Pharmacy: The Future Prospect

Introduction

Pharmacy is the branch of health Science, which is one of the most highly trusted professions. This Profession links Health with chemical science. Pharmacy has a broad and wide range of fields, some of them are Community Pharmacy, Industrial Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy, Consulting Pharmacy, Hospital Pharmacy, Home Care Pharmacy, Pharmacy, Compounding Pharmacy, and Ambulatory Pharmacy. In pharmacy, pharmacists are scientists who develop new medicines with help of the government. [1]

Post-Covid there is an immense need for technology in every Field. The Future of Pharmacy will beam only with the help of New Technology and Inventions. [2]The technology used in Pharmacy would help the consumers for Convenience purposes. Consumers nowadays are more inclined towards comfort and focused on well-being, this creates a huge scope and exciting opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to enter the market with emerging technology.[3] Modern Pharmacy Services include consulting patients, providing Drug-related information, Virtual Business, and Clinical Services. As per the experts, in the coming years, the pharmacy business will be more profitable and sustainable. [4]

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Traditional Aspect

Traditional Pharmacy is divided into two aspects, inpatients and outpatients. In Inpatient Pharmacy the patient is kept in that institution i.e Hospital and the pharmacists and their technicians work with doctors and other nurses to make sure that patients are receiving proper medications.[5] And on the other hand, in Outpatient pharmacies, the drugs are kept for sale in a store. There are also called community Pharmacists this includes the persons working in the drug store chain, Independent Pharmacies, and grocery stores. Interacting with patients is the main foundation of Community Pharmacy. This is the direct selling of drugs from the store to customers.

Traditional pharmacies-built trust and assurance amongst the consumers which established their reputation with help of physical contact. The benefit received in the traditional method of pharmacy is that Customers feel more secure and because of this they tend to buy from there nearer or from their regular retail pharmacy shop and also it is convenient for them to take it from the nearer pharmacy.

Earlier Pharmacists were more into compounding and manufacturing medicines, but by changing time this has reduced overtime. Technology has changed the working structure of many fields including Pharmacy, but still, some people use the traditional method as they are more used to it.[6]

Importance of Technology in the Future of Pharmacy

With the advancement of technology, more countries are now adopting the use of the electronic method. ?Technology is making human life better and more convenient. Overall the basic idea behind improving the technology is to enhance the convenience of patients by personalization.

Technology allows pharmacies to utilize its features like consulting the patients, automating patient prescriptions, keeping track of the health of patients, viewing their history, online programs like a seminar on health-related issues or how to be fit, etc.[7]

The technology has developed beyond the imagination of a common man and taking the help of this the pharmacy sector has been utilizing it at its most and made the entire profession much more advanced. This helps in minimizing paperwork and invented a new form of storing records.

Technology helps Pharmacy in various fields like Research and Development as we know the core of this business is R&D it works on research on new drugs, Analysis and Testing, Manufacturing, and Sales and Marketing. ?[8]

Technology is encouraging drug manufacturers and helping them to go further for R&D and also faster in monitoring patient safety because of which there are minimum chances of error as there is reduce in manual input. The use of technology is also important in education visualizing physiological processes this will help the students in the initial days of their career.[9]

For the first time in decades, the way how drugs are developed is changed drastically because of technology. In some years there might be a concept such as ‘ROBOT DOCTOR’ which will provide medical advice to patients without human intervention. If such kind of invention is introduced in this Sector then it will give a new dimension to this sector as this Robot help to save many doctors’ life because as we have seen in the deadly virus like COVID-19 the doctors are at high risk.[10]

Techniques to Enhance Virtual Pharmacy

In today’s emerging and enhancing market, it is really important that one should be well equipped with the technology to beat its competitors. Some of the techniques used can be-

?Automated Dispensing Cabinet

It is Pharmacy automation. The automated Dispensing Cabinet is an electronic drug storage device primarily for hospitals. The benefit of ADC is improvement in patient safety, accountability of drug inventory, more efficient billing practices, and greater satisfaction for working staff and patients.

?Mobile Technology

Using mobile is common as everyone has cell phones, but using mobile for the business purpose has changed the whole perspective of running a business. With the help of mobile the patient can contact the doctors anytime or also they can log in to their respective apps and everything will be convenient for them and will be available for them at their doorsteps. As this, all is auto-generated the pharmacist receives text alerts to remind patients that repeat prescriptions or also helps the doctors in knowing the history of patients.

?Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs[11]

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) continue to be among the most promising state-level interventions to improve opioid prescribing, inform clinical practice, and protect patients at risk. This program is underdeveloped in most states. The information contained in a state’s PDMP can help doctors and pharmacists that can verify patients’ safety.

?Barcode Medicine Identification

?It is an inventory control system that is a rectangular image that consists of parallel lines. With the help of a mobile scanner or barcode scanner, the barcode attached to the product can be scanned. The goal of Barcode Medicine Identification is to make sure that patients are receiving the correct medications at the correct time by electronically validating and documenting medications. This type of system is used to store the information, to keep the track record and further details for future use and convenience.

