Dreaming of What Pharmacy Could Be

 

When will things change?

How about putting the CARE back in healthcare? 

When you imagine a better system, what does it include? Shortstaffed, stressed out, or defeated professionals? pushing margins, manipulating patients, and being untrustworthy?! Surely not. 

Take time dont take numbers. We value what is enforced.  We consider only that which is legislated - especially for the highly regulated field of pharmacy! 

So how about pushing pharmaceutical and pharmacological interventions rather than paperwork? How about enforcing pharmacist authority rather than unqualified owners. How about turning back to patient care rather than client care, how about being a health hub rather than an all carrying shop; how about promoting health rather than promoting profit; can we realise that prevention is indeed better than cure? Can we invest in prevention campaigns rather than amortization of disease impact? Can we just do what we are all called to do: help one another in honesty and fairness for the sake of a healthier nation?

hmmm, so where is council?
Their role to protect the public should extend to what they allow corporations to do. 

Squeezing pharmacist with ridiculous targets directly takes away from the PATIENT CARE they ought to provide. We've all witnessed it.

 
How about inspecting on pharmaceutical care  rather than on administration, how about observing counselling and consultation sessions rather than scrutinising uncompromising details. How about protecting the public rather that protecting the law.
I wish for a healthcare system that matters on effectiveness. Where proffesionals are allowed to practice freely under oath and not at the mercy of their business oriented employers. I wish for a pharmacy industry where pharmacists are not begging for lawful peanuts while Multitasking over the work of 3...

What about primary care or referals? Where NdoH & council determines that patient care & safety includes a completion of service note where a referal letter to the patient's gp stating what has been observed and discussed at the dispensary, as evidence of primary measures taken... using new tools to improve escalation of care is such a fantastic idea!

 Then only will pharmacists as primary health care professionals be taken seriously. 

Dreaming is fun and ideas are great but nothing will change without genuine will and implementation. 

Let me go back to sleep. 

One Degree Many Careers

This short piece is a small flex just to highlight another amazing aspect of pharmacy!
Having a pharmacy career is really cool. It has its ups and downs like spoken of in a previous video, but here are 20 new reasons to love it!

You've surely heard of a retail pharmacist and a hospital pharmacist. Maybe even of ward or clinical pharmacist. But have you ever heard of a clinical trial pharmacist? Or a research pharmacist? A warehouse or distribution pharmacist? Inport? Export? Maybe those were simple, how about a nuclear or radio pharmacist? Pharmacokinetic pharmacist? These are just a few of the many specialties within the vast pharmacy world.

Lecturers are also pharmacists; obviously they teach it to students but did you know that they also run national drug programmes, and suggest policy to goverment and regulatory councils? There are toxicology pharmacists? Regulatory affairs, validation, documentation, drug discovery/design pharmacists. Quality assurance, quality control, and technical support pharmacists!

Tell me which other careers path has this many options? I'll wait...


Haha, hey thanks for indulging the flex.

Subscribe to our channel and other platforms for more pharmacy news, fun and debunking!

Till next time xoxo
Love Pharmacy

Halfway through the SA COVID-19 lockdown | Observations

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So the entire world has been on lockdown for a while now; each country at it's own schedule but here in South Africa we are on  the afternoon of day 10 of 21. Exactly halfway though confinement, quarentine or self isolation depending on the term you prefer.

I've made some personal observations which I'd like to share with you below;

☆Leadership and governance:

It seems for once, many were happy at government's decision to lockdown the country (borders, & unnecessar gatherings and travel). Critics were still unsure about how to feel and wanted intricate detail but in the end saw the wisdom in it all. with the unique healthcare status and needs of the nation, such a pandemic could not be allowed to freely settle in. High HIV and TB patients populations mean many compromised immunities, compounding to the normal asthma, copd, and smoker's lung, all amount to higher disease burdens. This coupled with extremely poor, densely populated, infomal communities would set the infection, transmission and fatality rates ablaze.
T'was a good call to lockdown the nation.  The "curve" has already flattened and the death toll remains in the single digits. Now to provide sanitary assistance to these communities is the next urgent step which they've promised to make.  

