American pharmacy: A profession in the final stage of dividing?

ABSTRACTThe organization and delivery of pharmaceutical services in the United States is undergoing sweeping changes, with implications to the future of pharmacy as a profession. This paper provides an overview of major educational, organizational, and economic changes in pharmacy during the twentieth century. Three main challenges have been faced by the pharmacy profession during the twentieth century: (1) the conflict between commercialism and professionalism in the practice of pharmacy, (2) the isolation of pharmacy education from the practice of pharmacy, (3) the choice between the drug product or the patient as pharmacy's social object. Using the professional dominance, deprofessionalization, and proletarianization theoretical perspectives, the authors conclude that the pharmacy profession is approaching the final stage of dividing into two groups: (1) a new patient-centered profession and (2) a new technical field.