Ellen Campbell-Grizzle

Generally, Jamaican consumers are not getting the most out of their visits to pharmacies. Many rush in and begin to fuss after a 10-minute wait.

Pharmacists are well aware of the relationship between waiting time and customer satisfaction but cannot sacrifice safety on the altar of speed. Apart from the daily glitches that occur with processing insurance cards, trying to find some prescribers for drug and dose adjustments and inventory checking, irate consumers, frustrated by prolonged waiting, add to the burden of providing good patient care.

All over the world, pharmacists are addressing the need to make each pharmacy visit more comfortable and rewarding. However, the gold standard of safety remains one patient at a time, leading to a longer, though necessary, turnaround time.

According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, "with the increasing number of prescriptions and shortage of qualified pharmacists, conditions are ripe for potentially unsafe situations." Pharmacists work long hours without breaks, multi-task in answering phones, counselling patients and sorting out insurance issues. These conditions can increase the chance of dispensing errors.

Robots

In some private sector pharmacies in Jamaica, 10 prescriptions may be in the process of preparation with five persons standing in line. In the public sector, batches may be five times larger. In the developed world, larger outlets install robots to dispense common drugs. However, the pharmacist still gives a final check before handing the medication to the patient.

Plan to spend no less than 30 minutes to fill your prescription. It is important that you know the name, address and telephone number of your prescriber. Here are three tips to help you to efficiently use your time during pharmacy visits:

1. Hand in your prescription. Make sure that your medication is available and at a cost that you can afford. Give the pharmacist time to check product availability, dosages, status of your health insurance card before giving you the cost.

2. Browse. Pharmacies stock a lot of new products every day. Take the time to learn about the products which may be useful to you and your family

3. Read brochures placed in the prescription area; they provide useful information on general health conditions.

During the process of medication collection:

Always restate the name of the patient to the pharmacist.

Remind the pharmacist of the age of the child or senior citizen.

Make sure that you understand all terms used in relation to drug use, storage and dosage.

Ask for your copy prescription if repeats were ordered by the physician.

Ask if there is any additional and important information that you should know.

Write down the contact number and name of your pharmacist so that you can call for further clarification.

Some pharmacy owners have installed comfortable seating, magazines for reading and DVDs on continuous loop. Persons with refills can call before pick up in order to reduce their waiting time and crowding of the pharmacy.

Pharmacists must make sure that time spent in pharmacies is rewarding for customers. Leaders of public and private sector pharmacies must understand the consumer's perspective and work toward finding solutions. Equally, overstressed professionals cannot consistently perform at the maximum level of safety. Inevitably, the need for patient counselling to improve adherence requires a trade-off between consumer patience and pharmacist efficiency. Long turnaround times remain in the offing.

Ellen Campbell-Grizzle, president, Caribbean Association of Pharmacists; director, Information & Research, National Council on Drug Abuse; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.