The growing role of pharmacists in society and prospects for their professional activities

Aim. To analyze the changes in the professional functions of pharmacists because of the growing social burden on pharmacies, as well as the prospects for this profession. Materials and methods. The objects of the study were regulatory legal acts on the regulation of pharmaceutical activities; modern approaches to the organization of pharmaceutical care and services to the population in Ukraine. To achieve this goal, the following methods were used: bibliographic, historical, content analysis, analytical-comparative, systematization and generalization. Results and discussion. Analyzed the legal acts of the period of Ukraine's independence aimed at forming a patient-oriented model of pharmacy functioning, in particular, the introduction of international quality standards, intensification of state policy to ensure the availability of medicines for the population, and elaboration of the requirements of good pharmacy practice at the present stage. It is proposed that the classical functions of pharmacy institutions (trade, production, information and social), due to the increasing content of the professional roles of pharmacists with the social component of their activities, should be outlined by complex conceptual categories formed from two fundamental activities – socio-economic, trade and production, information and communication, and social and humanitarian. The article considers the prospects for a pharmacist who, at the level of secondary specialization, can acquire new competencies in accordance with the professional standard and further apply for the position of a healthcare professional. As an example, the author characterizes the pharmacist's participation in the pharmacovigilance system – notifying the patient about the possibility of adverse reactions and the algorithm of actions in such a situation, collecting information on adverse drug reactions and health risks, filling out a card-notification of adverse reaction and/or lack of effectiveness of therapy. Conclusions. The expansion of the content of the professional functions of pharmacists and the growth of their role in society due to the increase in social burden contributes to the formation of a patient-oriented model of pharmacy functioning, but requires the implementation of the requirements of good pharmacy practice and the revision of related regulations to ensure the conditions for the quality provision of pharmaceutical care and services.