Today’s pharmacist primarily serves behind the scenes, as the supplier of prescription-only medications at a doctor’s request. This role was established in the early half of the twentieth century, with a boom in pre-manufactured medications and the creation of prescription-only drugs in 1951. But this was not always the case: throughout the nineteenth century druggists and apothecaries (the predecessors of today’s pharmacist) were an irreplaceable part of health care, offering custom-made medications and medical advice and consultations. more