Description
Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.
- • Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability.
- • Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage.
- • Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions.
- • Order and purchase pharmaceutical supplies, medical supplies, or drugs, maintaining stock and storing and handling it properly.
- • Maintain records, such as pharmacy files, patient profiles, charge system files, inventories, control records for radioactive nuclei, or registries of poisons, narcotics, or controlled drugs.
- • Provide specialized services to help patients manage conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, or high blood pressure.
- • Advise customers on the selection of medication brands, medical equipment, or healthcare supplies.
- • Collaborate with other health care professionals to plan, monitor, review, or evaluate the quality or effectiveness of drugs or drug regimens, providing advice on drug applications or characteristics.
- • Compound and dispense medications as prescribed by doctors and dentists, by calculating, weighing, measuring, and mixing ingredients, or oversee these activities.
- • Refer patients to other health professionals or agencies when appropriate.
- • Prepare sterile solutions or infusions for use in surgical procedures, emergency rooms, or patients' homes.
- • Plan, implement, or maintain procedures for mixing, packaging, or labeling pharmaceuticals, according to policy and legal requirements, to ensure quality, security, and proper disposal.
- • Manage pharmacy operations, hiring or supervising staff, performing administrative duties, or buying or selling non-pharmaceutical merchandise.
- • Work in hospitals or clinics or for Health Management Organizations (HMOs), dispensing prescriptions, serving as a medical team consultant, or specializing in specific drug therapy areas, such as oncology or nuclear pharmacotherapy.
- • Assess the identity, strength, or purity of medications.
- • Teach pharmacy students serving as interns in preparation for their graduation or licensure.
- • Publish educational information for other pharmacists, doctors, or patients.
- • Offer health promotion or prevention activities, such as training people to use blood pressure devices or diabetes monitors.
- • Contact insurance companies to resolve billing issues.
- • Update or troubleshoot pharmacy information databases.
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Healthcare & Human Services
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Last reviewed: Jan 2026
