Let us look to a brighter future
Those of us who have had to focus on events at Lambeth over the past 12 months or so, need to remind ourselves that there are other developments in pharmacy — just as important to the overall future of the profession — that need attention, too.
For community pharmacy, the final outcome of the investigation into control
of entry still hangs in the balance, along with the new contract and
how the reimbursement of generic medicines and the delivery of extra
services will be stirred into the financial pot.
For hospital pharmacists, the implications for their career structure
also hang in the balance as the “Agenda for change” proposals
are put into practice.
Primary care pharmacists may have a secure foothold in parts of Britain
but, in others, the benefits that they can bring to patient care still
need to be sold to general practitioners and community pharmacists — both
of whom may feel threatened by the newcomers.
Industrial pharmacists have their own concerns as the pharmaceutical
industry manages the change of focus in long-term drug development and
investors raise eyebrows about the paucity of products near to launch.
Although these developments may seem to prey on pharmacists’ worst
fears, the truism that every threat is also an opportunity is an accurate
reflection of what the profession faces.
The next 12 months and beyond should see greater recognition of the pharmacist
as a health care professional. As supplementary prescribers begin to
practise right across the board and as medicines management programmes
begin to make a difference, doctors and nurses, as well as patients,
will begin to appreciate what the profession really has to offer.
It will be a pity, then, if the focus next year is more about the
in-fighting that is currently dominating the headlines and less about
these other professional developments.
So, as 2003 draws to a close, The Pharmaceutical Journal raises a festive
glass and salutes the thousands of pharmacists who cannot understand
what all the fuss is about, who believe that the profession should be
pulling together, who hope that 2004 will be less acrimonious and who
are looking forward to a brighter future.
Best wishes and good fortune to you all, whatever your views!
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