The Concept of Social Pharmacy
                     The Concept of 
Social 
Pharmacy
Introduction
In any health care system, human resources for health 
that include pharmacists are central to complete 
success to health advancement. The basic reason for 
care by pharmacists can be found by the fact that 
medicines must be properly used in order to have their 
full beneficial therapeutic effect. 
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What is social 
pharmacy?
Social pharmacy may be defined as the discipline 
dealing with the role of medicines from the social, 
scientific and humanistic perspectives. It draws on 
theories of the social and behavioural sciences, and 
includes health psychology. 
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Social factors
Social pharmacy can be considered to consist of all the 
social factors that influence medicine use, such as 
medicine-related beliefs, regulations, policy, attitudes, 
medicine information, ethics and behaviour. 
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Social pharmacy 
research
Social pharmacy research is linked to the Health System 
or Service Research (HSR). The focus of HSR is 
concerned with improving the health of a community. 
The aim of HSR is to provide health managers at all 
levels, as well as community leaders, with the relevant 
information they need to make decisions about the 
problem they are facing. 
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Experimental 
Research
It is interesting to mention that research in social 
pharmacy in developing countries including India is 
often criticized as dubious research in pharmacy field by 
researchers mainly involved in experimental research. 
These perceptions are considered illogical by other 
school of social researchers
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DEVELOPMENT 
AREAS
1. Journal of Social and Administrative Pharmacy
2. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
3. Teaching of social pharmacy is included in all 
pharmacy institutions of developed countries
4. Social pharmacy is a growing area of research with 
the pharmacy institutions
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Social pharmacy - 
current status in 
India
Over the last decades pharmacy curricula and training in 
the developed world have been changed by 
incorporating social pharmacy to provide pharmacy 
graduates with more opportunities that promote 
constant interaction with World Health Organisation has 
long believed that pharmacists would make a greater 
contribution to the provision of health care.
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The notion of social 
pharmacy
The notion of social pharmacy, the key course that has 
rendered pharmacists of the developed nations to 
become front line pharmacists, is still unknown in most 
parts of the developing country including India. 
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Literature on 
pharmacy education
Overview on the recent literature on pharmacy 
education in India has shown that pharmacy practice 
and/or social pharmacy within pharmacy practice is the 
least developed sector of the pharmacy profession.
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Conclusion
Social pharmacy enables the pharmacy profession to act 
and take responsibility in its full scope with the problems 
of pharmacy and medicines in society.
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