Pharmacy is a health science. It combines medicine and chemistry, and is concerned with the properties, preparation and dispensing of medicines and pharmaceutical drugs. Pharmacists have thorough knowledge of the effects, side effects, interactions, and therapeutic properties of medications. Pharmacy services operate in hospitals, prisons, general practices, community pharmacies, and in the pharmaceutical private sector. They play an important role in strengthening medication management, education, and access to medications for the general population, which in turn helps to reduce the long-term costs of medical care.