Why are pharmacists needed?

[Hypochondriac]

With the exception of hospital pharmacists, would you say that pharmacists are, technically, not needed as their job can be done by a doctor? This is just meant to be a discussion; in doing so, I hope that no one would feel offended.

In many Asian countries, pharmacists are non-existent as private doctors both make diagnosis and dispense drugs. In their clinics, they operate their own "pharmacies" where the doctors would hire pharmacists/nurses/assistants to do the dispensing. This might be feasible as long as the "dispenser" is careful in following the doctors' prescriptions.

However, in most Western countries if not all, doctors and pharmacists have different scopes of practice. Doctors purely make diagnosis while pharmacists purely do the dispensing.

I can see both the pros and cons of the two systems, but I tend to think that pharmacists are only needed in hospitals as their work is redundant.

It's true that pharmacists have more thorough knowledge in drugs and how they interact with the bodies. However, keep in mind that when you buy drugs at a pharmacy in North America, the pharmacists would rarely tell you anything about the drugs being prescribed; they would usually just ask you to come back later to pick up your drugs. i.e. they simply fill prescriptions. I think their job could easily be taken up by doctors who also know a whole lot about drugs and how they interact with the body. If the doctors also take up the role of dispensation, the patient would have the convenience of not having to travel to another place to fill their prescriptions. Another benefit is the reduction of government spending in the health sector: with less pharmacists being trained..etc.

Is there any reasons/benefits of having pharmacists when the doctors could also ably do the job?

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[Caverject]

With the exception of hospital pharmacists, would you say that pharmacists are, technically, not needed as their job can be done by a doctor? This is just meant to be a discussion; in doing so, I hope that no one would feel offended.

Pharmacists are not needed. With out doctors being so busy, we are nothing. Just like the world could be a much better place if you were dead. I hope that no one is offended by that inflammatory comment. It's just meant for discussion. tee hee 😉

In many Asian countries, pharmacists are non-existent as private doctors both make diagnosis and dispense drugs. In their clinics, they operate their own "pharmacies" where the doctors would hire pharmacists/nurses/assistants to do the dispensing. This might be feasible as long as the "dispenser" is careful in following the doctors' prescriptions.

Many asian countries have sub-standard care. In fact, the care is horrible. Most of them do not have agencies as strict and effective as the FDA. The last place in the world I want to be is Asia if I ever get sick.

However, in most Western countries if not all, doctors and pharmacists have different scopes of practice. Doctors purely make diagnosis while pharmacists purely do the dispensing

Wow! Thanks for stating the obvious!

I can see both the pros and cons of the two systems, but I tend to think that pharmacists are only needed in hospitals as their work is redundant.

It's true that pharmacists have more thorough knowledge in drugs and how they interact with the bodies. However, keep in mind that when you buy drugs at a pharmacy in North America, the pharmacists would rarely tell you anything about the drugs being prescribed; they would usually just ask you to come back later to pick up your drugs. i.e. they simply fill prescriptions. I think their job could easily be taken up by doctors who also know a whole lot about drugs and how they interact with the body. If the doctors also take up the role of dispensation, the patient would have the convenience of not having to travel to another place to fill their prescriptions. Another benefit is the reduction of government spending in the health sector: with less pharmacists being trained..etc.

Is there any reasons/benefits of having pharmacists when the doctors could also ably do the job?

 

[BMBiology]

I am not going to explain to you the important role of a pharmacist in the community setting. Keep in mind that this role may be different in your country. This role has been repeatedly posted on this forum but I want to address your question.

It is important that the role of the person that diagnose and dispense is done by 2 different professionals for 2 important reasons:

(1) To catch/reduce mistakes. This is extremely important because a mistake can lead to death.

(2) If the doctor prescribed and dispensed medication then he/she is in the position to prescribe unnecessary medications just for the sole purpose of making money. This is why it is illegal for one person to practice medicine and pharmacy in the state of California. This is probably why the american health care system, in terms of quality, is better than asian countries.

 

[ZpackSux]

In many Asian countries, pharmacists are non-existent as private doctors both make diagnosis and dispense drugs.

In many Asian countries, Democracy is almost non-existent. We should emulate them.

Actually, in many Asian countries, pharmacists act as the primary healthcare provider diagnosing and providing medications, unlike in the US.

 

[ZpackSux]

With the exception of hospital pharmacists, would you say that pharmacists are, technically, not needed as their job can be done by a doctor?

Good Idea. I can see it now.. Family Practice and Internal Med physicians applying for jobs at pharmacies.