☆Selfishness and hoarding: 

Panic buying images flooded the internet as soon as the lockdown was announced. They quickly became the viral memes of each day. Long queues at wholesalers couldn't go unnoticed as this highlighted not only the privilege often spoken of, of those who have extra savings, vehicles and storage to stack trolleys and trucks in some instances without concern for others. But also the entitlement, and nasty attitudes from those called out despite the repeated warnings to ration supplies and that grocery store would not be closing. I remember an ENCA news presenter checking us all when he said: check your privilege! This was directed at commenters complaining that township habitants queuing at shops for groceries seemed "late" and "ignorant" while they had only just gotten paid/ grants, and were then doing the same as the first priviledged group. 

☆Solidarity and selflessness: the above negativity led to an almost reciprocal positivity spilt between solidarity and selflessness with many showing compassion towards others and donating to shelters and charity. My feeds were inundated with requests to donate and lend a hand or even volunteer. Humanity still lives and kicks in many hearts! This was beautiful to see and must be commended.  Many companies quickly provided hand sanitisers and sent their staff  to work from home. I personally also received many emails from companies reassuring their clients of measures in place to minimize inconveniences and disruptions. Comforting!

☆Fear and faith: 

Then on the spectrum of motives, many were driven by fear while fewer resorted to faith. Churches were praying together until the ban, and switched to live online stations while others were fixated on news channels further feeding their fears... we were not only fighting an invisible virus but also a much more devastating invisible spirit of fear. Today, it seems fear is quenched and under control. The lockdown circumstances have become a new normal and we have all adjusted (as best we can). My encouragement to all those still gripped by fear is to focus on the solutions, not the problems. These solutions are hygienic measures, confinements, healthy eating, immune boosting and practicing peacefulness (quality happy times, meditating, praying, playing games, exercising etc). You can't change the problem but you can replace the time spent pondering on it with solutuons. 

☆Ignorance and unpreparedness: 

They usually say "stay ready so you don't have to get ready" but in this case people's general unpreparedness was suddenly exposed along with their accompanying ignorance in handling infectuous or communicable diseases. Now to be fair, my antiseptic training in pharmacy school and later in oncology drugs handling has given me a stark advantage; but basic hygiene and "no touching" from primary school should've assisted everyone else at least a bit more. It was shoking to hear some people complain about washing hands etc. Till today, the concept of cross contamination with/without gloves + masks and disinfection of surfaces still evades most.  I always cringe when i see someone with gloves touching their phones and clothing or taking their mask off to cough or sneeze! Perhaps here's an opportunity for individuals, companies and governments to put in place messures for handling similar outbreaks and improve overall preparedness for the future.

☆Essentials vs Non-essentials:
In a time of crisis, focus shifts towards what's most urgent and important. The  concept of essential vs nonessential distinguised and reclassified all our professions and everyday items. Essential services quickly became the theme for praise and gratitude, (and this must therefore mean that when we all go gack to normal life, these very 'essentials' should be compensated and their wages/packages reviewed and improved right? especially low or minimum wage workers like cleaners, security, etc.) although mostly directed at doctors and nurses, we had to include PHARMACISTS & their ASSISTANTS to the mix as cornerstones of healthcare in research, clinical trials, medicine manufacturing & production as well as dispensing among many other crucial roles they play.

Even with selecting shopping centers and essential items, slight confusion arose when no consistency was initially observed from outlet to outlet. In some shops you couldn't buy shampoo or face wash, while in others even clothing was still available.  I think by now all nonessential sections are blocked off in all stores. (I wonder who determines what is actually essential and for who? Pregant moms and newborns surely need a lot of the stuff thats blocked off? What about my reading frames that broke and my lens which came out? Opticians are also closed and now I can't read till next weekend..!?)
Oh well, it is what it is; no one will be 100% comfortable in these conditions.  Im grateful theres no real emergency item I can't wait the16th for. How are smokers doing?

