Pharmaceutical Practice

Section 1: Pharmacy practice and society * The role of pharmacy in healthcare * Models of pharmacy practice within healthcare systems * Socio-behavioural aspects of health and illness * Socio-behavioural aspects of treatment with medicines * Pharmacy and public health * WHO and the essential medicines concept Section 2: Governance and good professional pharmaceutical practice * Governance - an overview * Risk management * Continuing professional development and fitness to practice * Audit * Ethics * Communication skills for the pharmacist * Relationship with other members of the healthcare team * Record keeping. Section 3: Pharmacy prescribing and selection of medicines * Access to medicines and prescribing - introduction * The prescribing process and evidence-based medicine * Formularies * Drug evaluation and pharmacoeconomics * Complementary/alternative medicine * Prescribing for minor ailments * Information retrieval Section 4: Dispensing and related pharmaceutical practice activities * The prescription * Dispensing techniques (compounding and good practice) * Pharmaceutical calculations * Packaging * Labelling of dispensed medicines * Production of sterile products * Solutions * Suspensions * Emulsions * External preparations * Suppositories and pessaries * Powders and granules * Oral unit dosage forms * Inhaled route * Parenteral products * Ophthalmic products * Specialized services * Parenteral nutrition and dialysis * Radiopharmacy * Storage of medicines and waste disposal * Communication skills - role of the pharmacist in giving advice and information Section 5: Pharmacy services and monitoring the medicine-taking patient * Collection and delivery services * Concordance * Monitoring the patient * Services for vulnerable patients * Substance use and misuse Appendices * Medical abbreviations * Latin terms and abbreviations * Systems of weights and measures * Presentation skills * Key references and further reading Index