New encyclopedia focuses on pharmacy practice and clinical pharmacy

A MAJOR new reference work conceived and edited by the University of Huddersfield's Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar will have a global readership and breaks new ground with its analysis of the latest developments in the pharmacy profession.

Due to be launched on 25 June, the 2,358-page Encyclopedia of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy has 180 chapters and some 400 contributors. Zaheer Babar - who is Professor in Medicines and Healthcare at the University - is the editor-in-chief and has also written 15 of the chapters and co-edited all of the book's sub-sections.

The encyclopedia deals with multiple aspects of clinical pharmacy, but also has a strong focus on pharmacy practice, covering topics such as social and administrative pharmacy, public health pharmacy, the safety of medicines and future of the pharmacy profession.

There are books on clinical pharmacy, but for pharmacy practice, there has been nothing available on this scale. So there was definitely a gap to be filled"

Professor Babar

The new encyclopedia's wide readership will include students and researchers, clinical pharmacists, hospital pharmacists, doctors, clinical trials specialists, healthcare policy makers, hospital administrators and the pharmaceutical industry.

There has been a worldwide shift in how pharmacists contribute to healthcare, says Professor Babar.

"These are people with excellent clinical skills, but they're not used appropriately and consistently around the world, both in developing countries and elsewhere. The new encyclopedia provides a picture of a trend that is useful for stakeholders such as the UN, the World Health Organization, and organizations at a national level," he states.

The book's 180 chapters cover an exceptionally wide range of topics, ranging from education and training for pharmacists to professional standards and pharmacy practice in countries and continents around the world, including the UK, the EU, the USA, the Gulf States, Australia, Southern Africa and China.

There are examinations of national medicine policies and their impact on pharmacy practice, plus pharmaceutical pricing policies. Chapters deal with pharmaceuticals in palliative care at the end of life, and the management of a wide range of diseases and disorders.

The new encyclopedia is aimed at anybody working with medicines and pharmaceuticals and its socio-administrative pharmacy section is ideal for health policy researchers, said Professor Babar. The book will also be an ideal resource for students and it is to be launched at a symposium taking place at the University of Huddersfield on 25 June.