The Growing Importance of Pharmacotherapy

Last week, I had written a post on the new trends that can be expected in the pharmaceutical industry in 2015. There is no doubt that while the healthcare system may become more efficient, it will also become more expensive.

With new medication being developed and released every year, it is extremely important that doctors and patients understand the right medication and dosage required to enable complete recovery from an ailment or condition.

When one thinks of pharmaceuticals, one usually imagines a drug company that sells various pharmaceuticals. However, this is just one part of the field. The field of pharmacy is not just the design and production of drugs, it also includes how the drugs should be provided in terms of quantity, quality, and price. This aspect of pharmacy is known as pharmacotherapy.

What is Pharmacotherapy?
To put it very simply, therapy that is provided using pharmaceutical drugs is known as pharmacotherapy. It comprises the safe, applicable, and cost-effective use of pharmaceutical drugs. It also involves studying the therapeutic effects of drugs in patients.

The primary healthcare professionals who are responsible for providing this medical service are pharmacotherapy specialists. They are directly responsible for the patient’s care, and are required to have extensive knowledge of pharmacotherapy, and current and new medications.

A pharmacotherapy specialist can help a patient in many ways:

• They can provide medicines to the patient.
• They share knowledge about medical conditions and medications with patients.
• They also have knowledge in terms of prescribing and administering medication.

Why is Pharmacotherapy Important?
Despite the fact that some over-the-counter medications are regularly taken by most patients, not all drugs react in the same way for every patient. There is always a chance of variability in the way the body responds to the drug. There are different factors that can cause the drug response to be varied:

• Age
• Disease
• Body size/composition
• Environmental factors
• Interaction of two drugs competing for the same internal body process

The pharmacotherapy specialist should be in a position to ascertain which drugs will be appropriate for the patient according to the above-mentioned factors, and ensure that no adverse drug interactions take place.

Benefits of Pharmacotherapy
The focus of pharmacotherapy is not the drug or even the disease. The main focus is the patient and his health. The proper use of pharmacotherapy can result in many benefits for the patient:

• Pharmacotherapy can be Used for Many Conditions: Pharmacotherapy is not limited to certain diseases or conditions. It can be used to treat physical, physiological, and psychological conditions.


• It Balances out the Condition: The main advantage of appropriate pharmacotherapy is that it helps stabilize the patient’s condition. This allows the patient to attain some mental freedom to perform his daily tasks with ease. For example, if a patient suffers from arthritis, and undergoes pharmacotherapy, the right dose of medications can give some relief to work, travel, etc.


• It can Support Extreme Cases: Proper dosage of medication can be of immense help to patients who may be in critical stages of a disease, or who require immediate attention and assistance. For example, appropriate pharmacotherapy can support the rehabilitation of patients who suffer from drug dependencies. It can also be used alongside behavioral therapy and other rehabilitation programs.


• It can Support Drug-free Living: Once a patient has reached a stabilized state, the pharmacotherapy specialist can gradually reduce the dosage to a point where the patient can live drug-free. This will aid in faster recovery and reduce dependency on medicines.

Applications of Pharmacotherapy
As mentioned earlier, pharmacotherapy can be used to help patients deal with all types of conditions. It can be used to help patients cope with a variety of physical and mental conditions such as:

• Osteoporosis
• Early stages of Cancer
• Substance Abuse Disorders
• Attention Deficiency Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

It can also be used to support various fields of medicine, including pediatrics and geriatrics.

Pharmacotherapy can be used as an effective tool in patient recovery and rehabilitation. Correct diagnoses, and the right combination and dosage of medication can even lead to complete disease remission. This helps in improving the quality of a patient’s life and those around him.