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"Pharmacy is its own worst enemy" and similar phrases have dotted my offerings to this Newsletter over the past few months (is it that long?) and once again I am forced to repeat it.
How can we hope to improve our professional image when bickering and in fighting continue to make headlines?
Mr Bill Scott, chief pharmacist in Scotland, was reported in the September 29th issue of The Pharmaceutical Journal as denouncing primary care pharmacists in the UK. He called them "pixies - doctors' little helpers" who had little to offer and should be back in hospitals or community pharmacies.
This outburst appeared to surprise the editors of the Journal who wrote of their concern about the rise of the "us and them" mentality within the different areas of the profession or, as they termed it, the ten tribes of pharmacy.
It also piqued my curiosity about the role of the primary care pharmacist, so I investigated.
Some 1000 pharmacists in the UK now work within groups of doctors to advise on drug therapy and monitor pharmaceutical usage within the practices.
What a great idea, our two professions working together to maximise benefits to the patient (and, to be honest, to keep drug usage within budget).
I know- it is probably not quite so idyllic but the foundation is being laid for increased professional input from pharmacists into patient care in a community setting.
Australia is attempting something similar with many divisions of general practice utilising the expertise of pharmacists in various programmes aimed at better use of medicines.
Our own Heather Pym is one such pharmacist and is far better able than I to expand on the benefits to both professions in such a relationship.
Never the less, doctors from two divisions in Perth which employ clinical pharmacists have said to me how much they have gained from the association. Unfortunately this message does not seem to be getting through to the general medical community and the reluctance to work with pharmacists in matters such as medication reviews continues.
Primary care pharmacists, similar to Australia's medical practice pharmacists, tend to come from the hospital sector, many having clinical pharmacy backgrounds and are thus more than capable of giving appropriate advice.
The Pharmaceutical Journal describes how primary care pharmacists are running coronary heart disease prevention programmes and are involved in other health promotion activities.
Was this not one of the proposed arms of pharmaceutical care whereby pharmacy would be able to move away from a simple supply function?
As I have written before, pharmacy has the ability to offer much more to patient care than it does now and must seize every opportunity to prove this.
Does community based clinical pharmacy have a future?
I would like to think it does, especially as both my offspring are pharmacists, but one would have some concerns seeing attacks coming from within pharmacy's own ranks.
Mr Scott is one of the top three pharmacists in the UK and if he is ready to attack any attempt to expand the clinical role of the pharmacist, the general public will take notice.
My fellow newsletter authors seem to be overcome with doom and gloom about the profession - too protected, not forward thinking, inefficient and poorly led are just a few words that come to mind.
On a positive note is the fact that, despite a multitude of attacks on the profession, pharmacists are still right at the top of the list as far as customer trust is concerned-we must be doing something right.
I would hate to imagine the time when some giant pharmacy computer will replace the personal touch presently so evident in the profession.
It is now possible for surgeons to carry out remote control transatlantic surgery using modern technology but, can a machine show the empathy inherent in most of our colleagues?
Isaac Asimov, my favourite science writer, described a future where personal contact was all but abolished, robots and other technological machines carrying out all "human" activities.
Is this the future of pharmacy?
I hope not.
This may seem strange coming from a contributor to an electronic newsletter but occasionally someone must play "devil's advocate".
In my" bio-pic" I claim to be somewhat of a pharmaceutical dinosaur.
I do not deny this but you should remember - the dinosaurs were around for some 130 million years!

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