Why do most people not see pharmacists as doctors? aren't pharmacists just doctors trained in pharmacy?

Question

I feel most people misunderstand the concept of what a pharmacist is and don't respect them as much and therefore don't use them for their primary purpose in the health care system. as self-care consultants. more than 50% of doctor visits are unnecessary and could have been problems treated and resolved by pharmacists. I just want to know why there aren't many "family pharmacists" like there are "family doctors" and why many people just don't realize what a pharamcist is.

Answer 1

I'll illustrate a couple examples that will hopefully help to clear up some misconceptions about the pharmacy profession.

In the US, the pharmacy curriculum has become clinically-oriented, hence the degree is now a clinical degree and those who successfully complete the program are called PharmD, or Doctor of Pharmacy.  The RPh designation means that the inidividual, whether BS or PharmD, has passed the Pharmacy Board Examination in their state and is thus licensed to practice pharmacy in that state.  Yes, we have the board exam to pass, and also a separate exam on state and federal pharmacy law. RPh=Registered Pharmacist, and it is not a degree!

Ph.D.'s are also called Doctor, but everyone knows this is not referring to a medical doctor...it is a research degree, as opposed to a clinical degree like MD, DO or PharmD.

Pharmacists do prescribe in certain capacities, e.g., in VA hospitals; in coumadin clinics, where they may be limited to prescribing coumadin and lovenox, and in hospital settings there is often a collaborative agreement made between a pharmacist and a specific doctor(s) to enable the pharmacist to discontinue certain medication orders written by the doc when necessary, or to initiate certain drug therapies.

As far as pharmacists making diagnoses? We are trained to be the drug experts; medical docs are the diagnosis experts.  We are trained to recognize and suggest drug therapy for over the counter issues, and we are trained to recognize when the patient should be referred to a doc, urgent care or emergency treatment facility.

One way in which community (retail) pharmacy is unique is that the pharmacist is the most accessible health professional.

A few more facts:

Pharmacists study pharmaceutics...the science and engineering behind all the various dosage forms out there, and how different dosage forms are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated in the body.  This latter is called pharmacokinetics.

In our training we learn about the same disease states that the docs do, the symptoms, the diagnoses, the labs, the procedures...but our focus is on the judicious selection of the appropriate and rational drug therapy, derived from evidence-based medicine guidelines.

Whether people agree with the PharmD pharmacist being called doctor or not, is irrelevant...fact of the matter is, just as  the surgeons of old performed surgery without the benefit of anesthesia, used blood letting, etc., the pharmacy profession has similarly evolved along its trajectory into patient care...pharmacists can immunize in most states, for example...in the end, the advancement of pharmacy and the pharmacist becoming an integral member of the healthcare team is all in the benefit of the patient.

Hope this rather long email has helped to answer some of the questions you may have.

Answer 2

They are not doctors and they cannot write prescriptions.  They can fill prescriptions that are written by a medical doctor.  Think of it like in those old stores in the 19th century where you told the grocer what you want and they fill the order for you (like on Little House on the Prairie).  It is almost the same thing.

Yet these orders must be 100% accurate. That means no giving a little extra or taking off some either.

Answer 3

Pharmacists, e.g. those holding an RPH degree are not physicians, nor doctors.  They do not attend medical school, rather they attend pharmacy school.  PharmDs, on the other hand, do hold a Doctorate in Pharmacy, but they are also not physicians, per se, as they do not attend medical school.

Pharmacists and Pharmacologists work in tandem with Physicians to deliver the best care to the patient.  Each has their own expertise and any "hierarchical order" is rather silly as these are both professions critical to patient health.

When I forget something about a given medication or its drug interactions, I immediately call the pharmacy because I know the pharmacist knows this stuff a lot better than I do, and I have no reluctance in doing so; neither do most sensible clinicians.

Moreover, I think my mom can pretty much tackle about 90% of "unnecessary" patient visits by making chicken soup, but my opinion is superfluous to how healthcare operates.  For those 10% of cases where my mom is wrong, these patients may face egregious outcomes.  That's too high of a failure rate for the medical community to accept, I imagine you'd agree.

Answer 4

I can't believe the idiocy displayed by the lady who says they're just there to give medicine.  They specialize in drugs and know far more than any MD about the field.  There's a simple reason for this: it's what they're trained to do.  Doctors are taught about disease, pharmacists go to school for a comparable amount of time and learn about drugs.  I never ask doctors questions about medications because half the time they have no clue what they're talking about unless they have a reference in their lap.  I utilize the expertise of pharmacists whenever necessary, and without paying a $20 copay just to get stuck with a retarded nurse practitioner or PA either.

Answer 5

No, pharmacists are not equal to an MD is some key areas.  Most relevant to the question:  they are not empowered to write prescriptions for medication.

"50% of doctor visits are unnecessary" is after-the-fact statistics and *not* a reason to not go to the doctor.  Most folks would save themselves (and the system) a lot of time and money though if they would learn to be more self-reliant about their health care.

That said, a pharmacist is a great resource that many people underutilize.  They actually often understand more about drugs and drug interactions than many MDs.

Answer 6

A great variety of individuals can earn a degree which allows them to be referred to as "doctor". Pharmacists can earn a doctoral degree as well.

Pharmacists are educated in pharmacokinetics, chemistry and other sciences that are the basis for their expertise in how medications work, interact, last (inside and outside the body) and many other details about medication.

Physicians are trained to diagnose and treat illness and to assist with health maintenance and preventative care, which often involves the use of medications.

Physicians choose to become family doctors, cardiologists, or brain surgeons, etc. which has to do with the breadth or specificity of their scope of practice. Generally though, they primarily treat patients.

Pharmacists choose to practice in local pharmacies, hospital pharmacies and in other roles depending upon their interest but it makes no sense to describe them as "family pharmacists" or "cardiology pharmacists". They are not trained or intended to treat patients. Physicians are not trained or intended to compound medications.

Pharmacists try to be helpful when customers ask them for medical advice, but the customers are the parties who don't understand the difference in the roles of physicians and pharmacists.

I am a physician, and when a patient asks me a question about how long they can keep a medication before it becomes ineffective or dangerous, I counsel them to get their pharmacist's opinion. I would hope and expect that pharmacists would refer people with treatment or health maintenance questions to their physician.

Answer 7

I work as a doctor in a hospital and often work closely with pharmacists.

As you know the fundamental difference in the training of pharmacists (in the UK anyway) is that doctors train for five years in diagnosis and treatment with a bit about the medicines used, while pharmacists train for four years in specifically medicines. They are experts in using drugs, the compositions of these side effects and benifits, and what can and can't be used with what.

I find them a very usefull set of people to have around as they can be a wealth of information about which drug to use or whether I can crush the tablets to put them down a tube etc.

The problem with pharmacists being treated like doctors is that they do not train in diagnosis and hence cannot do the job of a doctor. Now I am by no means saying that simple health complaints cannot be diagnosed and treated by pharmacists (I'm sure your mum can tell if you have a chesty cough or an allergy or sunburn etc) and there is a drive for this to happen in the UK. Pharmacists in the community can be a first source of healthcare as long as the parmacist knows his or her limitation and can confidently refer to the doctor.

And having been in general practice for a while a lot of visits to the GP do not need to be seen by a GP, but my thinking is that it may not seem like it to these patients and they may think that it isn't as simple.

Answer 8

thats becuase they can't perform an operation or can they put on a cast on your body if any of your bones are broken!they're just meant to give the right medicine!