?Medication Reminder Devices

It is a reminder to take the medicines time. This can also be an app that reminds the patients to take medicines by alarm or vibrates the device and after taking the dose this stops automatically. This is very useful for old age people who are unable to take their medicines on time. This device also shows the next schedule with a proper plan.[12]

?Critical Analysis of Pharmacy after use of Technology

The increasing trend of Virtual pharmacy in various countries has now started to grow in the soil of India which introduce E-Pharmacy. Indians are becoming more aware of their health because of socialization this gives a wider scope for E-Pharmacy in India. So, all this had a positive effect and buying medicines or any other pharmaceutical work has become much easier because of advancements in technology.?But this development in the pharmacy sector has Positive as well as Negative effects.

Positive Effects:

1. Easy to Access- It is very easy to access as it can be handled on mobiles which everyone has and know how to operate it.

2. Open 24x7?????- Virtual pharmacy is not like traditional pharmacy, it is way more different than it, so basically in traditional pharmacy mostly there is a time limit but in Virtual pharmacy, there is no such li of time.

3. Return Policy??- In the traditional method of pharmacy mostly there is no concept such as a return policy, but with the advancement, in technology, such type of concept is also introduced as it very helps common people.

4. Service at Door Step- This is the most convenient method as in the busy schedule nowadays most of the people enjoy such kind of service and this also results in time-saving.

5. Wide Range of Products Available- In a normal pharmacy shop there are limited medicines or only products/medicines which are sold on a regular basis but in a Virtual Pharmacy there is no such case, there is the availability of all the medicines/Products.

?Negative Effects:

1. Lack of Interaction – There is a lack of interaction with the other person as everything is online or just behind the screens.

2. Can’t rely upon quality- As the person is not known who is dealing, with there is some kind of doubt about the quality. Because of this most customers hesitate to use such a platform.

3. Chances of fraud – The main drawback of this platform is online Fraud as the details of bank accounts are available for the payment process so most people get trapped in such kinds of scams.

4. Absence of Concrete laws – Online pharmacy is at a premature stage and there is no such strict law in this sector. In Information Technology Act 2000 some issues are dealt with online dealing but it is not specifically for Online Pharmacy.

5. Chances of Drug dealing – By taking the advantage of this there can be drug dealing which is a serious issue so Government should bring new laws to stop such dealing and online pharmacies should strictly ask for a printed prescription before the purchase.

Conclusion

Over the past 20 years, Information Technology has had a major impact on the working lives of people. There should be always Change as per Changing Scenario so that our country can shift from a developing to a developing country. Innovation in Technology will help in shaping human life and this will give huge benefits to patients, pharmacists, and other persons working in this industry, such development will bring more effectiveness and efficiency.[13] This sector is experiencing healthy growth due to lockdown restrictions as people got to know the importance of the word ‘Virtual’ and they understood the need for it for future development and growth.

The changing face of the pharmacy practice has enhanced the lifestyle of the people. If there is proper law for this new evolving sector then in no time Pharmacy sector will boom. With the increasing development in this sector, it can be clearly concluded that the Future Of Pharmacy will look totally different from what it is not.

[1] https://www2.deloitte.com/cn/en/pages/life-sciences-and-healthcare/articles/the-future-of-pharmacy.html

[2] https://zeelabpharmacy.com/blog/future-of-pharmacy-business-in-india

[3] https://www.otago.ac.nz/pharmacy/what-is-pharmacy/

[4] Md. Shariful Islam” Chapter-Basics of Pharmacy”” LAP LAMBERT Academic” October 2018

[5] Ryan Babakhani” Pharmacists Have Plenty of Options in Traditional and Nontraditional Pharmacy” August20,2021

[6] Hale Zerrin Toklu and Azhar Hussain” The changing face of pharmacy practice and the need for a new model of pharmacy education” March 30, 2013

[7] Kevin Yap and Afonso Cavaco” Pharmacists’ Perceptions of the Benefits and Challenges of Electronic Product Information System Implementation in Hong Kong: Mixed-Method Study” November 10, 2020

[8] https://indoreinstitute.com/blog-post/how-has-technology-helped-to-upgrade-the-pharmacy-industry/

[9] Demetrius Williams” Smart Pharma: How Technology is Disrupting the Pharmaceutical Industry” https://toppandigital.com/translation-blog/smart-pharma-technology-disrupting-pharmaceutical-industry/

[10] Anne Trafton” The (Robotic) Doctor will see you now"

[11] Vivian Tahmasbi” 4 Important Technology Advancements in Pharmacy” July 22, 2019

[12] https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdmp/index.html

[13] Karolina Luzniak” What is the Future of Pharmacy? New Technological Solutions” 10 March, 2022.?