How Can Your Pharmacist Help You?

Contributing Author: Gentle Heron

Your health care team probably includes a pharmacist. Most people know that a pharmacist is a licensed medical professional who distributes medications and drugs prescribed by physicians to patients. Pharmacists in the US have a graduate level university degree, and must also have passed a series of examinations of their pharmacy skills and knowledge. All US pharmacists are required to have a certain number of hours of supervised experience before they can acquire their license.

But do you know what else your pharmacist can do to help you maintain your health and wellness?

You can ask your pharmacist questions about any of your prescriptions, the proper way to take them, potential side effects, and possible interactions with other prescription and over-the-counter medications you are taking. Pharmacists can offer advice about the selection, dosage, interactions and side effects of any medication to patients and to doctors and other medical professionals.

Your pharmacist can offer advice about general health topics, including diet, exercise and stress management. He can offer specific advise about conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma, and diabetes, or about wellness goals such as smoking cessation.

Your pharmacist can also advise you on general health products carried in the pharmacy, including durable medical equipment and home healthcare supplies that may or may not be prescribed. She may complete third-party insurance forms and other paperwork. Many pharmacists now are trained to administer vaccinations, such as the flu shot.

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Did you know...

...That pharmacists save patients time, and save the government money?

For an excellent visual explanation of evidence-based statements about what pharmacists do in the US, please see this website: http://whatpharmacistsdo.org/

For information about pharmacists in the UK: https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/

To learn about pharmacists in Canada: https://www.pharmacists.ca/pharmacy-in-canada/pharmacists-in-canada/

Interested in a career in pharmacy in Australia? Check out this site: http://www.psa.org.au/about/pharmacy-as-a-career/what-pharmacists-do-and-where-they-work

Image Source: Pixabay