Pharmacy ─ What It Is and How It Works

Now fully updated for its fourth edition, Pharmacy: What It Is and How It Works continues to provide a comprehensive review of all aspects of pharmacy, from the various roles, pathways and settings of pharmacists to information about how pharmacy works within the broader health care system.

Beginning with a brief historical perspective on the field, the book discusses the many facets of the pharmacy profession. It describes the role of pharmacists in different settings and provides information ranging from licensing requirements to working conditions, highlighting the critical role of pharmacists within the health care system. The author examines the drug use process with sections on distribution, prescribing, dispensing, and pricing. He also discusses the role of pharmacy support personnel. A chapter on informatics explores how pharmacy has evolved through information technology and automation. Additional chapters cover poison control, pharmaceutical care, pharmacy organizations, the drug approval process, and career development.

Designed for classroom and professional use, the book contains numerous tools to facilitate comprehension, including:

• Learning objectives to help readers focus on the goals of each chapter
• Informative tables and figures summarizing data
• Summary paragraphs tying in salient points
• Discussion questions and exercises to test assimilation
• "Challenges" which place the material in broader context
• Websites and references to encourage further study

This valuable text provides a look into the profession that is both broad and deep, supplying a one-stop introduction to a promising career in pharmacy.

William N. Kelly has more than 40 years of experience in health care as a pharmacy executive, researcher, professor, and clinician. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 10 book chapters and has presented his work both nationally and internationally. He is professor in the University of South Florida’s College of Pharmacy, president of William N. Kelly Consulting, Inc., a company devoted to advancing medication safety and the practice of pharmacy, and vice president of scientific affairs for Visante.