Community pharmacy practice in India: past, present and future

Abstract

Today, community pharmacists play an important role in any country as they take responsibility for patient's medicine related needs for access to healthcare. However, in India only the supply of medicines remains the core activity of the community pharmacist. Most community pharmacists in the country still hardly offer patient-oriented service. The role of the pharmacists in the community, and with it their medicine management, may change in the wake of the rapid growth of domestic medicine output and national healthcare expenditure. This article seeks to discuss the genesis of Indian community pharmacy, the majority of which are privately owned, and sketches its education, training and future prospects.