Definition

Noun: 1. A place where medicines and medical supplies are prepared and given out: A dispensary is typically a clinic, room, or office, often within a larger medical facility, where prescribed medications and basic medical equipment are stored, prepared, and provided to patients. 2. A clinic providing basic medical care and medicine: In some contexts, especially historically or in specific communities, a dispensary can refer to a facility that offers primary medical treatment and dispenses medicine, often at low or no cost.

Usage

• The term is used to describe a specific functional area within a hospital, university, or community health center focused on the distribution of pharmaceuticals.
• It often implies a place where medicine is prepared or compounded, not just a retail pharmacy.
• It can refer to charitable or public health institutions providing medical aid.

Examples

• Noun:
  • After seeing the doctor, I collected my prescription from the hospital dispensary.
  • The university health center has a dispensary where students can get their medications.
  • In the 19th century, the charitable dispensary provided free medicine to the poor.

Advanced Usage

• "Compounding dispensary": A specialized dispensary that custom-mixes medications to create specific dosages or formulations not commercially available.
  • The pediatric compounding dispensary prepared a liquid version of the drug for the child.

Variants and Related Words

• Dispense (verb): To prepare and give out (medicine, especially as prescribed).
  • Pharmacists are licensed to dispense medication.
• Dispenser (noun): A person or machine that dispenses something.
  • a soap dispenser; a pharmacist as a dispenser of drugs.

Synonyms

• Pharmacy: A place where medicinal drugs are prepared, dispensed, or sold. (Note: "Pharmacy" is more common for retail drugstores, while "dispensary" often implies a clinic-based or institutional setting.)
• Chemist's (UK): A shop where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold.
• Apothecary (archaic): A person who prepared and sold medicines and drugs.

Related Phrases

• Outpatient dispensary: A dispensary serving patients who are not admitted to a hospital.
  • The outpatient dispensary was busy with follow-up appointments.

Noun

1. clinic where medicine and medical supplies are dispensed