[Pharmacology]. / Farmaecología.

Two of the main characteristics of western societies in the last fifty years have been the medicalization of the human life and the environmental degradation. The first one has forced human being to consider medicines use related to what would be rational, reasonable and well-reasoned. The second one brought us to a new ecologist conscience. In relation to the "human social system", the effects of medication can be considered very positive as a whole, particularly those related to the amazing increase of expectative and quality of life. But, along with those unquestionable beneficial effects, medicines have also caused some negative effects for other biotic and abiotic systems, such as microbian alterations and their undesirable consequences which have involved the massive use of antibiotics in medicine and veterinary, the uncontrolled elimination of millions of doses of all kind of drugs, additives and excipients, etc., as well as atmospheric contamination and degradation of forests and deep oceans which can have been caused by investigation and production of determinated drugs. In this context Pharmacology appears as a scientific discipline that studies the research (R), development (D), production (P), and utilization (U) of drugs and medical substances in relation to the environment. From a farmaecologic perspective the drugs utilization has its development in three main contexts, all of them closely related: prescription quality, farmaceutical care, and patient's active participation in his own disease and treatment.

Farmaecología / Pharmaecology

Dos de los rasgos más característicos de las sociedades occidentales en el último medio siglo ha sido la medicalización de la vida entera y la degradación del medio ambiente. La primera ha llevado a plantearse el uso de los medicamentos en términos de uso racional, razonable y razonado. La segunda, a una nueva conciencia ecológica. En relación al “sistema social humano” los efectos de los medicamentos se pueden considerar como muy positivos en su conjunto, especialmente en lo que se refiere al aumento espectacular de la esperanza y la calidad de vida de las personas. Pero, junto a los indudables efectos beneficiosos, los medicamentos también han provocado algunos efectos negativos para otros sistemas bióticos y abióticos, como son las alteraciones microbianas y los efectos indeseables derivados de las mismas que han supuesto el empleo masivo de antibióticos en medicina y veterinaria, la eliminación incontrolada de millones de dosis de todo tipo de fármacos, aditivos y excipientes, etc., así como la contaminación atmosférica y la degradación de bosques y fondos marinos que han podido provocar la investigación y fabricación de determinados fármacos. En este contexto nace la farmaecología como disciplina científica que estudia la investigación (I), desarrollo (D), producción (P) y empleo (E) de los medicamentos y sustancias medicinales en su relación con el medio ambiente. En cuanto al empleo de los mismos, la farmaecología tiene su desarrollo en tres contextos fundamentales, íntimamente relacionados entre sí: la calidad de prescripción, la atención farmacéutica y la activación del paciente en su enfermedad y tratamiento(AU)

Two of the main characteristics of western societies in the last fifty years have been the medicalization of the human life and the environmental degradation. The first one has forced human being to consider medicines use related to what would be rational, reasonable and well-reasoned. The second one brought us to a new ecologist conscience. In relation to the “human social system”, the effects of medication can be considered very positive as a whole, particularly those related to the amazing increase of expectative and quality of life. But, along with those unquestionable beneficial effects, medicines have also caused some negative effects for other biotic and abiotic systems, such as microbian alterations and their undesirable consequences which have involved the massive use of antibiotics in medicine and veterinary, the uncontrolled elimination of millions of doses of all kind of drugs, additives and excipients, etc., as well as atmospheric contamination and degradation of forests and deep oceans which can have been caused by investigation and production of determinated drugs. In this context pharmaecology appears as a scientific discipline that studies the research (R), development (D), production (P), and utilization (U) of drugs and medical substances in relation to the environment. From a farmaecologic perspective the drugs utilization has its development in three main contexts, all of them closely related: prescription quality, farmaceutical care, and patient’s active participation in his own disease and treatment(AU)