Pharmacy is the profession of dispensing medication. This is distinct from pharmacology, the study and production of the medications themselves. Inmost jurisdictions, pharmacists are regulated separately from physicians hence the separate profession. In other jurisdictions, the doctor is allowed to dispense drugs themselves and the practice of pharmacy is integrated with that of the physician. Where so regulated, only pharmacists may dispense certain pharmaceuticals, typically narcotics and antibiotics.
A pharmacy (known also as a chemist’s or in American English a drugstore)is also a place where pharmacists (chemists) dispense medications. Many retailers (including grocery stores and mass merchanidizers) now include a pharmacy as department of their store.
Pharmacies are also located within hospitals and nursing homes and function as a department of these larger organizations. Such pharmacies are known within the pharmacy industry as “hospital pharmacies” to distinguish from”retail pharmacies”. Pharmacists in hospital pharmacies often have more complex medications whereas pharmacists in retail pharmacies often have more complex business and customer relations issues. In medical buildings where
physicians and other medical professionals congregate, a small retail pharmacy may be present as well for the convenience of patients. Such a”medical pharmacy” is legally distinct from the other medical professionals,unlike the pharmacies integrated into hospitals. A medical pharmacy is in fact a retail pharmacy.
The icon most commonly associated with the practise of pharmacy is the mortar and pestle. Apothecary is an older term used for pharmacy and pharmacists.