We also saw things like traffic and casualty cases drastically reduce. Nonessentials are really clumsy! (jokes)

At the end of the day, we are all we have. Lets be each other's keepers. Lets check on friends and family. Some are lonely and need a phone call. Others are in need of something you may help with.

Africans unite in your beloved Africa;
 fly the UBUNTU flag higher than ever.
We shall emerge stronger. 

Pharmers Blog

www.pharmers.co.za
Pharmaceutical expertise and care!

Leave a comment! Share your experience.  Ask a question:  info@pharmers.co.za

CoVID19 ABC's and 123's

The virus, is here and there.  It has reached almost everywhere.

Do not fear; get informed.

First of all; fear does nothing for you. All the agitation much like rocking in a chair will get you nowhere.

Find reputable sources for updates. Listen  to rumours only for banter and use sound judgement to discern between the two.

Pharmers is a pharmaceutical consulting business which offers a handful of services. Sound pharmaceutical advice and preventative care services are some examples. Do not hesitate to ask your questions or send comments to: info@pharmers.co.za 

Our CoVid19 statement to our valued members and to the public  is an ABC acronym for easy remembering. It stands for:

A LWAYS wash your hands with soap,

B EFORE touching your face or eating, &

C LEAN your commonly shared surroundings, and surfaces using disinfectants, often.

Simple and effective.

Also remember these 3 things:

1) boosting your immune system (whether using herbal  or chemical remedies) is not going to prevent you catching an infection, you will still carry the pathogen.  It will only help your immune fighters to better cope with the infection and possibly render you asymptomatic in the best case scenario (but still a carrier able to infect others).

2) the best way to prevent an infection is to reduce the probability of contracting it through  physical touch - hence the heightened personal hygiene recommendations and frequent surroundings disinfection as well as reduced contact with others/isolation.

3) be compassionate.  We are facing frustrating times. Buisness as usual has changed, schools are closed, functions and events are cancelled...  Be kind and understanding. Use this time to introspect, reconnect with your reality and realise how frail we all are in the face of microscopic agents; lets remain humble and grateful for what we still have.

Two national SA Covid19 helplines operating 24h a day are: 
0800 029 999 and 0800 111 132. 

#pharmers

#pharmacy

www.pharmers.co.za
Info@pharmers.co.za

Pharmacists: show your preventative care in 5 ways

If you're a pharmacist you might start feeling guilty as soon as you read through the checklist that follows and find that you've fallen short on your duties!

Have you in the past year:

• Initiated & monitored patient therapies
• Conducted/initiated community health talks
• Conducted/initiated health expos/ campaigns challenges or competitions
• Led/ participated professionally in health awareness days
• Led/participated professionally in health screening days
• Demonstrated pharmacological and pharmaceutical expertise in patient interactions or interventions 
• Acted in any other intentional health promotional activity

If you have done some or all; that's excellent  [insert pat on your back] but  the reality is most haven't. Did you know that this is part of your scope and uties as a professional sworn pharmacist? Without getting into the numerous reasons why many have not regardless of subfield or sector; lets try and highlight a few crucial reasons why you now should reconsider. Get involved today!

Shocker: The Global Disease Burden quickly rising with many preventable illnesses, diseases and deaths occuring on your watch. 🙈

1) don't be shortsighted, the smallest act matters:

If you dont plan to intervene on purpose, it will never happen or become effortless.

E.g. lady comes in for morning after pill. You give her the form she signs and you issue the pill.

