Pharmacy a Dying Profession?

Pharmacy a Dying Profession? (Solved & Explained)

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Are you thinking about a career in pharmacy and want to understand if it’s a good fit for you?

You may be wondering if the profession of pharmacy is on its way out.

It’s an excellent question to have addressed before devoting years, hard-earned money, and effort to pursuing a pharmacy degree.

Is pharmacy a dying profession?

Pharmacy is not a dying profession.  Even with the adoption of technology, there will always be a need for pharmacists to dispense drugs. The pharmacist job market is expected to grow between 4-6% between 2019 to 2021. There might be a reduction in retail pharmacists as more people fill their prescriptions via mail, however, these losses will be offset by an increase in pharmacy requirements in the healthcare sector. 

So now we have answered the main question, let’s discuss queries relating to pharmacy and why it is not a dying profession.

Will pharmacists be replaced by robots?

Like many professional roles, artificial intelligence and technology advancements will have an impact, redefining jobs.

Robots or computers have already augmented the role of a pharmacist.

Pharmacy software today is used with databases of medication monographs and interaction checkers.

However, pharmacists themselves will not be replaced in the near or reasonably distant future.

The reason being, artificial intelligence is unable to replace interaction between patients, medical knowledge, and determining the best course of action.

There are way too many variables to account for when dealing with patient care for artificial intelligence.

Further, patients will want human interaction when seeking advice on their health and what drugs to take.

Humans will always prefer the comfort of having a conversation with a human to a robot.

There is also the question of accountability, where someone has to verify the drugs being prescribed because at the end of the day someone needs to be accountable.

For hospital pharmacists, technology is already in place, it has the potential to further replace the role of the pharmacist.

It is unlikely the role of the pharmacist will be replaced in its entirety.  It may, however, speed up the dispensing of prescriptions to patients.

It may also free pharmacists to spend more time on the ward, interacting with patients providing clinical information and advice to doctors.

Is there a demand for pharmacists?

Yes, there is still a demand for pharmacists.

There might be some consolidation of businesses within the retail industry and loss of jobs with drugs being ordered via mail.

However, these job losses are expected to be offset by the need for pharmacists in the hospital and aged care industry.

Final Thoughts

There will be some changes with the adoption of technology and artificial intelligence, however, pharmacy is not a dying profession.

Like most professions, they evolve with the adoption of new technologies.

For pharmacists, there will always be a need for human interaction between patients and pharmacists.

So, if you are considering a career in pharmacy and is something of interest to you, you are on track for a fulfilling and rewarding career.

Hope you have found this article interesting and helpful, for further articles relating to medicine see below

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