ABSTRACT
A general snapshot of the pharmacy environment can be found in the “Survey of Pharmacy Law” which is compiled and published by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The main offering of supermarket/combination type pharmacy settings is the convenience of one-stop shopping for the majority of a consumer’s needs. Pharmacy, like medicine, has had to adjust to myriad sociodemographic influences. The principal functions of a pharmacist are preparing and dispensing of prescription medications and medical devices. Since pharmacists must be certain of the correct medication, dosage form, and directions for use prior to filling a prescription, a profile of a patient’s drug therapy may be crucial to assure that the medication has appropriate instructions and is used correctly. The initial step in pharmaceutical care is the collection and organization of pertinent patient-specific information to develop a database to prevent, detect, and resolve a patient’s medication problems.