Now If you had planned for intentional preventative care, you would inform her that as part of preventative care you'd like to add value to her purchase by enquire about her (their) past experiences/concerns if any, with STI's / STD's and offer measures on how to prevent them in the future. Having pamflets ready greatly assist with this. Offering (free where possible) HIV screening to know her status and handing out (free) condoms would also supplement the encounter. Highlighting risks can steer even one person clear. If response is favorable and you notice a trend or young students from a campus near by (school/college/university), go as far as asking for contacts to plan a sexual health talk in a relevant upcoming session/event. 

Even if youre not in retail or hospital don't think you are left out, local park runs, weekend expos and many other community events need you to volunteer. Speak to the organizers. Get a few colleagues together especially interns and students to put together a short 10mins relevant talk  before or after the event.

2) don't outsource, YOU are qualified:

Pharmacists are more than able professionally (and within scope) to conduct primary (preventive) health care. You can do most screenings, immunisations, counselling and basic diagnoses (s3: self limiting)! If not get a PCDT pharmacist who can. Add medication management and reviews and you've got yourwork cut out for an entire day/event! Don't employ additional proffessionals if you dont have to.  Nurses and physicians are great but they will never be pharmacists.  In a pharmacy  you alone have the entire holistic view of the patient's condition. Show expertise. Your call on the actions to take will be most wholesomely accurate. Plus, we are trying to shine the pharmacist light. The other professionals can campaign for themselves! 

If you must outsource, stay on top of things and in the know. Your pharmacology and pharmaceutics are your unique differentiators. Incorporate then in the care process. 
 Never let such a huge aspect of your patient's care be completely out of your hands. Follow ups will be difficult if you don't partake.

3) Do anticipate trends, timely and tailored: 

If the majority of your patients are diabetic, conduct diabetes awareness days, talks, management series etc.  Serve the specific needs of your patients while preventing many more from developing the disease, complications or  deteriorations. Metabolic diseases are majorly lifestyle disease, show the correlations, and tie them up together to demonstrate "cause and effect". Mental health is still very entwined yet ignored, stats will shock and awaken your crowds. Have no sugar days (and I dont mean substitute real sugar for the fake toxic carcinogenic stuff); do biggest loser competitions too and include kids and teen! Both reap tremendous health benefits in the long run. 

4) Do offer prevention products & services:

Preventative vaccines such as those for Influenza or HPV have been demonstrated to greatly reduce disease burden. Especially in the risk groups.

Health isles with preventative medicines such as supplements, boosters, aids etc may also offer great support to patients but still require your expert advice (even if just on cost, effectiveness, combinations or comorbid risks). Couple these with screening services and run monthly competitions for the ultimate "Preventative Care" packages. 
Keep them interested. 
You may already offer these services indivudually but renaming and regrouping them can have a unique flair and appeal.

Encourage healthy weight by measuring patient BMIs to stay within ranges and offer to assist those who fall outside of margins with nutritional supplements or referrals to nutritionists/ dieticians as needed.

5) Do support your patients:

Perspective is everything. If you refer to them as clients or customers, you lose the care aspect to when they are patients. The power dynamics shift and power struggles result. 

Show your patients you care by putting their health needs first.
Smoking cessation is another big topic to tackle, offer close monitoring, otc gums or patches and if needed referals but ultimately patients want to feel heard and understood.  Acknowledge their struggle. Often  the smoker only needs your professional push and assistance to quit/start the quitting journey. Have that chat with them highlighting positive effects and avail yourself. Establish channels and create quick/easily accessible directories/ contact lists. Imparted confidence is what every patient needs to succeed.

There is a lot of work to be done and patients need to see this happening.  Pharmacy is not just pills. Phamacy is you and your added value to therapies.

If you're not a pharmacist atleast now you know all the services you should be able to benefit from; go ahead and request them.

#pharmers

#pharmacy
#preventiveCare
#forTheLoveOfHealth

Upcoming Festive Overindulgence? Try These 4 Tips to Overcome

If you're a part of the majority, you've already set off on the overindulgence 'ke Decemba' train. The month of December is inherently filled with weddings, birthdays, funerals, holidays which all equate to food, food and more food!

