Frequently Asked Questions
Where do health-system pharmacists work?
- Hospitals
- Long-term care facilities
- Home care companies
- Health-maintenance organizations
- Other organized health-system settings
What do they do?
- Advise doctors and other healthcare professionals about medication selection and administration
- Counsel patients on proper medication use
- Monitor medication therapy to ensure effectiveness
- Evaluate new medications and recommend the safest and most effective therapies for individual patients
How do they work with doctors and nurses?
- Health-system pharmacists work together with doctors, nurses and all other professional who provide patient care
- Pharmacists are important members of every patient's health care team
What information can health-system pharmacists provide?
- Information on your medications, including purpose, effectiveness, side effects and dosage
- How to take medications properly so that they are safe and effective
- Ways to help prevent improper medication use and adverse drug reactions
- Ways to help prevent the development of drug-resistant strains of bacteria
- Proper medication use after the patient leaves a health-system
How do health-system pharmacists help keep patients safe?
- By reviewing patients' medication therapy for each new medication prescribed to prevent possible interactions
- By discussing the most effective therapies with doctors and nurses
- By monitoring medication dosage and administration and making any necessary adjustments
What else can health-system pharmacists tell me about?
- Cautions and tips in choosing patches, gum and other smoking-cessation aids
- Using aspirin to prevent heart attack and strokes
- Medications that go from prescription to over-the-counter status
- The most effective ways to treat high cholesterol
- Medications used to treat common conditions such as diabetes and asthma
- Taking medications with alcohol
- The proper immunizations adults and children should have
- Special considerations to keep in mind when giving children medication
Tips for preventing medication errors and adverse drug reactions
- Keep a personal list of all drug therapy
- Maintain a list of medications you cannot take due to allergic reactions
- Upon entering a health system or during a doctor's visit, provide a complete list of all medications you are taking, including vitamins and alternative medicines
- Learn the names of all the medications that are prescribed to you
- Be familiar with the appearance of your medications
- Check your medications before taking them to ensure they are correct
- Know the dosage and schedule for all medications you take
- Ask your health-system pharmacist if you have any questions about the treatments or medications you receive
- Request written information about your medications
- Ask questions about anything you do not understand
- If you are too ill to follow these recommendations, ask a friend or a relative to assist you
- Keep your family safe by keeping a separate list of medications for each family member
Tips for preventing drug-resistant bacteria
- Take the prescribed dose for the full time it's prescribed
- Don't skip doses or stop taking the medication before the prescription has been finished
- Remember that antibiotics should be used for bacterial infections, not viral infections
- Never self-medicate with antibiotics that have not been prescribed to you
- Get vaccinations that offer protection from infection
- If you are ill, try not to spread infections by going to work or sending a sick child to day care or school
|