ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a brief history of pharmacy, what shapes it, and how it is still evolving as a profession. A pharmacy is a place where licensed pharmacists oversee the dispensing of medicine after receiving a valid prescription or drug order written or electronically transmitted by a legal prescriber. Pharmacy is controlled by federal laws such as the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; and the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act. Pharmacy is a collegial profession is that pharmacists feel the honor of the profession and respect what has been handed down from one generation of pharmacists to the next. Pharmacy has worked to earn respect from patients and earns it one pharmacist and one patient at a time. Pharmacy is controlled not only by laws and regulations but also by the profession by approving standards of practice, peer review, a code of ethics, and excellent leadership.
