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I Know They're Only Doing What They Are Told, But . . . . . . . .
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I wonder if this irritates anyone else, or is it just me. I buy Paramol occasionally to take for neuralgic pain. As this contains paracetemol and a small amount of codeine, I get the same lecture every time - don't take for longer than 3 days, don't combine medications etc. I can accept this. Codeine has addictive qualities and pharmacy staff are instructed to issue these warnings. But some staff get a bit power crazy. One young chap (he looked about 12 years old) demanded to know what other medication I was on so that he could judge whether or not I should be sold the product. I refused to discuss my medical history in a crowded shop, and challenged him either to sell me the tablets or refuse to do so, in which case I wanted to speak to the head pharmacist. He sold me the product. Am I just being a grumpy old curmudgeon about this, or does it irritate others too?
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On thinking about this issue of busy-body pharmacists, I well remember a medication called Contac400 being marketed for cold/flu relief in the sixties. The drug was in the form of capsules, where one half was clear revealing very small multi-coloured spheres. Sales took off through the roof within weeks of it appearing in the UK.
The original medication has now been withdrawn for years. The reason is that it contained a substance that could severely aggravate glaucoma sufferers leading to blindness. The packaging even warned that patients might not know they had the eye condition, spelt out "may cause blindness" and advised people to ask their GP if in doubt. The medical journals at the time even reported cases of people going blind after taking the stuff.
Whilst I know that current medical regulations are unlikely to allow a drug like this to come on the market nowadays, for me it demonstrates some justification for pharmacy staff to ask questions. Remember at the time, people thought of pharmacists as drug dispensers and would never have thought of asking their advice as they were seen as not qualified to provide advice.
The original medication has now been withdrawn for years. The reason is that it contained a substance that could severely aggravate glaucoma sufferers leading to blindness. The packaging even warned that patients might not know they had the eye condition, spelt out "may cause blindness" and advised people to ask their GP if in doubt. The medical journals at the time even reported cases of people going blind after taking the stuff.
Whilst I know that current medical regulations are unlikely to allow a drug like this to come on the market nowadays, for me it demonstrates some justification for pharmacy staff to ask questions. Remember at the time, people thought of pharmacists as drug dispensers and would never have thought of asking their advice as they were seen as not qualified to provide advice.
I'll confine myself to community pharmacists as the situation is slightly different in a hospital setting.
Pharmacists are free to give healthcare advice on all medical issues. They have to have a quiet area or room where a patient can speak to them in privacy over issues that some might find embarrassing such as piles. They are free to provide advice on simple medical problems such as the treatment of colds, sore throats etc. They are obliged to direct the patient to the GP in circumstances where a patient might have complex or multiple medical issues. They are intended to be one of the first advice providers over things like smoking cessation, weight-loss, healthy eating, the morning-after pill and pregnancy testing. They have a role in monitoring the INR of patients who are on warfarin to ensure that the dosage is correct and have a duty to recommend changes to the patient and alert the GP. They have a role in reviewing your medicines and will ask how long you've been on a medicine, how you take them and can advise changes. They are sometimes more familiar with interactions between medicines and should alert you to any problems in these circumstances. They are obliged to state how a medicine should be taken eg not at the same time as milk, on an empty stomach etc and can provide advice on the storage of medicines
In all circumstances, the pharmacist has to be constantly aware of the limitations of his/her knowledge and must direct the patient to the GP where there is any doubt. Theoretically, one of their main functions is reduce the workload of the GP but it doesn't always work for very many reasons.
Pharmacists are free to give healthcare advice on all medical issues. They have to have a quiet area or room where a patient can speak to them in privacy over issues that some might find embarrassing such as piles. They are free to provide advice on simple medical problems such as the treatment of colds, sore throats etc. They are obliged to direct the patient to the GP in circumstances where a patient might have complex or multiple medical issues. They are intended to be one of the first advice providers over things like smoking cessation, weight-loss, healthy eating, the morning-after pill and pregnancy testing. They have a role in monitoring the INR of patients who are on warfarin to ensure that the dosage is correct and have a duty to recommend changes to the patient and alert the GP. They have a role in reviewing your medicines and will ask how long you've been on a medicine, how you take them and can advise changes. They are sometimes more familiar with interactions between medicines and should alert you to any problems in these circumstances. They are obliged to state how a medicine should be taken eg not at the same time as milk, on an empty stomach etc and can provide advice on the storage of medicines
In all circumstances, the pharmacist has to be constantly aware of the limitations of his/her knowledge and must direct the patient to the GP where there is any doubt. Theoretically, one of their main functions is reduce the workload of the GP but it doesn't always work for very many reasons.
Yes my local pharmacy has a consulting room and whoever is on duty is always willing to advise and most importantly listen - they can guide you to other places for help as well.
They do have to train a fair bit and on many matters I am happy with the knowledge they have imparted to me over the years.
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They do have to train a fair bit and on many matters I am happy with the knowledge they have imparted to me over the years.
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Consulting rooms and other suitably secluded areas within a pharmacy are now a contractual obligation in community pharmacies. Compliance is monitored by the pharmacists' professional body, the RPS.
Unquestionably, pharmacists do train a fair bit but a straightforward undergraduate degree in pharmacy can be achieved in four years. This four year period is the reason why graduates come out of uni with a MPharm degree rather than the old BPharm/BSc (Pharm.) degree. The course length is less than that of a doctor or dentist.
Pharmacists are experts on medicines and their administration but they do sometimes overstep the mark. In my home town, there's a pharmacy practice where the owner/pharmacist has been in business for donkey's years and is held in high esteem by the community. A few months ago, MrsProf, who is a leading Cardiology Professor at this esteemed university had reason to call in the pharmacy on the way back from picking up our youngest daughter. An elderly customer was asking the owner/pharmacist a question about blood pressure treatment and was provided with a load of misleading, out of date claptrap by this so called professional. My wife chose not to intervene but it demonstrates how a community can come to depend on such advice so readily by reputation alone. We are in this situation because patients are unable nowadays to secure continuity of care with a GP and pharmacists are fast taking their place in some respects. It's a slippery slope.
Unquestionably, pharmacists do train a fair bit but a straightforward undergraduate degree in pharmacy can be achieved in four years. This four year period is the reason why graduates come out of uni with a MPharm degree rather than the old BPharm/BSc (Pharm.) degree. The course length is less than that of a doctor or dentist.
Pharmacists are experts on medicines and their administration but they do sometimes overstep the mark. In my home town, there's a pharmacy practice where the owner/pharmacist has been in business for donkey's years and is held in high esteem by the community. A few months ago, MrsProf, who is a leading Cardiology Professor at this esteemed university had reason to call in the pharmacy on the way back from picking up our youngest daughter. An elderly customer was asking the owner/pharmacist a question about blood pressure treatment and was provided with a load of misleading, out of date claptrap by this so called professional. My wife chose not to intervene but it demonstrates how a community can come to depend on such advice so readily by reputation alone. We are in this situation because patients are unable nowadays to secure continuity of care with a GP and pharmacists are fast taking their place in some respects. It's a slippery slope.
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