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

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 

Pharmacy - Cornerstone of Health Care!

Whatever disease, illness or condition you may come across (go ahead and think of at least 3), part or the entire treatment protocol will require medicines. And who says medicine says: PHARMACY!

Who's in charge and running (around in) the pharmacy? Pharmacists of course! With the help of their assistants. 

But that's overly simplified you might think. Medicines being sold in a pharmacy don't quite illustrate the entire health care scenery does it? So why is pharmacy cornerstone?

Well they give you the final products. The end valuable result of the complex pharmacy machine! That's not all! You see,  health care in essence is the organized provision of medical care to individuals or communities. As each component of care giving requires either consumables, medicines or tools; pharmacists are the only licensed, sworn in, and responsible authorities for safely providing these to everyone else.  

To provide quality health care, rigorous investigations must be done. Diseases, their cause and progression, their treatment or management etc is studied with the aim of curing or at least controlling the condition. Pharmacists do that. Any agent which causes a desired physiological response can be deemed a drug, how it works and should be administered to treat and cure diseases is the pharmacists' prerogative! If you're still not convinced,  consider the following concluding points.

5 ways pharmacists are the cornerstones of health care: 

○They manufacture ALL available drugs; no pharmacist, no medication. 

○They understand both sides of diseases: etiologies vs therapies; no pharmacist, no prescription, disease & drug gate keeping. 

○They have basic and advanced knowledge regarding Primary, Emergency and Secondary/ Tertiary health care; no pharmacists, no adequate intermediate resources connecting all treatment levels. 

○They ensure quality treatments from obtaining raw materials, to maintaining quality through storage, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, prescribed indications and patient use. No pharmacist, no quality treatment. 

○they are the ultimate health care multitaskers: making the actual medications, ordering and controlling supply, supervising staff, consulting & counselling patients, intervening in patient therapies, mediating between prescribers and insurance providers, referring or initiating care, teaching and educating communities, while running profitable businesses among many others! No pharmacist, no cross-disciplinary, functional health care system!

You just can't beat them.

Pharmacists remain the undefeated,  unprecedented but ultimately undermined,  health care professionals!

Love and respect your pharmacist. Be patient while your community pharmacist helps you. They are there to optimize your treatment (outcomes) and improve your quality of life but if you rush them and they make a mistake it could really harm you.




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Pharmacy Blog 

10 Baby Pharmacy Hacks

So here are 10  helpful baby health tips for you when it comes to easing your baby routine!

Skip the queue: most facilities will agree to let a parent with a baby receive priority assistance especially if the child is in distress or crying. Kindly ask your pharmacist for prompt assistance.

Sooth Teething : with a clean finger, apply drops of the medicated solution dose to the gums and rub gently every 1-2hours. By dividing the dose into smaller intakes, pain threshold (local) coverage is better  experienced by baby. This is a great alternative to giving a full oral dose 4-6 times daily.
You get better symptomatic relief at the site and you can apply more frequently for soothing and control.

No spill: never use a spoon to give baby their medication. Rather use a syringe. It is better calibrated hence accurate and it also doesn't spill if they knock it with their hands or heads. Always dilute medicine in a bit of milk, or juice rather than the whole feed. This helps to mask the taste. If they don't finish the feed at least the full dose is taken.

Nappy rash: you will never have a nappy rash again if you apply an oil to baby's bum after each change. Unlike water based creams, oils don't completely absorb and therefore they form a good protective (anti-rash) layer on top of baby's skin.

Home made re-hydration: if baby has lost a lot of fluids, they easily become dehydrated especially if they've been vomiting or had diarrhea. This could quickly become dangerous and send you to the ER. However with one tbsp of sugar, half a tbsp of salt and a tall glass of pure/boiled/ filtered water, electrolytes can be replenished and resolve the situation. Administer in small intervals until diaper trends return to normal.

Baby change bag: when packing for baby, the usual diapers, wipes and bottles should be included but don't forget to add a change of clothes for the parent too! If baby throws up or squirts you during a change, your clothes may be embarrassingly messing afterward.

Baby medicine:  when giving an antibiotic or other liquid medicine to baby, to keep track of administered doses, draw a chart with all required doses on the side of the bottle with a permanent marker and tick as you go along. It can get quite confusing and losing track is easy.

Nail clipping: when baby has just falling asleep, wait 20 minutes and proceed to clipping their nails. This ensures no fussing and crying during this mandatory task.

Spit up or vomit stains: whether on the couch, catpet or your clothes, use a paste made with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water. Apply generous amount to stain and let dry over night. Vacuum or wash in the morning!



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