Re-examining 'professionalism' in pharmacy: a South African perspective

Although defining itself as a patient-centred profession, private sector (community and private hospital) pharmacy often appears to be that of a product-for-profit centred occupation. This perception has been at the core of the medical profession's attempts to reduce the professional autonomy of pharmacy, and has appeared at the forefront of the South African Department of Health's positioning of private sector pharmacy. Using as a starting point the debate surrounding attempts by the South African Minister of Health to regulate the price of medicines, I propose that the present negative positioning of private sector pharmacy in South Africa could be ameliorated by pharmacy practice that evidences a redefined understanding of professionalism.