Anantha Naik Nagappa - Perspectives in Pharmacy Practice: Trends in Pharmaceutical Care

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The importance of pharmacists is very well recognized by the service they render to patients in developed countries. Pharmacists are specialized in helping patients in improving the quality of life by carefully checking the suitability of prescribed medications, outcomes of therapy, and lifestyle of patients, which improves health status and minimizes sufferings. The services provided by pharmacists are collectively called as pharmacy practice, especially as pharmaceutical care. Pharmaceutical care delivery is becoming all important as all healthcare professionals and related stakeholders are becoming aware of the risks associated with medicines. The significance of careful consideration of medicine usage and the advantages it offers had opened the eyes of all healthcare professionals and patients who are interested in using medicines for better quality of life and avoiding unnecessary suffering due to irrational use of medicines.

Pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical care are gaining popularity due to the core values they offer, like practice of pharmacoeconomics, rational outcomes, and evidence-based practice for an individual patient. This practice, being unorganized and seldom documented, has gone unnoticed. The main cause for this is the pharmacist himself/herself. The activities and services carried out by a pharmacist go unnoticed as pharmacists themselves do not like to be mentioned or to be in limelight.

The issues of medication errors, irrational use of medicines, and ignorance about generics are collectively fought by pharmacy practice. It is the field which is going to change the practice of medicine from product-centered prescription to patient-centric care. In this book, we have attempted to peep into the future and get the perspective of pharmacy practice in future. This book is intended to serve as a latest and ample resource for the students, academicians, and scientists working in the field of pharmacy practice.

We dedicate this book for the patients in the world and the pharmacists who naturally assume the responsibility of patients and their health. We wish to thank Amity University, Madhya Pradesh, and Dayananda Sagar University, Bangalore, for their support in writing this book. Nevertheless, we wish to acknowledge the help and encouragement received from Dr. GBKS Prasad from Jiwaji University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, rendered Mr. Negi, in completing this book.

We are highly indebted to the profound help given by Dr. GBKS Prasad, Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Jiwaji University, Gwalior. We are thankful to our Honorable Vice Chancellor Lt. Gen. V. K. Sharma, AVSM (Retd.), Amity University, Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior, India, for his continuous encouragement. We are grateful to Mr. Rajiv Dwivedi, Faculty, Amity Business School, Amity University, Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior, for his support during the writing of this book. We would also like to acknowledge the support of Mr. Makan Singh Negi for the typing and formatting of the content. Finally, I would like to express my wholehearted appreciation to the faculty, students, and staff members of Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University, Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior.