The mortar and pestle an internationally recognized symbol to represent the pharmacy profession

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of medication. The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications and it also includes more modern services related to patient care including clinical services reviewing medications for safety and efficacy and providing drug information. Pharmacists therefore are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize medication use to provide patients with positive health outcomes. The term is also applied to an establishment used for such purposes. The first pharmacy in Europe was opened in 1241 in Trier Germany. ^{citation needed}

The word pharmacy is derived from its root word pharma which was a term used since the 14001600s. In addition to pharma responsibilities the pharma offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed solely by other specialist practitioners such as surgery and midwifery. The pharma often operated through a retail shop which in addition to ingredients for medicines sold tobacco and patent medicines. The pharmas also used many other herbs not listed.

In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients the work of the pharma may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology prior to the formulation of the scientific method.