Your Pharmacist Is Your Wellness Advocate

Pharmacists. Most people hear this word and think they are responsible for filling the prescription your doctor gave you, handing you the pills, and sending you on your way. The true acts and responsibilities of a pharmacist are not common knowledge. However, pharmacists do so much more behind the scenes. When you bring your prescription into the pharmacy, the pharmacist looks at your medication profile and checks for any drug interactions or drug allergies, then they check that the prescription is dosed correctly for you specifically, they then check that insurance will cover the medication. If all the steps go through with no problems, then the prescription is passed to the technician to count out the pills and put them into a bottle. The pharmacist then checks to make sure the correct pills were put into the bottle and it is passed to you to pay and be on your way. 

If there are problems in any of the steps, which occur more times than not, then the pharmacist works quickly and efficiently in the best interest of you to resolve the problems. If there are any drug interactions or allergies, the pharmacist will call the physician and try to get it resolved as quickly as possible by giving them recommendations to switch to another medication. The same steps are taken if there are any problems with the dosing. As you know, most likely from experience, it is difficult to get ahold of the doctor's office and get a quick answer, this step takes a lot of time and can even take a few days. If insurance won't cover the medication as prescribed, we try our best to get the prescription changed by the doctor's office to something that will be covered or to get them to fill out prior authorization. Prior authorization can take up to 72 hours to be approved, and that is after the time it takes the office to fill out the paperwork and send it in. Then, after everything is fixed and the prescription is sent to the technicians to be filled, the pharmacist looks at the pills to see what was filled to make sure the correct medication is being given to you at the correct quantity and dose. 

As you can see, the steps to fill a prescription are time-consuming. It is not as simple as looking at the prescription and putting the pills into the bottle. Every step that is taken is to ensure that you, the patient, are going to be safe and not harmed by the medication that you are about to take to improve your health. Pharmacists are your wellness advocates. Everything we do is to make sure the decisions made for your health are in your best interest. We know more than the general public is lead to believe. We can help out more than the general public is lead to believe, and we are the most accessible health care professionals. If you don't believe me, the next time you have an issue related to your health or medication, call your pharmacist and ask them for advice. They are happy to help and easily accessible. If you are unsure whether or not you need to make an appointment or just grab an over-the-counter medication, call your pharmacist. It is an easy and quick way to get a free answer before you spend your copay money on something unnecessary.

Your pharmacist is your wellness advocate, use them, call them, and ask them your questions. And the next time you take a prescription into the pharmacy, please be patient and remember that all the time it takes to fill your medication is not done in a lazy attempt to just take up time. Everything is done in a safe way to make sure you will be healthy and not harmed by your medication.