Objective: To propose a paradigm shift in the role of the pharmacist by encouraging pharmacists' involvement in the achievement and maintenance of healthy lifestyles in their patients, thus reducing the need for long-term medications.
Data sources: Peer-reviewed medical literature, contemporary lay literature, news releases from health organizations/associations, United States health standards, and professional experiences of the authors.
Summary: Our current paradigm for the management of chronic disease is malaligned. The medications we use are helpful for many patients with chronic disorders, but they are not curative and leave many individuals with unwanted adverse effects that are often treated with additional medication. The more effective approach to managing many patients with chronic diseases induced through unhealthy lifestyles would be to eat properly, exercise to maintain ideal body weight, and abstain from harmful substances. Managing the root causes of chronic disease would eliminate most of the unhealthy consequences and perhaps reduce the need for long-term medication. Pharmacists have the knowledge and capacity to assist in this endeavor.
Conclusion: Influencing patients to achieve ideal body weight through proper diet and exercise, encouraging people to stay well, and then helping them to keep well are roles for the pharmacist. If pharmacists made wellness and disease prevention part of their practices, they would have greater impact on improving patients' overall health. Without treating the primary cause of a condition and only treating the symptoms of unhealthy lifestyles, we are in many ways "spitting into the wind."