Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Dec 22;4(1):1.
doi: 10.3390/pharmacy4010001.

Social Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy-Joining Forces

Anna Birna Almarsdottir  1 , Anne Gerd Granas  2
Affiliations

Social Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy-Joining Forces

Anna Birna Almarsdottir et al. Pharmacy (Basel). .

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.

Keywords: clinical pharmacy; pharmacy education; pharmacy management; pharmacy practice research; social pharmacy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Sørensen E.W., Mount J.K., Christensen S.T. The Concept of Social Pharmacy. [(accessed on 18 September 2015)];Chronic Illn. 2003 7:8–11. Available online: http://www.mcppnet.org/publications/issue07-3.pdf.
    1. Nettleton S., Harding G., Taylor K. The concept and context of social pharmacy. In: Harding G., Nettleton S., Taylor K., editors. Social Pharmacy—Innovation and Development. The Pharmaceutical Press; London, UK: 1994. pp. 1–8.
    1. Harding G., Taylor K. Defining social pharmacy—It needs its own distinct identity. Int. J. Pharm. Pract. 1993;2:62–63. doi: 10.1111/j.2042-7174.1993.tb00725.x. - DOI
    1. Praznovcova L., Solich J. Social pharmacy in pharmacy education. Ceska Slov. Farm. 1994;43:320–322. - PubMed
    1. Desselle S.P., Collins C.C., Harrold M.W., Kalis M.M., Quattrocchi E.J. Consensus within five academic subdisciplines of pharmacy: Progress toward establishing their scientific paradigms. J. Pharm. Teach. 2002;9:27–46. doi: 10.1300/J060v09n02_03. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources