Many different types of pharmacies go far beyond what a general pharmacy is. While most pharmacies offer many of the same services, minor and major differences between types of pharmacies may make one preferable over the other, depending on what you need.
Pharmacy specializations allow pharmacists to provide more accurate, in-depth patient care and ensure they can access the required medicines and resources.
1. Community Pharmacy
When someone says ‘pharmacy, ‘ we all think of a local pharmacy in our community. It’s a general retail pharmacy often attached to a doctor’s office or found in a retailer. Community pharmacies provide access to all sorts of medications, advise on the safe and effective use of medicines, and tell their customers about drug interactions and side effects.
2. Medical Clinic Pharmacy
It is helpful for a medical clinic to have a pharmacy there so patients do not have to travel to fill prescriptions. A medical clinic pharmacy is identical in design to a community pharmacy, except that it isn’t put into retail and is instead attached to a clinic. It provides the same information, i.e., the optimal use of medication, drug safety and efficacy, and prevention of adverse reactions to medicines.
3. Hospital Pharmacy
Most hospitals have an attached pharmacy so patients can be given prescriptions and filled. A hospital pharmacy supplies medicine to the hospital, ensuring medication regimens are optimized for the best outcome. This type of pharmacy may also work with clinical trials, compound medications for individualized dosing, and teach students the proper storage, distribution, and prescription protocols.
4. Home Care Pharmacy
For critically ill patients who live at home, they can’t travel to get their medicines. A home care pharmacy is called to prepare and deliver injectable medicines to these patients. A home care pharmacy typically works exclusively with injectable medications and does not provide oral or topical medicines. Home care pharmacies also have subcategories, including specialties such as nutritional support, chemotherapy, mental health and mental illness, and oncology.
5. Compounding Pharmacy
A compounding pharmacy produces and prepares medicines in new forms, such as reformulating a powder tablet into a solution. For certain patients, a compounding pharmacy can be advantageous as it converts medicines into forms that are easier to administer. Depending on the request, these services may also be offered in community or clinical settings.
6. Ambulatory Pharmacy
An ambulatory pharmacy provides patients in rural areas with access to medications. It also works with patients who are at high risk of drug-related complications or disease complications. An ambulatory pharmacy is mobile by design, meeting patients where they are and reducing the likelihood of a patient going to the hospital.
7. Consulting Pharmacy
A consulting pharmacy is a service wherein a pharmacist does not focus on dispensing medicines but rather reviews medications and offers input into specific regimens. In many cases, consultants travel to communities that may not have access to regular doctor visits, nursing homes, or patients who require in-home services to advise on how to use medications most effectively.
8. Industrial Pharmacy
An industrial pharmacy works with the pharmaceutical industry to research, produce, package, and control medicines and pharmaceutical goods quality. Industrial pharmacists are often tasked with representing a particular company and advocating for the use of its products, informing other pharmacists of its actions, benefits, and risks.
9. Regulatory Pharmacy
Whereas an industrial pharmacy works for commercial interests, a regulatory pharmacy works for government interests. These pharmacists create rules and regulations for the safe use of medicines, evaluating the parameters required for producing positive health outcomes. They also work with regulatory boards and advise different government agencies.
10. Managed Care Pharmacy
A managed care pharmacy plans and manages medications in hospitals, nursing homes, and extended healthcare organizations. It uses clinical and scientific evidence to support the appropriate use of medicines for optimized outcomes while using limited healthcare resources. It contributes to planning pharmacies, medication management programs, and clinical programs.
11. Research Pharmacy
A research pharmacy is not outward-facing to customers. It is a private type of Pharmacy that focuses on developing new drugs and profiling their actions, effectiveness, and side effects. A research pharmacy also examines best practices and drug interactions. Unlike an industrial pharmacy, a research pharmacy is not attached to a corporate business and instead focuses on research rather than a profit-favorable outcome.
12. Oncology Pharmacy
An oncology pharmacy uses evidence-based medications to complement an existing cancer treatment plan. It is one of several specialized types of pharmacies with a strict focus that requires collaboration with other disciplines to support patient care. Some oncology pharmacies are purely research-based and focus on developing therapeutics for cancer and helping to advance promising medicines to clinical trials.
