Social Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy—Joining Forces

Abstract

This commentary seeks to define the areas of social pharmacy and clinical pharmacy to uncover what they have in common and what still sets them apart. Common threats and challenges of the two areas are reviewed in order to understand the forces in play. Forces that still keep clinical and social pharmacy apart are university structures, research traditions, and the management of pharmacy services. There are key (but shrinking) differences between clinical and social pharmacy which entail the levels of study within pharmaceutical sciences, the location in which the research is carried out, the choice of research designs and methods, and the theoretical foundations. Common strengths and opportunities are important to know in order to join forces. Finding common ground can be developed in two areas: participating together in multi-disciplinary research, and uniting in a dialogue with internal and external key players in putting forth what is needed for the profession of pharmacy. At the end the question is posed, “What’s in a name?” and we argue that it is important to emphasize what unifies the families of clinical pharmacy and social pharmacy for the benefit of both fields, pharmacy in general, and society at large.

A bibliometric analysis of global trends in the research field of pharmaceutical care over the past 20 years

“…At present, clinical pharmacy is defined as “a health science discipline where pharmacists provide patient care that optimizes medication therapy and promotes health, wellness, and disease prevention” ( 33 ). In general, clinical pharmacy includes all the services pharmacists perform in hospitals, community pharmacies, nursing homes, home-based care services, clinics and other settings where medicines are prescribed and used ( 34 ). Its primary contents could be classified into two broad aspects.…”

Introduction

“…Topics relevant to Social Pharmacy consist of all the social factors that influence medicine use, such as medicine-and health-related beliefs, attitudes, rules, relationships, and processes." Almarsdottir and Granas (2016) also agree that social pharmacy is a discipline where there is use of the social sciences in pharmacy to add its usefulness to the society. It is also known as "pharmacy administration" or "social and administrative pharmacy."…”

“…It is doubtful if pharmacy colleges in the LMICs have successfully introduced this discipline in their pharmacy curriculum. Most of the times, the internal politics and a lack of understanding limit or even counteract the collaboration of clinical and social pharmacy, thus weakening both fields (Almarsdottir & Granas, 2016). However, there are cases, to name a few, which had reported positive experience such as in Malaysia.…”

Pharmacy practice research – A call to action

“…The analysis is key to determine if the identified determinants could be targeted with a pharmacy intervention and if this intervention would be within pharmacists' scope of practice. Social factors influencing patient medicine use studied in social pharmacy, such as medicine and health-related beliefs, attitudes, rules, relationships, and processes, are just some of the many aspects to be considered in pharmacy practice research 23 . Specific attention should be paid to the local context in which this unmet need is identified and the feasibility of implementing an intervention.…”