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In addition to buying medicines, at the pharmacy you can get health advice and consult in case of questions or doubts. A pharmacist can also help you get good supplements and over-the-counter medications by providing accurate information, not just by using ad slogans.
The material was created in cooperation with Nutropharma
Almost 30 thousand pharmacists and about 14 thousand. pharmacies and pharmacy outlets are today the most accessible element of health care. Due to the fact that there are not enough doctors and nurses in Poland, and the waiting time for an appointment to the clinic is getting longer, pharmacists are still an underused element of the health care system.
Poles trust pharmacists
Very demanding studies lasting five and a half years, enormous knowledge that must be acquired by studying at the pharmacy faculty, numerous trainings and constant updating of knowledge are simply not used if we reduce the role of a pharmacist to a drug dealer in a pharmacy. – Especially that over 90 percent. Poles trust pharmacists. Compared to other professions of public trust, it is really a lot – emphasizes Michał Byliniak, president of the District Pharmaceutical Chamber in Warsaw, vice-president of the Supreme Pharmaceutical Council, president of the European Union Pharmaceutical Group.
Meanwhile – although after each advertisement of a drug we hear: “Consult a doctor or pharmacist …”, we often forget that today a pharmacy is a place where patients can not only safely buy drugs and stock up on medical products and equipment, but also obtain advice health.
To the pharmacy not only for medicines
Pharmacists provide information on how to properly use and store your medications. They can also suggest a cheaper alternative. They help in the preparation of a travel and home first aid kit by selecting basic medicines for children and adults depending on the planned place of departure. You can also ask for a home first aid kit to be inspected at the pharmacy. The pharmacist will check whether the drugs are well stored, eliminate those with expired shelf life and, if necessary, present the indications and rules for their use. It can also help you choose the right blood pressure monitor and teach your patient how to use it. It will make it easier to choose an inhaler and show you how to use it.
First Aid Pharmacy
For many of us, the pharmacy is also a point of health consultation. In the case of minor ailments, such as a cold, runny nose, cough, cystitis, light food poisoning or diarrhea, instead of waiting long hours in the line to the clinic, we can find help at the nearest pharmacy. – Consultation with a pharmacist ensures the safe use of drugs, e.g. for colds. It excludes the risk of exceeding the permissible doses of the medicinal substance contained in various preparations. The patient buys drugs for cough, fever and runny nose. Meanwhile, each of them may contain the same substance, which the patient does not know – explains Byliniak.
In a maze of supplements and over-the-counter drugs
There are many dietary supplements and over-the-counter medications on the market today.
– The medicinal product is to treat, prevent or diagnose, while the supplement can supplement dietary deficiencies and support the physiological functions of the body – explains the president of Byliniak. We’re all bombarded with ads for these products, and it’s hard for us to know what we really need. Therefore, pharmacists still have to acquire new information to advise the patient which supplement he needs, what preparation is best for him and help distinguish between good-quality products and poor ones. Pharmacists, as specialists, often know the products available in the pharmacy and their manufacturers “inside out”, and therefore have knowledge of the activities aimed at ensuring the best quality and effectiveness of products available in pharmacies. That is why their opinion is worth trusting. In the pharmacy, patients expect reliable information on this topic and can obtain it there. Supplementation tailored to the needs of a particular patient, in accordance with the recommendations and recommendations of experts and scientific societies requires a great deal of knowledge.
Continuing education
The social campaign “Trust my knowledge, I am a pharmacist” is to show that pharmacists who rely on current medical knowledge in their work are the best experts in the field of pharmacotherapy, information on medicinal products, medical devices, dietary supplements and broadly understood education pro-health. As part of this campaign, activities are carried out to make pharmacists aware of the need to use up-to-date and reliable sources of information – We must constantly expand our knowledge to use it when caring for the patient, also by recommending reasonable supplementation – says Byliniak.
The material was created in cooperation with Nutropharma