 

[ChemAngel]

umm....okay....i guess it is my turn to respond.

you are right...technically pharmacist aren't needed....but technically...neither are nurses or physician assistance. In fact....no assistant of any kind is needed.

lawyers don't need paralegals....nobody would need a secretary. probably wouldn't even NEED a jury since a judge can do a juries job.


what i'm getting at is that just because someone CAN do the job...doesn't mean it is wise to make them. We'd be going back to the mid evil times.

Economically, we strive on specialities...it is the reason why we are advance. Instead of a "jake of all trades" we have people that specialize in certain things. Because of this, they are the best in that area and are able to help people at their fullest.


Pharmacist are the drug specialist. As much as a doctor can do the job of a pharmacist...they probably won't be able to do it as well as a pharmacist...because we base our studies on drugs....they base theirs on diagnosis.

And with MTM coming out soon....we might just see a change in the pharmacist's roles and misconceptions.

It is misconceptions like "pharmacist are useless" and "all they do is count pills" that make us underutilitized as a profession.
A person will go to a pharmacist before a doctor when they "have a cold" or a minor problem that they don't want to go thru the hassel of making a doctor's appointment a month away (when the symptoms are probably already gone)...just so they can tell them to take some tylenol and get bed rest.

We are an important option for alot of people....and we are readily available...no appointment needed.

And the idea that (next to nurses..which would probably be another "useless profession" according to your argument) pharmacist are the #2 most trusted profession...says something about our role in society.

 

[tupac_don]

With the exception of hospital pharmacists, would you say that pharmacists are, technically, not needed as their job can be done by a doctor? This is just meant to be a discussion; in doing so, I hope that no one would feel offended.

In many Asian countries, pharmacists are non-existent as private doctors both make diagnosis and dispense drugs. In their clinics, they operate their own "pharmacies" where the doctors would hire pharmacists/nurses/assistants to do the dispensing. This might be feasible as long as the "dispenser" is careful in following the doctors' prescriptions.

However, in most Western countries if not all, doctors and pharmacists have different scopes of practice. Doctors purely make diagnosis while pharmacists purely do the dispensing.

I can see both the pros and cons of the two systems, but I tend to think that pharmacists are only needed in hospitals as their work is redundant.

It's true that pharmacists have more thorough knowledge in drugs and how they interact with the bodies. However, keep in mind that when you buy drugs at a pharmacy in North America, the pharmacists would rarely tell you anything about the drugs being prescribed; they would usually just ask you to come back later to pick up your drugs. i.e. they simply fill prescriptions. I think their job could easily be taken up by doctors who also know a whole lot about drugs and how they interact with the body. If the doctors also take up the role of dispensation, the patient would have the convenience of not having to travel to another place to fill their prescriptions. Another benefit is the reduction of government spending in the health sector: with less pharmacists being trained..etc.

Is there any reasons/benefits of having pharmacists when the doctors could also ably do the job?

With the exception of hospital pharmacists, would you say that pharmacists are, technically, not needed as their job can be done by a doctor?

True, technically pharmacists are not needed. Doctors could technically do their job, however that would be asinine. Doctors would have to give up doing more imp things to dispense. As another doctors can do the job of a PA or an RN, but they are there to make their job easier. In the same vein doctors dont' want to bother with these small things and leave it up to the pharmacists.

Now let me ask you a question, do you think that the care would get better or worse if a busy doctor would turn to dispensing in addition to other duties. It is an unneccessary task that can easily be delegated to a pharmacist. You even said that doctors in Asia who do their own dispensing hire a pharmacist to work for them who does the dispensing. SO what u are saying that even though doctors do the dispensing they still need a pharmacist on board.

the pharmacists would rarely tell you anything about the drugs being prescribed; they would usually just ask you to come back later to pick up your drugs. i.e. they simply fill prescriptions.

Well yes and no. This only happens bc for the most part the customers/patients want to get in and get out with their meds. If you ask any pharmacists a question they will answer and try to help you out. Furthermore there are places that actually do mandatory counselling of any first time prescriptions such as Meijers. As far as "simply filling prescriptions", you are confused, that is a stereotype that most people have. What you don't realize is that every single script brought into the pharmacy is scrutinized by the pharmacist for appropriateness and a doctor is called if there is a problem to clarify. However, most pts don't see this or care to see it. Counselling of pts is done, but is not forced on pts if they don't wish it.

