Pharmacotherapy

This article is about the type of treatment. For the Pharmacotherapy journal, see Pharmacotherapy (journal).

Pharmacotherapy is the treatment of disease through the administration of drugs. As such, it is considered part of the larger category of therapy.

Pharmacists are experts in pharmacotherapy and are responsible for ensuring the safe, appropriate, and economical use of medicines. The skills required to function as a pharmacist require knowledge, training and experience in biomedical, pharmaceutical and clinical sciences. As pharmacotherapy specialists, pharmacists have responsibility for direct patient care, often functioning as a member of a multidisciplinary team, and acting as the primary source of drug-related information for other healthcare professionals. A pharmacotherapy specialist is an individual who is specialized in administering and prescribing medication, and requires extensive academic knowledge in pharmacotherapy.

In the US, a pharmacist can gain Board Certification in the area of pharmacotherapy upon fulfilling eligibility requirements and passing a certification examination.

While pharmacists provide valuable information about medications for patients and healthcare professionals, they are not typically considered covered pharmacotherapy providers by insurance companies.

See also

• ATC codes Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System
• Classification of Pharmaco-Therapeutic Referrals CPR
• Family medicine
• Family practice
• General practice
• Health care
• History of pharmacy
• ICD-10 International Classification of Diseases
• ICPC-2 PLUS
• International Classification of Primary Care ICPC-2
• List of pharmaceutical companies
• Pharmaceutical care
• Pharmaceutical drug
• Pharmacist
• Primary care
• Referral (medicine)
• Therapy