Pharmacist Employment
Pharmacists hold about 230,000 jobs. About 61
percent work in community pharmacies that are either
independently owned or part of a drugstore chain,
grocery store, department store, or mass
merchandiser.
Most community pharmacists are salaried
employees, but some are self-employed owners.
About 24 percent of salaried pharmacists work in
hospitals.
Others work in clinics, mail-order pharmacies,
pharmaceutical wholesalers, home health care
agencies, or the Federal Government.
Future Outlook - Pharmacist Job
Very good employment opportunities are expected
for pharmacists over the 2004–14 period because the
number of job openings created by employment growth
and the need to replace pharmacists who leave the
occupation or retire are expected to exceed the
number of degrees granted in pharmacy. Enrollments
in pharmacy programs are rising as more students are
attracted by high salaries and good job prospects.
Despite this increase in enrollments, job openings
should still be more numerous than those seeking
employment.
Employment of pharmacists is expected to grow
faster than the average for all occupations through
the year 2014, because of the increasing demand for
pharmaceuticals, particularly from the growing
elderly population.
The increasing numbers of middle-aged and elderly
people—who use more prescription drugs than younger
people—will continue to spur demand for pharmacists
in all employment settings. Other factors likely to
increase the demand for pharmacists include
scientific advances that will make more drug
products available, new developments in genome
research and medication distribution systems,
increasingly sophisticated consumers seeking more
information about drugs, and coverage of
prescription drugs by a greater number of health
insurance plans and Medicare.
Community pharmacies are taking steps to manage
an increasing volume of prescriptions. Automation of
drug dispensing and greater employment of pharmacy
technicians and pharmacy aides will help these
establishments to dispense more prescriptions.
With its emphasis on cost control, managed care
encourages the use of lower cost prescription drug
distributors, such as mail-order firms and online
pharmacies, for purchases of certain medications.
Prescriptions ordered through the mail and via the
Internet are filled in a central location and
shipped to the patient at a lower cost. Mail-order
and online pharmacies typically use automated
technology to dispense medication and employ fewer
pharmacists. If the utilization of mail-order
pharmacies increases rapidly, job growth among
pharmacists could be limited.
Employment of pharmacists will not grow as fast
in hospitals as in other industries, because
hospitals are reducing inpatient stays, downsizing,
and consolidating departments. The number of
outpatient surgeries is increasing, so more patients
are being discharged and purchasing their
medications through retail, supermarket, or
mail-order pharmacies, rather than through
hospitals. An aging population means that more
pharmacy services will be required in nursing homes,
assisted-living facilities, and home care settings.
The most rapid job growth among pharmacists is
expected in these 3 settings.
New opportunities are emerging for pharmacists in
managed care organizations where they analyze trends
and patterns in medication use, and in
pharmacoeconomics — the cost and benefit analysis of
different drug therapies. Opportunities also are
emerging for pharmacists trained in research and
disease management — the development of new methods
for curing and controlling diseases. Pharmacists
also are finding jobs in research and development
and in sales and marketing for pharmaceutical
manufacturing firms. New breakthroughs in
biotechnology will increase the potential for drugs
to treat diseases and expand the opportunities for
pharmacists to conduct research and sell
medications. In addition, pharmacists are finding
employment opportunities in pharmacy informatics,
which uses information technology to improve patient
care.
Job opportunities for pharmacists in patient care
will arise as cost-conscious insurers and health
systems continue to emphasize the role of
pharmacists in primary and preventive health care.
Health insurance companies realize that the expense
of using medication to treat diseases and various
health conditions often is considerably less than
the costs for patients whose conditions go
untreated. Pharmacists also can reduce the expenses
resulting from unexpected complications due to
allergic reactions or interactions among
medications.
Earnings of Pharmacists
Median annual wage and salary earnings of
pharmacists Are $84,900. The middle 50 percent earn
between $75,720 and $94,850 a year. The lowest 10
percent earn less than $61,200, and the highest 10
percent earn more than $109,850 a year. Median
annual earnings in the industries employing the
largest numbers of pharmacists are:
- Department stores $86,720
- Grocery stores $85,680
- Health and personal care stores $85,380
- General medical and surgical hospitals
$84,560
- Other general merchandise stores $84,170
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