The future of pharmacy: Armageddon or Pollyanna?

OBJECTIVE: To review important events and predictions about pharmacy that have occurred in the practice since my career began and describe changes in opportunities that have developed over the past 35 years. DATA SOURCES: I used personal recollections and information from the State of Florida Pharmacy Association journal over a 35-year period. Other supporting data were used to describe current practice opportunities. DATA SYNTHESIS: Over the past 35 years many people have predicted the demise of the pharmacy profession. The reasons stated for this demise have varied over the years and include government interference, the expansion of chain and mail-order pharmacies, managed care, loss of the compounding function, Medicaid reimbursement, national health insurance, and pharmacy technicians. Despite these gloomy predictions, community and hospital pharmacies have flourished over the past 35 years and new roles for pharmacists have emerged in managed care, consultant pharmacy, academic pharmacy, and the pharmaceutical industry. With the enactment of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 requirements, it appears that the public has even greater expectations from community pharmacists as medication advisors. The pharmacy profession is changing more rapidly than ever and pharmacists must prepare for these rapid changes. Colleges of pharmacy should inculcate in their students the importance of lifelong learning to keep abreast with change. CONCLUSIONS: Society will always need experts on drugs. Pharmacists must rise to the challenge and accept new and changing roles in drug therapy management. If that occurs the future of pharmacy will be ensured.