Strengths And Limitations Of Community Pharmacist

When making the decision to prescribe there are a number of influence you have to consider. It is important to have an awareness of these influences and take them into consideration when issuing a prescription. It is importance to have knowledge of the DOH (2006) Medicines Matters this give guidance on the mechanisms available for prescribing and administration and supply of products. Team trends and external company’s and there representatives promoting their products have a big influence on your prescribing practice Bradley (2006) found that these influences were of concern to some nurses feeling that their colleague may ask them to prescribe for patients they haven’t seen. Thomas (2008)

This paper aims to explore the role of the V100 nurse prescriber. The development of nurse prescribing will be outlined, followed by a reflective case study in which ethical and legal implications will be discussed and finally a reflective conclusion will be drawn. Where appropriate the paper will be written in the first person (Webb 1992).

When doctors prescribe medication for their patients, a local retail pharmacy is most likely to be utilized to fill the order. However, there is a growing population of older Americans that are no longer able to live independently and must reside in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. In order for this vulnerable population to receive their medications, a different kind of pharmacy is needed, these are known as LTC, long term care pharmacies. Within these specialized pharmacies there are highly trained employees called CPhTs, certified pharmacy technicians who are overseen by state licensed

The contribution of pharmacists in a clinical setting and community pharmacy is significant that the workforce benefit from. When the workforce understands their medications and complies with the prescribed treatment plans the work center becomes healthy and the potential of increased productivity becomes a realistic and profitable proposition for the organization. When the workforce takes advantage of the healthcare services the pharmacists provide in a community and clinical pharmacies productivity and profit are at high potential reality.

Often times, the retail clinics are located near the patients’ homes and offer unconventional office hours. Operating every day of the week, patients are usually seen as walk-ins with minimal wait times. Prescriptions can also be immediately filled while they shop for grocery or personal care items in the drug store. Moreover, the cost for the efficient quality care is relatively small compared to that of visiting primary care physicians’ practices. A usual visit to the retail clinic can run between forty to seventy dollars depending on the depth of the service. Convenience care clinics that are purposely designed to be housed in retail stores with high traffic volume have existed to accommodate the public’s quest for convenience and wellness (Hansen-Turton et al., n.d.).

Long-Term Care pharmacies which are Long-Term care serve residents an institution like nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as well as LTC patients in more residential environments. A long-term care pharmacy is actually re-exploring the initial role of the general physician in terms of monitoring patient conditions and regulating drug protocols. They provide pharmacy, infusion, education, consulting, and population. When students that are just finishing the

Many medicines can be purchased through wholesalers and retail outlets by anyone. People may decide to buy and keep remedies to take themselves, including herbal remedies and products that they purchase from other countries. When the care provider keeps a range of ‘homely remedies’, it is care workers who will decide whether to give them to a resident or not. Homely remedies are used to provide

The PC will randomly select 25 participants, aged 65 years and older, who are patients in a primary care setting, who have at least one chronic disease, are Haitian Creole speaking only, and who take more than five medications daily. Those patients will meet monthly and will bring their pill bottles for medication review. Two Haitian Creole speaking pharmacists will be recruited to participate in the program. They will gain access to the participants' electronic health records (EHR) for the duration of the program. During each visit, the pharmacists will inquire about participants' medication use including over the counter medications, reason for taking the medications, the duration of the treatment, the use of different providers, and participant's

3) advocates autonomy and independence of the residents. According to the guideline states that medication review is an evidence-based intervention and this review should be performed regularly (ACSQHC 2009, p. 72). A meta-analysis was conducted in aged care facilities and the relationship polypharmacy and falls, and fall injuries were found out. Residents taking cardiovascular medications, including diuretics, antiarrhythmics, digoxin, have higher fall risks. But, by reviewing their medication, the risks of fall were reduced up to 66% (Baranzini et al. 2009, p. 228). A randomise controlled trial was conducted targeting residents in aged care facilities, and a comparison between medication-reviewed population and non-reviewed population performed. The effectiveness of medication review was statistically confirmed that reviewed population showed 38% lower number of falls than the non-reviewed population (Zermansky et al. 2006, p. 589). Therefore, in aged care facilities, falls are obviously a big problem and often harm the residents. Medication is a major factor for falls because the vast majority of residents are taking multiple medications. However, reviewing their medications, fall risks are significantly reduced. As a nurse, careful observation for the residents and frequent collaboration with pharmacists or doctors should be performed to ensure the residents

