Has consulting with a pharmacist ever crossed your mind? You must have wondered about the need of talking to a pharmacist since we also have to consult with our primary physicians, right? Are they any different or similar? Lest you think that a pharmacist’s words are redundant with that of your doctor’s, you can’t be any more wrong. Your pharmacist is also part of your healthcare team, especially if you’re recovering from an illness or are taking lifetime medications.
Think of your pharmacy consultations as the other blade of scissors paired with your doctor’s advice. They help sharpen your understanding of your medications. As a community pharmacy in Brandon, Florida, we would like to share these reasons why consulting with a pharmacist is valuable to your well-being:
- Patient education
Most pharmacies in the country are already regulated to maintain records and profiles of their patients. The advantage of this is for pharmacists to provide appropriate education regarding the patient’s prescriptions. Before they dispense the prescribed medications, the pharmacist can counsel the patient about the present prescriptions they have, their potential effects with other treatments they’re taking, and why they should follow dosage instructions. At this point, the patient can also ask the pharmacists relevant information about their medicines or if they need to look for more affordable options such as generic versions.
- Ensure proper dispensing of prescriptions
In a pharmacy consultation, pharmacists can double-check the patient’s current prescription with regards to their recorded medical history. This way, they can prevent erroneous dispensing of medications. For instance, in the case of lifetime medicines, when the patients are taking an adjusted dosage of drugs, pharmacists from your medicine shop in Florida will ensure that they’re dispensing the prescribed dosage and not the usual dose that the patient has been taking before. This correct dispensation is able to help meet the patient’s health goals.
- Monitors your medication intake
Since some pharmacies are regulated to keep medication records of their patients, they can provide accurate monitoring of their medication intake. The patient can minimize the chances of buying medications more than the prescribed number. Pharmacists can also have a way of reminding the patients that their pills should only be taken within a prescribed amount of time. As a result, your drugstore in Florida can truly be your health ally.
At the end of the day, pharmacy consultation is not really redundant information with your doctor’s instruction. Instead, it’s a supplemental detail to reinforce what your doctor said. After all, everything crucial bears repeating.
For this reason, we encourage you to really chat and consult with our friendly staff at Brandon Pharmacy. Our team of licensed pharmacists are able to accommodate your concerns while providing you with the right patient education that you really need. On your next visit to our pharmacy, don’t hesitate to consult with our pharmacists.
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