Pharmacology = Pharmacy?

As a Pharmacologist, I have noticed that very few people know what it is; the general public usually confuses Pharmacology with Pharmacy.

Then, what is the difference?

Well, Pharmacology is a multidisciplinary science, which studies the interactions between different chemical substances and living organisms. These interactions alter the biochemical function of living organism in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes. When it is for treating symptoms or causes of illness, the chemicals used are considered pharmaceuticals. So, it can be said that pharmacology studies how drugs interact with the organism to provide a desired effect; pharmacology also studies how the drugs are absorbed, processed and eliminated by the organism.

Pharmacy is a health profession; its practice deals with the preparation of medicines and the ensuring of the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs. A pharmacist by definition must be an expert on drug therapy, who can detect errors in prescription, and can optimize drug therapy to improve the health of the patient.

In the beginning, as most scientific endeavors, both disciplines were indistinguishable from each other, since the ones that practiced pharmacology were pharmacists. Most of the discoveries were performed empirically at pharmacies and little was known about how drugs interacted with the organisms. This is the reason why many people tend to think that Pharmacology = Pharmacy.

Currently both areas are intertwined; Pharmacists use the principles of Pharmacology to optimize drug therapy and to explain how drugs can have adverse effects on patients.

In following posts, I will explain a bit more about the history of pharmacology and current theories on how drugs work.

Thank you for reading !