Medicine, commonly known as the pill to treat illness. People understand the importance of medicine, but do they know what medicines are? Medicines are either synthetic derivatives or the extracts of natural components, which include plants, minerals, and extracts from an animal source. Centuries ago, plant-sourced medicines were common as the extracts where the leaves, barks, flowers, and other parts were used to extract medicine. In the case of open wounds, the plant parts were crushed and applied directly to the wounds.

But as time changed, the concept of traditional medicine was shifted to modern medicine, and the world had a new vision, i.e., with new medicines extracted and developed with complete clinical trials. This introduction revitalized the entire medical fraternity with some amazing products like aspirin, morphine, and codeine. The world was blessed with the concept of over the counter medicines that people use without a prescription. All of these innovations to the medicine held under the domain of Pharmacology (the study of medicine). It took hundreds of years to transform traditional medicine into modern medicine, but still, traditional medicine has its significance as the backbone of the healthcare system. If we claim that the entire health care system is dependent on medicine, our claim may not be false.

History of Medicine: 

Since day one, the medicine has been serving as the backbone in the healthcare system. It is because ancestors used the plant extracts to resolve illness. The evolution of medicine started in China, Egypt, and India, where traditional medicine was widely used and recommended. Traditional medicine included Chinese medicine, Kampo, Unani medicine, and much more. It claimed that this type of medicine is natural and made up of plant extracts. For example, Kratom is a plant commonly used as a sedative. You must be thinking is Kratom legal in Florida, so the answer is “YES,” it is legal in Florida. Some other examples of traditional medicines are the use of chamomile tea, which is also a plant extract and widely used around the globe.

Healthcare or Medical Care: 

Moving forward, now we must understand the concept of healthcare and medical care. Even though medicine is the core element used in both aspects, there is a myth that health care and medical care are the same concepts. We would like to resolve the myth that medical health is the patient-centric approach of prescribing medicine, which revolves around the symptoms of the patient. On the other hand, health care is based on the overall health of society. Healthcare is not dependent on a single patient. Suggestions and opinions from medical professionals depend upon the data of the community in healthcare. One thing that remains constant is that both the concepts revolve around medicines.

Healthcare System: 

If we talk about the healthcare system, we must understand that it is solely dependent on the use of medicine. If we need to support our community to maintain their health, we need to cater to their needs and wants. We need to suggest to them some most important and much-needed medications. In the young population, issues like constipation are found extensively for which extracts of fennel is being recommended by the professionals who follow traditional medicine. Other than that, there are some over-the-counter medications for people having mild to moderate pain. The most important thing to consider here is that the healthcare system cannot operate without the use of medicine.

Dosage Forms Supporting the Healthcare System: 

If we talk about dosage forms of medicine, we must share that medicine is serving the healthcare system through some of the following dosage forms:

  • Capsules
  • Tablets
  • Syrups
  • Intravenous Injections
  • Infusions

Researches show that despite the benefits of medicine, people are violating the rules of the healthcare system. Following are some of the limitations that limit the medicine to perform its function:

  • Compliance: Patients suffering for illness are recommended a complete regiment of medicines for at least three to five days. It is a common practice to suspend the use of medicine soon. Even sometimes, the patient starts to recover even before the regimen completes. This practice is highly dangerous, and healthcare professionals are struggling to convince people to complete their regimens.

Rational Use of Medicine:

Medical professionals and health care professionals have been addressing this problem since ages that the rational use of medicine is the key to success. Self-medication is more common with the patients suffering from a relapse of illness. This practice is not good as it may cause resistance from that medicine, and then your body will not respond to it. This practice is common with antibiotics where people self-medicates and complain about the improper response. Professionals Associated To Medicine: Till now, we have discussed the details about medicine, now it is time to know the professionals who are responsible for utilizing a simple pill in favor of a patient’s well-being.

  • Doctor: Pediatricians, Oncologists, and Cardiologists are some of the main specialties that fall under the umbrella of the doctor. Segregating these specialties was the need of the hour as medicines have different actions and reactions. These medicines have the mechanism of actions intending to help the patient in reducing the intensity of the illness. 
  • Pharmacist: Pharmacists review the prescription and help the doctor to remove or replace medications if any of them have interactions, which are commonly known as drug-drug interaction. Pharmacists also suggest the patient either to take medicine before a meal or after a meal
  • Paramedical Staff: Paramedical staff is responsible for a certain medication, i.e., that has to be administered through an infusion to the patients. The ultimate goal is to provide a cure to the patient.

Conclusion:

The only thing that has changed over the years is the methodology of acquiring medicine, but the objective is still aligned that is to protect humanity, prevent illness and provide cure to the people around them. Medicine has been doing it for centuries. None of the advancements to the medical sciences have been able to replace medicine from being the backbone of the healthcare system.