Pharmaceutical products are a chart-topping commodity in commercial markets. The same fact has also brought on a multitude of illnesses, which health advisers have christened ‘adverse drug reactions’. Every time a patient visits the doctor with a minor ailment, a cure is prescribed. Sadly, you often realise some years later that the cure was the cause for another medical adversity. It is time we tried to put an end to this situation. Medicines should never be the reason for our fellow beings’ grief tomorrow. Pharmacists help with this to a certain extent.
In a hospital setting, qualified pharmacists work closely with other healthcare providers and oftentimes make sure the medication regimen for each patient is optimised to achieve good outcomes. Now, who doesn’t commit a mistake at some point? There can be instances where the name of a drug is spelt incorrectly or the dosage marked inappropriately. It would be splendid if there was always someone to review those drugs and stay vigilant about drug interactions. After all, it has to do with the life of a loved one.
An acknowledged problem among hospital physicians is lack of sufficient time to invest in patients. They cannot be blamed for this as handling both inpatients and outpatients, in addition to paperwork, meetings, and seminars related to their profession constitutes an arduous task. Busy doctors invariably have time constraints in getting involved in a patient’s history of allergies, medications, income issues, occupational pressures and convenience to take medication and explain how and when to take medication.
Pharmacists, on the other hand, are spared some of these tasks. This presents them with more time to look deeper into a patient’s condition and requirements at a more personal level. They can comprehensively go through a patient’s case and provide him or her with guide pamphlets and other assistance. Pharmacists are trained and qualified in patient counselling. This allows them to have a better rapport and to empathise with the patient. As they often get to communicate more with patients, they can frame a better picture of a patient’s financial background.
This helps them to suggest the most effective medication options which the patient can afford.
At times, some patients forget to take their medication promptly or misunderstand the dosage patterns. Pharmacists can make calls to them to ensure that they strictly adhere to the medication regime. Especially when it involves antibiotics, any negligence to take medication on time can generate drug resistance, which can make the antibiotic ineffective in them later. The absolute aim of a healthcare provider is to provide complete cure. Pharmacists play a key role in this process.
A qualified pharmacist has the competency and experience required in clinical pharmacology as well as therapeutics, in addition to the necessary pharmacokinetic skills. With expertise in these fields, a pharmacist is a suitable person to individualise the drug category and dose for each patient. A doctor, on the other hand, acquires a lot of medication-related information from pharmaceutical companies. Giving a pharmacist a role in making choices with regard to the drug for a diagnosis the physician provides can help save time for physicians to concentrate on and look deeper into aspects of diagnosis.
To put these thoughts into action we need a system in which each pharmacist is trained to enforce and implement the plan. With pharmacists working hand-in-hand with doctors and nurses, a better healthcare scenario could well emerge.
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