What is the difference between prescription and non-prescription drugs?

If one who has no knowledge or experience with pharmacy is to set up a drugstore, what are the things to keep in mind?

What is the difference between a pharmacy and a drugstore?

What are the requirements needed to set up a drugstore?

you need a scrip for a prescription drug.

You have to go thru all kinds of paperwork with the FDA
Check with them on the requirements - They are quite strict and of course you would need a licensed pharmacist to dispense Rx

A drugstore is a store that sells various products including medication. The pharmacy is usually at the back of the drug store where you would get a prescription from a doctor filled or certain other drugs not sold over the counter. The difference between prescription drugs and non-prescription drugs is that you need a doctor to prescribe a prescription drug like antibiotics, etc., which is dispensed by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician. A non-prescription drug is one you can buy off the shelf like aspirin, tylenol, cough medicines, etc-don't need prescription. I don't know where you are from, but in Canada a pharmacist has to own at least 50% of the business when opening your own drugstore.

TO BECOME A PHARMACIST YOU MUST GO TO PHARMACUTACAL COLLEGE AND BECOME LICIENCE THROUGH YOUR STATE, AS FOR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DRUGSTORE AND PHARMACY , THE FIRST COULD BE PHARMACY AND STORE FOR ITEM ETC.. AND A PHARMACY IS A PLACE FOR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRESCRIPTION AND NON-PRECRIPTION IS THAT A DOCTOR MUST PRSCRIBE YOU A PRESCRIPTION DRUG AND PHARMACIST WILL BE THE ONE TO FILL YOUR MEDICINE. NON-PRESCRIPTION IS OVER THE COUNTER WHICH MEANS YOU CAN BUY IT ANY TIME WITHOUT A DOCTOR PERMISSION , EXAMPLE: TYLENOL, COUGH MEDICINE, ETC. I HOPE I HAVE SHED SOME LIGHT ON YOU QUESTIONS.

In the US, the difference between prescription and non-prescription drugs is that prescription drugs are those that the FDA has determined require a prescription from a licensed medical doctor and must be dispensed by a licensed pharmacist. Non-prescription drugs, typically referred to as over the counter drugs, do not require a prescription from a doctor and do not require a licensed pharmacist to dispense. Some over the counter remedies, such as herbal "cures", have received no FDA testing and do not have FDA approval, although most are legal to sell.

There is typically no difference between a pharmacy and a drug store, although some locations that sell only homeopathic non-prescription remedies open under the name "drug store" or "pharmacy".

You'll need to check both the federal (DEA) and your state pharmacy board regulations to learn more about what's required to open a pharmacy. Each state has different regulations and requirements that may be more stringent than the DEA requirements, but may not be more lax than the DEA requirements. You'll have to be inspected prior to opening to ensure that you're in compliance with all of the state and federal regulations.

While you don't have to be a pharmacist to open a pharmacy, you do have to have a licensed pharmacist on staff/duty at all times that the pharmacy is open and dispensing prescription medications. So, if you're not a pharmacist you'll need to hire one. If you're not a pharmacist, be sure that whomever you hire is trustworthy and will help you remain within the boundaries of all regulations. You could be easy to be misled if you're not familiar with the industry. Something to keep in mind is that pharmacists don't work for low wages.

FDA.gov and DEA.gov are good websites to start with. You'll also need to look up the regulations for your state. Some states have the information online and some don't. The link below lists links for each of the state pharmacy boards.

http://www.pharmacychoice.com/resources/...