So I would leave this last thought with you. If I as a doctor had to pay for a pharmacists services I probably wouldn't if I could do dispensing myself. However, I don't understand your comment, since it's not like doctors are paying out of pocket to have pharmacists around. Pharmacists just make their job easier, so why would they want to do extra, unneccessary work of dispensing when they can focus on diagnosing and pt care. Also doctors can get a dispensing licence to dispense small amount of drugs from their office if they so wish.

Well that's just my 2 cents.

 

[yatzek]

do you want to pay to see a physician everytime you want a non prsecription med? try to tell me you never asked a pharmacist for advice- like which med is the best, etc.
the role of the pharmacist is not just to dispense, they are general drug experts that can fulfill many different positions. many physicians rely on a pharmacist's advice and expect the pharmacist to check up on their prescription.

its like in the US govt, checks and balances... if one person was in charge, they could be killing people with drugs and have no one to stop them

 

[bananaface]

In WA, an offer of counsel on new Rxs is considered a professional practice standard by the BOP. If you get inspected and aren't offering counsel they'll ding you. Or, if a patient makes a public complaint they have the option of putting you on probation, etc.

For the OP, what is the value you see in hospital pharmacists that leads you to appreicate their job role?

 

[PharmDr.]

I want to start by saying how pharmacists are needed in the healthcare system. On the other hand, I have worked for Eckerds/CVS for over 2 years and most(not all) of the pharmacists I have worked for (mostly RPh., not PharmD's) do not do their job properly. I am always asking questions to them and they are incompetent to the point that they do not know about the angiotensin-aldosterone system. Pretty important to know when patients are on diuretics and ace inhibitors. They just scan the bottle of the drug, scan the rx label and make sure the drug is the correct drug prescribed. Hell, I am a CPhT, and have caught so many potentially serious errors that it makes me sick. Let me make it clear that I know not all pharmacists are like the ones I have worked with. I have worked for some great newly grads from UF and I learned a lot from them. I am working in a hospital now as the iv/infusion tech and the pharmacists there actually use their brains. I think the problem is that these pharmacists I have worked with dont keep up on the material over the years. Doctors have to keep up on the material or they wont be practicing or they will be paying more out to their insurance. I have run one of the pharmacies before(store manager told me to watch everything closely this geezer is doing.lol) for a whole sunday b/c a 75 yr. old RPh. was the fill-in and could barely walk,see, and could not operate computer! He made 3 C2 script mistakes and luckily I caught them (ex. dispensed Percodan instead of Percocet). I have had the same experiences in my town working at 4 diff. Eckerds/CVS with the RPh's. What I am getting at is that pharmacists are supposed to be the drug experts and I have seen little of that. Newly grads yes, but not these crappy RPh's Eckerds hires here in Tampa,FL. Sorry for the rant, but just wanted to add my 2 cents. Take care

 

[PharmDmomma]

Hey dim wit! Doctors make a hell of alot of mistakes when it comes to prescribing it's not exactly their strong points. Pharmacists correct the obvious mistakes. Go work in a pharmacy you will see.

 

[DrugMan]

Hypochondriac,

Why did you wait 'til your 30th post to tell us that we're not needed...you regestered back in Oct. of 2003. I wish you would have told me this a long time ago because I would have atleast spread the word. Now this is what we should both do...lets go to all of the pharmacies and tell everybody (pharmacist, pharm tech. cashiers) to just walk off of their jobs because they're simply not needed. If they offer us any meds it's probably because they don't understand us and we'll simply tell them "no thank you" becasuse you're not needed.

 

[LVPharm]

Hypochondriac:

Thanks for putting some sense in me! Tomorrow morning, I'm supposed to be at commencement, picking up my shiny new Pharm.D. and my hood. Now that you've shown me just how worthless these last 3 years have been for me, I'll just skip it. I'll just have them mail it to me. I'm going to go ahead and cancel my appointment to take the NAPLEX/MJPE. All that pharmacotherapy knowledge...it was a worthless endeavor...why pursue a degree and a six figure salary when my services outside of a hospital are clearly unecessary and a complete waste of money. I'm a leech, who profits from doing a meaningless and trivial job. I've spent 3 years learning to count different shaped pills and capsules by 5's. I'm a human Pez dispenser, with a doctorate.

🙄

Why would you even post this to a Pharmacy forum...preaching to the converted...admit it, you just "get off" on trying to belittle other healthcare professionals, don't you? You weren't anticipating pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists to agree with you, right?

