Community pharmacy includes all of those establishments that are privately owned and whose

function, in varying degree, is to serve societies need for both drug products and the
pharmaceutical services.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMUNITY PHARMACIST
Following are the area where a community pharmacist can be actively involved to serve the
community
1. Processing of prescriptions: The pharmacist verifies the legality, safety and
appropriateness of the prescription order, checks the patient medication record before
dispensing the prescription (when such records are kept in the pharmacy)
2. Care of patients or clinical pharmacy: The pharmacist seeks to collect and integrate
information about the patients drug history, clarifies the patient's understanding of the
intended dosage regimen and method of administration
3. Monitoring of drug utilization: The pharmacist can participate in arrangements for
monitoring the utilization of drugs, such as practice research projects
4. Extemporaneous preparation and small-scale manufacture of medicines: Pharmacists
everywhere continue to prepare medicines in the pharmacy, This enables them to adapt
the formulation of a medicine to the needs of an individual patient
5. Traditional and alternative medicines: In, some countries, pharmacists supply traditional
medicines and dispense homoeopathic prescriptions.
6. Responding to symptoms of minor ailments: The pharmacist receives requests from
members of the public for advice on a variety of symptoms and, when indicated, refers
the inquiries to a medical practitioner.
7. Informing health care professionals and the public: The pharmacist can compile and
maintain information on all medicines, and particularly on newly introduced medicines,
provide this information as necessary to other health care professionals and to patients,
8. Health promotion: The pharmacist can take part in health promotion campaigns, locally
and nationally, on a wide range of health-related topics, and particularly on drug-related
topics (e.g., rational use of drugs, alcohol abuse, tobacco use, discouragement of drug use
during pregnancy, organic solvent abuse, poison prevention) or topics concerned with
other health problems (diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis, leprosy, HIV-infection/AIDS)

Selection of Site
A plant is a place where men, materials and equipment are brought together for manufacturing
procedures. The basic requirement for setting up a pharmaceutical industry is the availability of
appropriate site.

A. Importance of plant location or site

The selection of appropriate location is important due to the following reasons1. Location of plant partially determines operating and capital cost. It determines the nature of
investment costs to be incurred and also the levels of many operating costs.
2. Location fixes some of the physical factors of the overall plant design example heating and
ventilation requirements, storage capacity of raw material taking into consideration their local
availability.
B. Plant Location-Factors Influencing
The selection of a location for the construction of a pharmaceutical plant is a vital decision to be
taken, because it determines the balancing of investment and profit. Hence the location of the
plant has a strong influence on the success of an industrial venture. Primarily the plant should be
located where the minimum cost of production and distribution can be achieved. But other
factors such as room for expansion and general living conditions are also important. These
factors may be described as follows:
1. Fundamental (Primary) Factors
2. Derived (Secondary factors)
1.1 Raw materials: The availability of raw materials and cost of its transportation are the major
determinants. Pharmaceutical industry uses the following types of raw materials: crude drugs,
inorganic and organic chemicals etc. It would be economical to locate the plant nearer to the
source of raw materials particularly when they are consumed in large volumes.
1.2. Market of products: Market exercises a strong influence on the establishment of industries.
When market is regional, the industry is located nearer to the market.
1.3 Energy availability: Fuel and power are the energy sources, which exert the same kind of
influence as the raw materials.
1.4 Transportation facility: Transportation is the lifeline of modern industry. Transport facilities
are needed for bringing raw materials and sending the finished products.
1.5 Labor supply: Low wages and abundant labor help in localization of certain industries.
However, pharmaceuticals and chemical plants require skilled labor, who are better paid and
often highly mobile.
2 Derived (secondary) factors

2.1 Climate and soil: Climate and soil is very important for industries depending on agriculture.
In pharmaceutical industry, many operations are carried out in air-conditioned rooms, in dust free
environments and under strict control and regulations depending upon the nature of formulation.
2.2 Government concessions: Government has been providing subsidies and tax concessions for
the industries located in certain notified areas.
2.3 Water supply: The processing industries use larger quantities of water for cooling, washing
and steam generation and also as a raw material (liquid orals).
2.4 Waste disposal: In recent years, many legal restrictions have been imposed on the methods
for disposing of waste materials from the processing industries.
2.5 Site characteristics: The topography of the land and soil structure must be considered, since
either both may have a pronounced effect on construction costs.
2.6 Flood and fire protection: Many industries are located along large bodies of water and there
are risks of flood or hurricane damage
Staff Management
The right type of organization is selected, then it becomes necessary to fill in the various job
positions with right kind of people, who can effectively performed their assigned activities. This
is the management function of staffing
Importance of staffing
(i) Staffing helps to build up a healthy organization in which the job performance and satisfaction
of every employee can be high.
(ii) Staffing injects life into the organization by providing right person for every job. The
effectiveness of directing and control functions also depends upon staffing.
Material Management
Material Management is a basic function of the business that adds value directly to the product
itself.
Stocking
The drug store should have adequate space for storage of drug with proper lighting, ventilation
and temperature controls. Special locked storage space provided to meet the legal requirements
for storage of narcotics, alcohol and prescribed drugs.
Coding or Codification

