Community, hospital, and retail pharmacists compound and dispense prescribed drug products for customers/health care professionals. They advise on the administration, use/effects of medications, and maintain medication profiles of customers.

Industrial pharmacists participate in the research, development, and manufacture of drug products. They test new drug products; co-ordinate clinical investigations of new drug products; control the quality of drug products during production to make sure that they meet standards of potency, purity, uniformity, stability, and safety; and evaluate the labelling, packaging, and advertising of drug products.

Community, hospital and retail pharmacists perform some or all of the following duties:

Check prescriptions for proper dosage;

Compound prescribed pharmaceutical products by calculating, measuring and mixing the quantities of drugs and other ingredients required and filling appropriate containers with correct quantity;

Dispense prescribed pharmaceuticals to customers or to other health care professionals and advise them on indications, contraindications, adverse effects, drug interactions and dosage;

Maintain medication profiles of customers including registry of poisons and narcotic and controlled drugs;

Ensure proper preparation, packaging, distribution and storage of vaccines, serums, biologicals and other drugs and pharmaceuticals;

Order and maintain stock of pharmaceutical supplies;

Advise customers on selection and use of nonprescription medication.

May supervise and co-ordinate the activities of other pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, pharmacy technicians and other staff.

Industrial pharmacists perform some or all of the following duties:

Participate in basic research for the development of new drugs;

Formulate new drug products developed by medical researchers;

Test new drug products for stability and to determine their absorption and elimination patterns;

Co-ordinate clinical investigations of new drugs;

Control the quality of drug products during production to ensure that they meet standards of potency, purity, uniformity, stability and safety;

Develop information materials concerning the uses, properties and risks of particular drugs;

Evaluate labelling, packaging and advertising of drug products;

Promote pharmaceutical products to health professionals.

Pharmacy assistants assist pharmacists by compounding, packaging and labelling pharmaceutical products and by maintaining prescription records and inventories of medications and pharmaceutical products.

Drug Information Pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacist Consultant