 

[DrugMan]

Hypochondriac:

Thanks for putting some sense in me! Tomorrow morning, I'm supposed to be at commencement, picking up my shiny new Pharm.D. and my hood. Now that you've shown me just how worthless these last 3 years have been for me, I'll just skip it. I'll just have them mail it to me. I'm going to go ahead and cancel my appointment to take the NAPLEX/MJPE. All that pharmacotherapy knowledge...it was a worthless endeavor...why pursue a degree and a six figure salary when my services outside of a hospital are clearly unecessary and a complete waste of money. I'm a leech, who profits from doing a meaningless and trivial job. I've spent 3 years learning to count different shaped pills and capsules by 5's. I'm a human Pez dispenser, with a doctorate.

🙄

Jack*ss, why would you even post this to a Pharmacy forum...preaching to the converted...admit it, you just "get off" on trying to belittle other healthcare professionals, don't you? You weren't anticipating pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists to agree with you, right?

LVPharm,

I bet that Psycho-chondriac is not even a doctor or even a med-student for that matter...any professional in their right mind know the value of specializing in the healthcare. I apologize for even responding to such a ******ed post...naw, I'm not sorry

 

[uspcommuter]

Hehehe, I guess I need to put in my two cents too. Since I like these type of discussion.

-The simplest reason why you (and doctors) need a pharmacist is b/c:

-One, you need some one to blame it on when your doctor make a mistake. (yes they are human after all...however I have met a few that I will gladly claim as "G-D" if I was an atheist) And lets face it, after all its easy to point the finger to the person that loan you 7 days worth meds b/c you ran out early than to point at a person who you skipped out on your $20 copay.

-Two, doctors needs a pharmacist b/c they dont want to lose their "G-D" like image, to do so they need someone to blame. One of them happen to be mr. rx. However, if everyone remember correctly in pharmacy law, the one who propose therapy accountability of pharmacists was proposed by a MD. "it is our responsiblity to serve as our brothers keeper as we do with the docs" (Not the exact quote, but if you want I can wipe out the law book and cite the exact thing). Point is...we are here to be blamed by the public.

-Reasons why I think you WANT a pharmacist:

-Try asking any other healthcare professional about health/medical advice and try not to get slapped with a bill. Due to the indirect cause of OSHA, we are legally bound to provide medication consueling as long as you ask for it and its FREE. (well as long as you have a prescription 😉 )

-Come on we invent coco-cola, pepsi-cola and many more...isnt that reason enough that you guys need us? 😎

Anyways thats enough of me...

But really if you want I can cite all my sources. (I am such a nerd)

 

[jamboo54]

Is it just me or have many of the threads become kinda nasty lately.

I respect the original question that was asked. I don't think most of you read the post correctly. He just put it up there to have a discussion. If this forum went as planned it could have been very informative to other pre-pharm students and even pre-pre-pharm students.

Im assuming he's coming from an asian country and he obviously has different experiences. How about we let newcomers ask questions and learn about the field just like the rest of us did.

 

[LVPharm]

He's not a newcomer...he's been on SDN since October of 2003. If he can't take the time and read the FAQ, browse the threads, check out AACP and other pharmacy organizations, then he can just wallow in his own miconceptions for all I care. Believe me, for some (a small minority) of the pre-allopaths, there is NOTHING you or I can say or do that will change their "physicians are gods, pharmacists are peons" mentality.

 

[Hypochondriac]

Is it just me or have many of the threads become kinda nasty lately.

I respect the original question that was asked. I don't think most of you read the post correctly. He just put it up there to have a discussion. If this forum went as planned it could have been very informative to other pre-pharm students and even pre-pre-pharm students.

Im assuming he's coming from an asian country and he obviously has different experiences. How about we let newcomers ask questions and learn about the field just like the rest of us did.

Finally someone understood my post. I didn't mean to start a war but many of you guys misinterpreted the intention of my post! i came back to this post today to find that everyone has this hostile attitude towards this post. I apologise for not making myself clearer, but it's obvious that you guys made this post look vicious!! I wouldn't bother to defend myself here; go on attacking me if you will.

Someone mentioned healthcare in Asia being sub-standard. That's a sign of ignorance. Just to cite an example, look at healthcare in Singapore. It's absolutely world-class, definitely on-par if not better than the American system.

I just wanted to compare the 2 systems; one with the separation of prescribing and dispensing, one without. The pros and cons of each. By having doctors who own their pharmacies (note that they don't do the dispensing themselves; they hire assistants to do it, not necessarily pharmacists), patients can avoid paying fees to 2 professionals (hence, cheaper) and can enjoy a one-stop service. So it's not without merit. I did start by implying hospital pharmacists are important, so my belief is pharmacists are very important in the hospital setting. I didn't say anything that pharmacists are not needed, even in the hospital!!!