It is the process of assigning a code number or code symbol to a particular material for easy
identification. Usually manufacturers, distributors andwholesalers have large merchandise in the
stores.
Legal Requirements
1 Legal requirements in purchasing
Law of contract, an agreement between to or more persons during business transaction. There
must be lawful proposal by one party and lawful acceptance by the other party. So two parties
can enter into the agreement.
2 Legal requirements involved in payment of price
There are three legal aspects involved in the payment of price: The buyer has to pay the due
amount in time.
3 Legal requirements in pricing of bulk drugs
The drug price control order, 1987 authorities the central Government to fix the maximum sale
price of the bulk drugs.
Maintenance of various registers (records) in community pharmacy: For various reasons it is
very important to maintain various legal, financial and professional records in a community
pharmacy.
(1) Legal records (registers): According to federal and state law, the pharmacy owner
(manager) is responsible for maintenance of accurate up-to-date records of specific
classes of drugs and poisons according to Drugs and Cosmetic Act 1940.
(2) (2) Patients records: To include patients drug histories those type of records are
maintained, although the format of records may vary according to basic ideas of
establishing a record
(3) Financial records: Properly collect and organized accounting data serves various
important uses as:
1. Serves as a basic tool for efficient management and measuring its effect.
2. For making sound decisions regarding future money needs, inventory requirement,
personnel matters and expansion of facilities.
Use of Computers in Pharmacy
The computer has become one of a popular tool in all areas of science and technology. Right now
computers and pharmacy go hand in hand. Today computers can provide the exchange of health
information and services across geographic, time and social boundaries. Computers have
revolutionized the way education is handled in the todays world. In medical education,
computers are particularly useful because there is such a need for learning and presenting large

amounts of data, getting and comparing accurate study and test results, and effectively
monitoring patients. With the proliferation of the Internet and the developments in computer
technology and manufacturing, the ratio of price to performance of computers continues to
decrease. This has resulted in the development of number of computer applications. The field of
pharmacy has immensely benefited by the use of computer and will continue to benefit as the
pharmacist's gain more familiarity with computers.
The prescription
1. A prescription is a written order by a registered physician directing the pharmacist to
prepare or dispense pharmacological agents for the diagnosis,prevention or treatment of a
disease.
2.

Pre compounding prescription:There are two types of prescription: Prescription for

already prepared drug (by pharmaceuticalcompanies) e.g. Extemp oreous prescription:
TheCap. Ciprofloxacin (500 mg) etc. pharmacists prepare the medication according to
thedrugs and dosages directed by the physician.

3. Types of Prescribing - Rational Prescribing - Irrational Prescribing Rational Prescribing:

It fulfills the following criterias 1. Appropriate diagnosis 2. Appropriate indications 3.
Appropriate drug 4. Appropriate dosage 5. Appropriate duration 6. Appropriate route of
administration
4.

Irrational Prescribing: When medically inappropriate, ineffective and economically

inefficient drugs are used, it is called irrational prescribing. Some common irrational
prescribing:1. Excessive use of drugs.2. Overuse of antibiotics.3. Prescribing new costly
drug, when an alternate cheaper drug is available etc.

5.

Requirements of Prescriptions 1. Date 2. Name and address of doctor. 3. Name and

address of the patient. 4. Rx. Its a traditional esoteric symbol for the word Recipe-take
thou!; It is pointless. 5. The name and dose of the medicine. 6. Direction to the
pharmacist. 7. Instruction for the patient. 8. Signature of the doctor.

6. Symbol of Prescription (1) Dr. X Date: MBBS. MD (Cardiology) Address:

Patients Name: Mr. Y Age: 60 years Sex: Male Address: Rx(2) Tab. Cardopril (25
mg) (4)+0+- Before meal (40 days)Tab. Disprin CV 100(3) 0 + 1 + 0 - After meal
(30 days) (5) Prescribers Signature
7. Parts of Prescription: An ideal prescription should have the following parts:Superscription (1)- Inscription (2)- Subscription (3)- Transcription (4)- Signature (5)
Superscription: Superscription includes: - Information about the prescriber. - Information
about the patient. - Rx (it means take it!)
Inscription: - Inscription gives the information about the name of the drug (generic or
trade name), and its formulation, unit dosage.
Subscription: - Subscription provides information to the pharmacists about the quantity
and dosage form of the drug to be dispensed.
Transcription: - Transcription is the prescribers direction to the patient contains
instruction about the amount of drug, time and frequency of doses to be taken.
Signature: - Prescription should be signed by the prescriber.
Case study
A 67 year old woman with an extensive rash is referred urgently to hospital. The rash started on
the backs of her hands and spread very quickly to the arms, trunk, neck, and face. The lesions
consist of concentric rings with frank blistering in some areas. Lesions have also started to
appear on her lips and inside her mouth.
Her medications include: ramipril 10mg once daily, simvastatin 40mg at night, aspirin 75mg
once daily, metformin 1g twice daily, gliclazide 40mg each morning. She was started on aspirin 5
years ago following a stroke. At about the same time, she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and
has been taking metformin, ramipril, and simvastatin for over 4 years. She was prescribed
gliclazide during her annual diabetes review 2 months ago.