Specialty pharmacy is based on the dispensing and managing medications based on the disease state. Some examples of this include but are not limited to cancer, HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, and immune disorders. Specific and continuous monitoring is required for many chronic conditions and generally there is a high cost for the use of certain medications. Specialty pharmacy plays a role in ensuring the best outcome for these conditions and the minimalization of adverse reactions. Some of the appealing aspects listed about these positions include being able to work with other fields or health professionals, spending a good portion of their time working with patients, and having a flexible schedule. The more negative aspects of this position include traveling, the amount of prescriptions processed, and some respondents stated there was low patient interaction. According to United Health Groups article The Growth of Specialty Pharmacy, due to new therapies and treatments spending on specialty pharmacy is growing by double digit numbers. In 2012 the spending on specialty drugs was estimated to be about $87 billion and it is suggested that spending is could increase to $400 billion by

Optimizing drug therapy is an essential part of caring for an older person. The process of prescribing a medication is complex and includes: deciding that a drug is indicated, choosing the best drug, determining a dose and schedule appropriate for the patient's physiologic status, monitoring for effectiveness and toxicity, educating the patient about expected side effects, and indications for seeking consultation. Multiple factors contribute to the appropriateness and overall quality of drug prescribing. These include avoidance of inappropriate medications, appropriate use of indicated medications, monitoring for side effects and drug levels, avoidance of drug-drug interactions, and involvement of the patient and integration of patient values.

Currently, care transition is commonly implemented in the hospital for patient discharges, but the care is often not followed up or continued in the community setting. The failure to communicate the care from the hospital to the community setting may be due to insufficient understanding of community pharmacists’ qualifications from

Current Industry. The retail drug industry’s 2010 combined annual revenue was $277 billion, according to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (Drug Store Industry…, 2011, par. 4).The big players in this industry are CVS Caremark, Corp. Walgreen Co., and Rite-Aid, Corp with Wal-Mart and Target developing more of a presence in recent years. According to the article, the drug store industry is very concentrated with the 50 largest companies generating about 70 percent of the industries revenue (Drug Store Industry…, 2011, par. 4). The industry had grown substantially in the last 50 years and will continue to innovate and develop well into the near future.

The healthcare is supporting the goals of public through various strategies. Firstly, the healthcare is dedicated to provide care to patients whenever they need it and in many forms, not just face-to-face visits. This means that the healthcare is now responsive at all times, and it is providing healthcare over the internet, by telephone, and by other means in addition to in-person visits. The healthcare has also customized its services depending on the customer needs and values which have enabled it to meet the most common types of needs and at the same time having the capability to respond to individual patient choices and preferences. It has also made it easier for patients to receive necessary information and opportunity to exercise the degree of control they choose over healthcare decisions that affect them. This system has now been able to accommodate differences in patient preferences and encourage shared decision making. This information is also made available to patients’ families which enable them to make informed decisions when selecting a health plan, hospital, or clinical practice, or when choosing among alternative treatments.

Today in the 21st century the roles of pharmacist have expanded tremendously. Before pharmacist had the role of solely dispensing drugs. Pharmacists were limited to only being regulatory or clinical pharmacist. Back then they were called medical purveyors who were much like today’s regulatory pharmacist and hospital pharmacist who are similar to hospital pharmacist. Now pharmacists carry many roles in healthcare. Pharmacist can play roles in public health, community, health systems, state, and federal government.