The role of a pharmacist in your healthcare

Pharmacist provide health care, education and advice across all settings to promote good health and to reduce the incidence of illness. By providing direct care to patients, pharmacists have a broad role in enhancing public health and the quality use of medicines in the community. Pharmacists are one of the most easily accessible health care professionals. Some roles of a pharmacist include preparing or supervising the dispensing of medications and advising patients on how their medicines are to be taken or used in the safest and most effective way. Pharmacists also provide a variety of other health services such as vaccinations, home medicines reviews and health checks.

Pharmacists supply medicines and check you have the correct dose; confirm if you have any allergies; whether you could have any other problems with the medicine; and they provide advice on how to use it safely.

They also advise on the use of over the counter medications for the treatment of minor ailments such as coughs and colds, dehydration, gastrointestinal upset, hayfever and pain management. They can help you manage chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma, and acute conditions such as a UTI, thrush and skin conditions. If you have a minor injury, they can help! They can show you how to apply dressings and compression garments if required. Your local pharmacist is also able to provide basic health checks, vaccinations and medical certificates.

Some of the specific services available at Pharmacy 777 East Vic Park include:

- Medications (dispensing)

- Vaccinations

- Diabetes support

- NDSS services

- Health certificates

- CPAP trials (sleep apnoea)

- Dose administration aids

- Health checks

- Home sleep studies

- Sleep health services

- Pain support

- Pre-flight covid 19 screening

- Weight loss program

- Compounding medicines

- Medscheck: A MedsCheck enables a patient to go to community pharmacy anddiscuss their medicines with a pharmacist, who advises on what the medicinesdo, and how to use and store them, as well as address any problems. A DiabetesMedsCheck focuses on patients with type 2 diabetes and their diabetesmedicines.

- Medication delivery

- Naturopathic clinic

 How can a pharmacist help me with my diabetes management?

Diabetes is a complex and complicated health condition and pharmacists play a very important role as part of the diabetes care team. They are involved with screening for the disease, as well as treatment and medication management. Pharmacists can help the patient feel comfortable to ask questions and learn more thus reducing the mental burden of this chronic health condition. Pharmacists assist people with diabetes in understanding their diabetes medicines, improving self-monitoring, and maintaining blood glucose control. This assists in reducing the risk of complications associated with diabetes. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your pharmacist for support with your diabetes management.

There’s an app for that!

TheMyPharmacyLink app is available for pharmacy 777 patients (who leavetheir scripts on file) to use to make sure you never run out of medication!

Services available on the app include:

- See your current scripts, your remaining supply and number of repeats. You’ll receive handy reminders when your supply is running low and when you need a new script from the doctor.

- View a complete 12-month history of all your medications. You can see links to your personalised dosage details, medication information and an image of each of your medicines.

- Access detailed information about your medication, including how and when to take your medicine, the ingredients, any side effects and other issues to consider.

- Access your progress reports or test results from your local pharmacy; these may include blood pressure monitoring, blood glucose monitoring, inhaler technique checks and vaccinations.

- Communicate directly with your trusted pharmacist about any medication concerns. Receive reminders when your repeat is due or when you need a new script from your doctor.

- Press a button to order your medications and you’ll receive a message when they’re ready to pick up. You’ll save time and ensure that you’re always on track with your medications.

- Set dose reminders to help you remember to take your medications. You will receive alerts so you won’t forget.

- Add the profiles of your children, spouse, elderly parents or other dependents tohelp manage their medications, with their consent and the appropriate permissions from your local pharmacist.

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Packapill is another great pharmacy-related app to be aware of. You can use this app to connect with your local pharmacist and arrange delivery of your medication in under 3 hours. The app also has a function to manage refills to help make sure you don’t run out of medication.

Medadvisor also allows you to order prescription medications and receive reminders about refills due.

These are just 3 examples, but there are plenty more! Your local pharmacy might have a preferred app to use, so be sure to chat to them about it next time you’re in.

Tosummarise, pharmacists are a great support for you on your health journey (and sometimes under-rated!), and there are a lot of pharmacy-related supports out there to help you maximise your health. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to chat to any of our team.

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