Advisor
Durand, Alain-Philippe [faculty advisor, Department of Modern and Classical Languages]
Date
5-2007
Keywords
pharmacy; french; comparative studies
Abstract
“The counting and pouring now often alleged to be the pharmacist’s chief occupation will in time be done by technicians and eventually by automation. The pharmacists of tomorrow will function by reason of what he knows, increasing the efficiency and safety of drug therapy and working as a specialist in his own right.” --Linwood F. Tice, D. Sc., Dean, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (1966) More than forty years ago the pharmacy profession realized that it cannot continue to perform solely distributive functions. The world will not pay pharmacists to carry out tasks that do not require their level of education and skill. Yet despite widespread acceptance of the need to change, the vast majority of pharmacists continue to do little more than buy and sell drugs. If pharmacists fail to redefine their profession soon they risk complete extinction. There have been several positive changes in the last thirty years. Clinical pharmacy, the application of the concept that pharmacy must be patient-oriented rather than product-oriented, has become an integral part of the professional curriculum. Increasingly pharmacists are using individual patient parameters to predict drug response. New technology is helping pharmacists gain access to patient medical records. For the first time pharmacists in America are being reimbursed for patient counseling. The laws have changed and in many states pharmacists can now participate in collaborative practice agreements which allow them to adjust medications and doses according to protocol. In this thesis I will assess the profession’s future by examining current trends in France and America. Can pharmacists transform themselves before it is too late? The future rests uncertain.