Don't start verbally attacking others without fully understanding the post. Also, I live in Canada so I'm very familiar with how pharmacists work here.

Also, I posted my message here in this forum and not in others only because I think the discussion would be most meaningful when most people here know something at least about pharmacy. If I post it elsewhere, no one would bother to give any feedback.

Anyway, this forum is disappointing.

 

[Hypochondriac]

He's not a newcomer...he's been on SDN since October of 2003. If he can't take the time and read the FAQ, browse the threads, check out AACP and other pharmacy organizations, then he can just wallow in his own miconceptions for all I care. Believe me, for some (a small minority) of the pre-allopaths, there is NOTHING you or I can say or do that will change their "physicians are gods, pharmacists are peons" mentality.

Another ignorant post. I joined in 2003 but didn't come back till yesterday. I see myself as a newcomer. I totally forgot about this website until I found it on Google. Yes, I've posted roughly 10 times in these 2 years. HOWEVER, the last time I posted was probably in 2003. How many of you remember seeing my post other than this one?

Look back at my first post here. Did I ever say or imply pharmacists are useless??????!! I acknowledged that hospital pharmacists are totally needed. It's just that those in private practice seem not really entirely needed. I asked for your opinions about the pros and cons of each system and you guys are way too sensitive!

 

[LVPharm]

It's true that pharmacists have more thorough knowledge in drugs and how they interact with the bodies. However, keep in mind that when you buy drugs at a pharmacy in North America, the pharmacists would rarely tell you anything about the drugs being prescribed; they would usually just ask you to come back later to pick up your drugs. i.e. they simply fill prescriptions.

Of course we don't counsel when a script is dropped off. We counsel on new scripts (required by law in NV, not just an offer for new scripts)...when the meds are picked up. The BOP here in NV will ding you if you don't. It makes no sense to counsel a patient about their meds when they drop off scripts.

I do admire how you seem to know that this is done routinely "at a pharmacy in North America". Have you visited a fair enough sample of pharmacies to make that generalization? Maybe you visited Canadian pharmacies...I don't know how they operate.

 

[LVPharm]

Another ignorant post. I joined in 2003 but didn't come back till yesterday. I see myself as a newcomer. I totally forgot about this website until I found it on Google. I don't think I've posted roughly 10 times in these 2 years. The last time I posted was probably in 2003. How many of you remember seeing my post other than this one?

Look back at my first post here. Did I ever say or imply pharmacists are useless??????!! I acknowledged that hospital pharmacists are totally needed. It's just that those in private practice seem not really entirely needed. I asked for your opinions about the pros and cons of each system and you guys are way too sensitive!

I remember answering one of your questions, regarding a school in Australia.

Thanks, I'M ignorant...pot, meet kettle.

You didn't say they were useless, but you certainly implied it with respect to retail practice, because you fail to understand that pharmacists offer more than a dispensory role...despite what you said in regards to failing to counsel when dropping off prescriptions, I and every pharmacist I've worked under have not failed to provide counsel to patients picking up their new meds. Many times, these patients are not adequately counseled by their physicians. Sometimes, this is simply because these physicians are just to darned busy and rushed to assure understanding by the patient on how to properly take their meds, common side effects, etc.

 

[bananaface]

I'm a human Pez dispenser, with a doctorate.

I want this in my sig block.

 

[bananaface]

Finally someone understood my post. I didn't mean to start a war but many of you guys misinterpreted the intention of my post! i came back to this post today to find that everyone has this hostile attitude towards this post. I apologise for not making myself clearer, but it's obvious that you guys made this post look vicious!! I wouldn't bother to defend myself here; go on attacking me if you will.

Someone mentioned healthcare in Asia being sub-standard. That's a sign of ignorance. Just to cite an example, look at healthcare in Singapore. It's absolutely world-class, definitely on-par if not better than the American system.

I just wanted to compare the 2 systems; one with the separation of prescribing and dispensing, one without. The pros and cons of each. By having doctors who own their pharmacies (note that they don't do the dispensing themselves; they hire assistants to do it, not necessarily pharmacists), patients can avoid paying fees to 2 professionals (hence, cheaper) and can enjoy a one-stop service. So it's not without merit. I did start by implying hospital pharmacists are important, so my belief is pharmacists are very important in the hospital setting. I didn't say anything that pharmacists are not needed, even in the hospital!!!

