EVERY year on 25 September, World Pharmacists Day provides an opportunity to recognize a healthcare profession that is often misunderstood. For many people, a pharmacist is simply the professional who dispenses medicines at a pharmacy counter. Yet the pharmacist’s contribution to health extends far beyond handing over a packet of tablets. Pharmacists can be important partners in disease prevention, medication safety, health education and the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
The theme of modern pharmacy practice is increasingly centered on the patient rather than the medicine alone. Pharmacists are trained to understand medicines, their appropriate doses, interactions, side effects and potential risks. Their involvement can help patients use medicines correctly and safely. The World Health Organization’s “Medication Without Harm” initiative emphasizes that pharmacists, alongside other healthcare professionals, have an important role in preventing avoidable medication-related harm through safer prescribing, dispensing, administration and monitoring.
This role is particularly important in Pakistan, where pharmacies are often easily accessible to communities. A pharmacist may be approached before a patient visits a doctor or hospital. This creates an opportunity to provide reliable health information, identify warning signs requiring medical attention and discourage inappropriate self-medication.
One of the most urgent public health challenges in which pharmacists can make a difference is antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Unnecessary or inappropriate antibiotic use accelerates the development of resistant organisms, making common infections increasingly difficult to treat. Pakistani research has highlighted both the potential contribution of community pharmacists and existing gaps in practice. A study of 386 community pharmacists in Pakistan found that 57.3% were strongly familiar with antimicrobial stewardship, while 52.1% reported needing adequate training to undertake antimicrobial-stewardship activities.
Another study involving 359 community pharmacists in Lahore found that 83% agreed that dispensing antibiotics without prescriptions contributes to antimicrobial resistance, while 81.9% recognized antibiotic resistance as a public health problem. These findings demonstrate an important point: pharmacists themselves recognize the problem, but stronger systems, training, regulation and professional support are required to translate this awareness into consistent practice.
Pharmacists can also contribute to health promotion and prevention. Depending on national regulations and professional scope, their role can include patient counselling, medication reviews, support for chronic disease management, health-literacy activities, vaccination services, tobacco-cessation support & referral of patients with potentially serious symptoms. In this way, pharmacies can become valuable points for preventive healthcare rather than functioning only as medicine outlets.
However, expanding this role requires investment in the pharmacy profession. Qualified pharmacists need opportunities for continuing professional education, clear standards of practice, effective regulation and meaningful integration into primary healthcare teams. Non-pharmacist dispensing and inappropriate antibiotic practices also require stronger regulatory oversight.
On World Pharmacists Day, therefore, we should look beyond the traditional image of the pharmacist behind the counter. A pharmacist can be a medication-safety advocate, educator, antimicrobial steward, health promoter and trusted member of the primary healthcare team.
Pakistan needs to recognize and strengthen this broader contribution. Medicines are essential to healthcare, but their benefits depend on how safely and appropriately they are used. The pharmacist can help bridge that gap.
The future of pharmacy should not simply be about dispensing more medicines—it should be about helping communities use medicines safely, prevent disease and achieve better health. On World Pharmacists Day, let us recognize pharmacists not merely as dispensers of medicines, but as partners in building a healthier Pakistan.
—The writer is public health consultant, based in Islamabad.
