ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about the different types of community pharmacies, what it means to provide service, and how pharmaceutical care is practiced in this setting. It provides an overview of the procedures most community pharmacies use in dispensing prescriptions safely, and counseling patients. The chapter covers the different positions for pharmacists in community pharmacy, how pharmacists spend their time, and how satisfied they are with what they do. The practice of ambulatory pharmacy in the community is the oldest pharmacy practice, and remains the first choice of roughly 60% of new pharmacy graduates. Positions for pharmacists in chain pharmacies are plentiful as the chain store pharmacy industry is expanding rapidly and there is pharmacist turn over. Supermarket pharmacies may be embracing pharmaceutical care and patient counseling more than chain store pharmacies, based on efforts at improving customer service, patient satisfaction, and loyalty.