Don't start verbally attacking others without fully understanding the post. Also, I live in Canada so I'm very familiar with how pharmacists work here.

Also, I posted my message here in this forum and not in others only because I think the discussion would be most meaningful when most people here know something at least about pharmacy. If I post it elsewhere, no one would bother to give any feedback.

Anyway, this forum is disappointing.

You recognized that the topic was inflammatory in the OP. Why else would you have commented that you weren't out to offend everyone? Don't act all surprised if people didn't find you sincere. It's a risk you run when you ask a loaded question.

The only duty reserved to pharmacists is compounding. This is done in both retail and hospital settings. I suppose that a physician could take on many of the other tasks if they chose to. Imagine a physician trying to walk into a pharmacy and play pharmacist. Could they swing it? Not without additional training. We have specialties because if we all tried to be everything to everyone we'd be in school until we were 157.

Some obvious problems with exclusively office dispensing are as follows:
1) With a gazillion drugs out there carrying a full stock of meds is not financially practical for a small practice.
2) Physicians don't want to be open the hours that patients need pharmacy services.
3) Prescribing for profit can lead to non-ideal prescribing practices. This is not in the best interest of the patient.
4) Some prescribers would shirk the responsibility of making sure what they are prescribing does not interact with meds from other prescribers. Want to get them together and let them argue over whose med is most important? Me either.
5) Some prescribers would just go into the narcotic business. Legal druglords!
6) Pharmacists are readily accessible for patient questions or concerns whereas most physicians are not.

 

[PharmDeb]

And with MTM coming out soon....we might just see a change in the pharmacist's roles and misconceptions.

ChemAngel-Can you tell me what MTM stands for so I can read up on this? Thanks

 

[yatzek]

i'll answer for chemangel- medication therapy management, medicare will now reinmburse pharmacists for this new service they can provide... this is a trend, drugs are getting more and more complex

here is a little article on it:http://www.pharmacytimes.com/article.cfm?ID=2003

hypochondriac: if you think we are over acting, go to the dentist or optometrists forum and ask them why technically, doctors could do their job too... i mean they teach you about teeth and eyes in medical school just like they do about drugs

 

[BMBiology]

Someone mentioned healthcare in Asia being sub-standard. That's a sign of ignorance. Just to cite an example, look at healthcare in Singapore. It's absolutely world-class, definitely on-par if not better than the American system.

I just wanted to compare the 2 systems; one with the separation of prescribing and dispensing, one without. The pros and cons of each. By having doctors who own their pharmacies (note that they don't do the dispensing themselves; they hire assistants to do it, not necessarily pharmacists), patients can avoid paying fees to 2 professionals (hence, cheaper) and can enjoy a one-stop service

If the asian health care system is actuallly better than the U.S. then why is it that many affluent asians come to the U.S. for the sole purpose of getting important health care service?

Again, if doctors own pharmacies then this may lead to unnecessary drug prescriptions, just for the sole purpose of making money. Just think of how much extra money doctors can make by prescribing unnecessary vitamins alone.

 

[Sosumi]

I remember discussing this question from an MPH student who had his M.D. from another country. A lot of people from other countries do not understand how fragmented and specialized the U.S. healthcare system is. That's why we have nurse practitioners, podiatrists, dentists, physician's assistants, clinical pharmacists, and physicians who specialize. It's hard to be an expert in everything, and difficult for a physician to do everything like they show on TV.

I can't remember which law that was passed that separted the prescribing and dispensing roles, but its main intent was to ensure ethical separation. It's evolved into more of a checking system. Doctors do NOT know everything, especially when patients go to multiple doctors -- again a fragmented healthcare system. Pharmacists also learn about OTC's and herbals and their interactions, as well as pharmaceutics (dosage forms) and pharmacokinetics -- things few doctors are ever taught or bother to learn.

I do agree that retail pharmacy is nowhere close to the ideal that they teach us in pharmacy school, although some pharmacies do try to push for it. ("Retail rots the mind" is my motto.) The problems include the shortage of pharmacists, the sizable number who just aren't any good at counseling -- many who can barely speak English, don't bother keeping up with drug knowledge, or just too lazy or disinterested to bother, and the push from corporate non-pharmacists and even pharmacists to get prescriptions through as quickly and conveniently as possible.

By the way, many Asian countries do have pharmacists who can actually sell whatever they have without a prescription -- why do they need doctors then?