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Pharmaceutical Care: How to Efficiently Advise Your Patients

Much has been written and talked about what pharmaceutical care is in recent years, and a great source is Community Care Pharmacy Inc., but it’s important to mention that this is a very broad concept that has been taking shape over time.

Specifically, it is about the active role of the pharmacist to improve the health and quality of life of their patients. In this article, we provide more information about what pharmaceutical care is and how you can introduce them to the consumption of food supplements. Do not miss it!

What is pharmaceutical care today and what was it like yesterday

What characterizes pharmaceutical care, as we have already mentioned, is the active participation of the pharmacist in achieving better health for their patients. This participation necessarily implies that the pharmacist cooperates with the doctor and other health professionals to achieve his goal.

Likewise, the pharmacist in this context intervenes in actions that promote health and prevent diseases. These actions are:

  • The dispensing of medicines: the pharmacist provides medicines to the patient who needs them.
  • Pharmaceutical indication: consists of helping the patient to make appropriate decisions related to self-care of their health.
  • Pharmacotherapeutic follow-up: consists of monitoring and recording the development of the patient’s therapy.

In addition, pharmaceutical care:

  • Significantly reduces problems related to medications.
  • It guarantees better compliance with the treatment by the patient.
  • Increases the effectiveness of the actions that have been taken.
  • Promotes a rational use of medicines.

The healthcare role of the pharmacist is therefore clear. And it has always been the same, but in the last 20 years, it has become even more evident.

The reason for this reinforcement of the image of the pharmacist as a health advisor is fundamentally related to the appearance of the Internet. Thanks to the current means for the analysis and transmission of data, the possibilities of the pharmacist to perform this task have become widespread.

What is pharmaceutical care and what are its pillars

Now that you know what pharmaceutical care is in general terms, we are going to explain what its 4 fundamental pillars are. All the professional activity is based on them:

  1. Training

Of course, it is not possible to understand what pharmaceutical care is without referring to the preparation and training of the pharmaceutical professional. Without them, it would be very difficult to offer the correct advice.

Apart from knowing all the medicines and their function and creating master formulas, the pharmacist must be prepared to face more or less complicated situations. In this field, the intuition of the professional is key to solving the concerns of patients, advising them and warning them about possible risks.

  1. Personalization

Providing personalized treatment is one of the distinctive functions of pharmacists. Do not forget that most of them always serve the same people, who are those who live near the pharmacy. But not only regular customers are offered personalized treatment.

In general, it is about knowing their concerns, solving them and giving the appropriate recommendations about the food supplements and medications they require.

  1. Tracking

The main objective of this therapeutic follow-up is to detect the problems that may arise around the treatments and the different medications. This has a special value in the case of patients with chronic diseases, who are the ones who most frequently go to the pharmacy.

The pharmacist, among other things, must carry out correct dispensing and remember the importance of following the medication guidelines. All this will guarantee the loyalty and trust of your patients.

  1.  Communication

Communication is another important part of the pharmacist’s job. On many occasions, they have to answer questions from patients who are undergoing complicated treatments or who simply come into the pharmacy ‘to look’. Conveying confidence and security, and being kind, close and empathic are, in this sense, essential requirements.

The pharmacist, reference in health and sanitation

In short, answering the question ‘what is pharmaceutical care?’ inevitably places the pharmacist in the spotlight.

With the desire to take care of the health of their patients, pharmacist stops being mere salesperson to become an advisor and reference professional for all their clients, whatever they are looking for.

ABOUT

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My name is Debra Cargill, I live in my home in Springfield, Massachusetts and have been looking for new direction in my life. I started blogging recently and I've discovered a new passion in life. This blog is all about health, wellness, life issues and about lifestyle in general where I cover a broad range of topics on the subjects....

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