The patient denies taking any over-the-counter medicines or herbal remedies. She has not made
any significant changes to her diet and there is no history of recent infection.
On admission:

Blood pressure = 127/75 mmHg

Body Mass Index = 26kg/m2

HbA1c = 8.0% (64mmol/mol)

Her U + Es, renal, and liver function are normal.

Which drug is most likely to be causing erythema multiforme?
According to the side-effects under the prescribing notes for sulphonylureas (section 6.1.2.1,
BNF 59), hypersensitivity reactions can occur, usually in the first 68 weeks of therapy. They
consist mainly of allergic skin reactions which progress rarely to erythema multiforme. The
monograph for ramipril, BNF 59, also includes erythema multiforme as a side-effect. The time at
which erythema mutiforme occurred in this patient is closely related to the time from when
gliclazide was started and characteristic of hypersensitivity reactions with sulphonylureas.
How should this adverse drug reaction (ADR) be managed?
This patient has suffered a major manifestation of erythema multiforme accompanied by mucosal
involvement after starting gliclazide. Gliclazide should be stopped and the reaction should be
clearly documented in the patients medical record and allergy history to prevent recurrence. If
the reaction does not subside after stopping gliclazide, other causes for the reaction should be
considered. Treatment to ameliorate the symptoms of erythema multiforme can be provided as
necessary.

INVENTORY CONTROL Webster's has defined Inventory as The quantity of goods or the
materials on hand Goods or the materials is the essential element of any of the organization
right from hospital, industry, private enterprise or the government department.
Thus inventory control is the method of maintaining of stock at a level at which
purchasing and stocking costs are at the lowest possible without interference with the
supply. Thus it plays the vital role in maintaining the balance between the two. If the
items like drugs are purchased in the large quantity, the supply can be made easily and
immediately. The risk of the Out-Of-Stock is avoided.
But the disadvantage is that huge stock amounts to the locking up of the money which
would have been spend more gainfully in some other ways. A large stock will also imply
a large storing space and will require a staff to store and handle various items. There is
the danger of the drugs not being utilized before the date of expiry, of pilferage, of the
stock lost some sight and not being utilized, better and cheaper substitute available.
It is generally accepted that total yearly carrying cost on the inventory is 20-25%.
Thus inventory control has the objective of maintaining optimum stock- neither
excessive nor likely to be exhausted. Following are the various methods to store the
items based on their cost and utility.
A B C ANALYSIS OF THE DRUGS This is the system of analysis of store items mainly
drugs based on their cost in material management. Items can be categorized into three groups
based on their annual expenditure incurred on these items.
First the list of the drugs showing the expenditure incurred in the previous completed
year is prepared Then the drugs are arranged in the descending order of the amount of
the expenditure. Then the cumulative cost should be calculated beginning from the first
item of list.
When such cost is found out, about 10% of the items will be seen to consume 70% of
the budget, and these are called Group A Items. Group B Item form about 20% of the
total item and account for the 20% of the budget. Group C consists of the remaining
70% of the items consume only 10% of the budget.

Thus it can be easily judged that the category A should get high priority and managerial
attention because though constituting only small fraction of the total list it amounts for
the bulk of the expenditure, Their stock, consumption, purchase should be critically
watched and controlled.
V E D ANALYSIS Another method of classification of drugs or materials is grouping them
according to criticality in patient care. V Items are vital drugs, without alternatives, forming
about 10% of the total drugs whose absence cannot be tolerated. Every attempt is to be made, at
whatever cost, to avoid the Out-Of-Stock position of these drugs.
E Items are the Essential items that constitute 40% of the items and their absence can
be tolerated for the short stretch of time. They could be made available in a day or two or
the alternative medicine can be made available. D items are the desirable items which
are the remaining 50% of the drugs and their non- availability can be tolerated for
longer period. They may be required for chronic and less serious patients.
Combination of ABC and VED Analysis can be explained in the following way V E D A AV
AE AD Category I 15% Items B BV BE BD Category II 40% Items C CV CE CD Category III
45% Items
Thus drugs in Category I are either Vital or expensive and should be managed with
maximum attention. Consumption and its stock should be continuously monitored and safety
stock should be kept at low to reduce the carrying cost.
Category II consists of drugs, which are essential, and of average cost. They can be
managed with little less priority and can be managed with middle level managers. Category III
consists of the drugs which are desirable and inexpensive and thus lowest in the hierarchy of
priority. They should be purchased periodically and buffer stocks can be high managed by lower
level of management.