[Strife between the dispensing physician and the pharmacist--a historical overview. III. 1930-1979]

The uneasy relationship between pharmacists and dispensing doctors during the years 1930-1979 is reviewed. The relatively easy association of the 1930s and the early 1940s ended abruptly in the post-war era when the impact of the manufacturing industry rang the death knell of the old-fashioned dispenser and at the same time made dispensing by doctors easier and safer. The retail pharmacist attempted unsuccessfully to define an acceptable new professional role, and the two professions failed to formulate an amicable working relationship. The promulgation of the Medicines Control Act (1964), the Pharmacy Act (1974) and the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Professions Act (1974) brought new dimensions to the strained relationship.