Ellen Campbell -Grizzle - PHARMACY TODAY YOU MAY wonder how your pharmacist is able to read your prescription. There is no mystery. The pharmacist is trained to interpret the combination of english and latin abbreviations that the doctor uses to write your prescription. This practice is based on a past belief that patients should have as little information as possible about their medication. This has changed and today many doctors explain the reasons behind medication selection. Patients are now viewed as important allies in the treatment and recovery process.
Your prescription is a legal document. In Jamaica, your pharmacist is bound by ethics to hold the details in confidence. The law states the minimum areas that the prescription must address and requires that the written document be kept by the pharmacist for two years. However, some additional information does help to reduce medication errors and patients play a key role in preventing such medication misadventures.
Before leaving your doctor's office, ensure that your name, age, address and the date is written on the prescription. Although you may know the names of the drugs, know how many items you are to receive. Know your doctor's name and make sure that the prescription is signed and that the doctor's name and location are legibly written. Most doctors use a stamp that contains their name and workplace as well as their registration number. This makes it easier for the pharmacist to contact the physician and the registration number indicates that your doctor is a registered prescriber, entitled to write prescriptions in Jamaica. At the pharmacy, various methods are used to ensure that the document that you present is intended for you. The pharmacist may ask of a new client, "Mr. Green, how are you today?" This is not merely striking up a conversation, which is good, but also ensuring that the prescription is yours. The age on the prescription is also confirmed because, in many cases, the correct dose is related to age. The doctor will be consulted often to ensure that what is written for you is intended and appropriate. Pharmacists are also very good at working out medication cost plans to suit clients circumstances. All of this is aimed at avoiding errors and ensuring compliance. Once you have received your medication, make sure that you take all of it at the dose prescribed. If during the period of taking your treatment, you suspect any medication related problems, call your pharmacist or doctor and let them know.
Every drug is a two edged sword. If properly used, patients can experience improved health and quality of life. On the other hand, the consequences of improper use can be lethal. You have an important role to play in ensuring that you get the best outcomes from your treatment.
Times have changed. Over the last five years, the Pharmacy Council has required that all pharmacies have consultation sections and that pharmacists use this area to privately discuss medication related matters with clients. Today's pharmacist is a highly qualified individual with a legal responsibility to protect your health and welfare. They charge professional fees and you are entitled to the benefits that derive from the counselling process. Ensure that your prescription is filled in a registered pharmacy and that a registered pharmacist is available to address your concerns. You have the right to choose the pharmacy and pharmacist from whom you wish to access service. And ask your pharmacist about your medicines, you have the right to know!
Ellen Campbell Grizzle is the President of the Caribbean Association of Pharmacists(CAP) and Director, Information & Research, National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), Kingston, Jamaica.
