.

• Improving the medication use process to encourage continuity of care.

Education: A continuity of advance knowledge of pharmacy practice

• Educating patients and other healthcare members on the safe use of medications.

• Initiating health education measures to prevent disease and promote public health.

Research: Medication recommendations supported by evidence-based medicine

• Developing and conducting research to improve pharmacy practice and medication safety.

• Using highly-proficient research methods to identify the most cost-effective use of medications.