A pharmacy is a place where medicines are prepared, stored, and sold to people who need them. When a doctor writes you a prescription for antibiotics to treat an infection, you take that prescription to a pharmacy, where a trained professional called a pharmacist reads the instructions, counts out the right pills, and explains how to take them safely.

Pharmacies provide essential expertise along with medicine. Pharmacists are experts who understand how different drugs work, what side effects they might cause, and which medicines shouldn't be taken together. They answer questions, check that doses are correct, and make sure you understand when and how to take your medicine. Many pharmacies also sell health supplies like bandages, thermometers, and vitamins.

You might see pharmacies inside grocery stores or as standalone shops, sometimes marked with a green cross or a mortar and pestle symbol. In hospitals, pharmacies supply medicines to doctors and nurses treating patients. Before modern pharmacies existed, apothecaries performed similar work, mixing remedies from herbs and compounds in their shops.