Covington Tim R
Managed Care Institute, Samford University, Birmingham, AL 35229, USA.
Am J Pharm Educ. 2006 Dec 15;70(6):137. doi: 10.5688/aj7006137.
Nonprescription drug therapy is tightly woven into the fabric of American health care. Market forces are expected to contribute to significant expansion of nonprescription drug use. Consumers place high value on nonprescription drug therapy; however, self-medicating patients frequently need assistance from a learned intermediary to assure optimal integration of nonprescription drug therapy into the total care regimen. Pharmacist-assisted self-care holds vast potential to serve the public interest, but this expanded practice role will require higher levels of professional practice commitment by American pharmacy. That commitment must be supported by practice-relevant, competency-based, patient-centered college and school of pharmacy curricula and continuing education that assures perpetual intellectual proficiency in nonprescription drug pharmacotherapy. That knowledge and competency must be integrated holistically into the total mix of patient comorbidity and polypharmacy. The pharmacist-assisted self-care business and professional practice model must be further facilitated by state and national pharmacy organizations, chain and independent community pharmacy, pharmacy wholesalers, and others. Consumers await expanded and differentiated pharmacy-based, pharmacist-provided medication therapy management services focused on the safe, appropriate, and effective selection, use, and monitoring of nonprescription drugs therapy.
非处方药疗法已紧密融入美国医疗保健体系。市场力量有望推动非处方药使用量显著增长。消费者高度重视非处方药疗法；然而，自我药疗的患者经常需要专业人士的帮助，以确保非处方药疗法能最佳地融入整体护理方案。药剂师协助的自我护理具有巨大潜力，能够服务于公众利益，但这种扩大的执业角色将需要美国药学界更高水平的专业实践投入。这种投入必须得到与实践相关、基于能力、以患者为中心的药学院校课程以及继续教育的支持，以确保在非处方药药物治疗方面始终保持专业知识水平。这些知识和能力必须全面融入患者合并症和多重用药的整体情况中。州和国家药学组织、连锁及独立社区药房、药品批发商等必须进一步推动药剂师协助的自我护理业务和专业实践模式。消费者期待能获得更多基于药房、由药剂师提供的差异化药物治疗管理服务，这些服务聚焦于非处方药疗法的安全、合理及有效选择、使用和监测。