There's no need to panic, here are four tips to avoid bloating,  weight gain (water retention), tummy upsets and toxins buildup which can trigger joint pain and other inflammatory conditions.

All suggested medicine are available OTC from your local pharmacy and do not require a prescription. Ask your pharmacist for advice if in doubt or taking other medication concurently. 

 Firstly, liver support - whether you plan to drink or eat more than usual, substantiate your levels of essential phospholipids  with supplements  to assist your liver in its metabolic functions. 1 or 2 tablets up to three time (8hly) a day with food will do. 

Secondly, consider a hydration supplement.  In the heat of the summer, we tend to sweat  (salts are lost) and lose water a lot more than in winter. Increasing our water (fluid) intake is great but a step further is replenishing our electrolytes along with it. This keeps the "thirsty" feeling away and curves more subsequent cravings by maintaining feelings of satiety. One sachet dissolved in a liter of water as required on very hot days will do.

Next, lets consider excess acid levels. PH levels are critical to healthy body tissue states. Alkaline states help your system to better prevent cellular inflammation and  tissue injury/disease. Take an alkaline powder (7.5g) once or twice a day with a glass of water for a good week or so before and during the festivities to curb over acidity in the entire body. 

Lastly, its a good idea to add fiber to your diet. By sprinkling some on your food or in your drink, you ensure your gut remains regular and eliminates waste timeously.  Constipation often results from overindulgence of high sugar, high fat and low fruits/veg diets typical of party foods. Try soluble fibres to avoid this.

Whatever you decide to eat and indulge in, always keep moderation at the back of your mind. Portion sizes matter. Start with the salads and the greens before heading for the meats and the desserts.  Drink water before you leave the house as a prep to redu8ce your overall appetite, while conditioning your digestive enzymes for incoming food. 

Prevention is always better than cure. 

Enjoy your holidays, have a merry Christmas and a happy new Year 2020. 

Stay safe. 

Pharmers 

www.pharmers.co.za 

Antimicrobial Resistance; What's the big deal?

Imaging getting to the hospital for a severe bacterial infection and being told:

Sorry we don't have any effective treatment to give for this stain anymore!

That's where the world is heading;

We are dangerously close!

Listen up: in as little as 10 years we could have run out of options to treat all the super bugs currently being mishandled.

How exactly is antimicrobial misuse linked to resistant strains and treatment failure?

I'm glad you asked;  every time you take an antimicrobial medication incorrectly (dose, duration, frequency, type, or treatment option) you actually give that bug, or others around it a taste of what was supposed to kill it; but instead with this "taste", the bug incorporates the drug in its DNA and subsequently becomes enhanced, empowered and immune to it. 

This simplified explanation is to tell you to be very careful with your medication. When in doubt, ALWAYS ask your pharmacist to explain and confirm your treatment. 

Unfortunately, power struggles in the medical sphere sees a rise in patients demand towards their prescribers (every condition is a suspected infection that requires antibiotics), as well as many prescribers' carelessness in prescribing patterns. With many taking shortcuts when it comes to correctly identifying causative agents. These compounded tragedies are leading us to a point of no return. 

The 4rth industrial revolution is bringing along an unimaginable microbial disaster; if nothing is done. 

Prescribers: be careful. Resort to antimicrobials under extraordinary precaution and care. 

Dispensers: be careful. Counsel and warn your patients with utmost clarity, providing treatment assistance and reminders.  

Patients: be careful. Do not demand from experts what you think you know. They will provide the best treatment option if you remove your "paying-customer-is-king" pressures from their sworn responsibilities, lengthy degrees, and daily clinical experiences. 

Let's all work together in care and respect.  

#Pharmers

#pharmacy 

#antimicrobials 

#stewards

#healthCare