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solid tradition
Seamless care
Healthcare is becoming faceless as budget cuts replace humanity with efficiency
and automation. Healing is human, but waiting lists and lines are so long
that patients do not even expect to recognize the face at the end of the
line. Through all the health care changes, one tradition remains constant,
that of the community pharmacist.
Community pharmacists are just that, part of the community. The pharmacist
is the one recognizable face in the healthcare arena that patients can
visit without an appointment. Pharmacists can answer simple questions,
such as how to increase dietary fibre; and they also help to resolve complicated
issues, such as drug interactions. Pharmacists are expanding their traditional
role as the link between the physician and the patient, to provide seamless
care.
What is seamless care? It is the philosophy that patients should move
from one part of the health care system to another with continuous care.
As patients progress through the health care system, they see many different
professionals in several settings. Nurses, dieticians, social workers,
primary care physicians and specialists may become involved in a single
patient’s care at the family doctor’s office, the outpatient
clinic or a hospital. Keeping track of the treatment plans is vital and
the community pharmacist is the ideal professional to link all the others
together. Pharmacists can identify any potential problems as they arise,
consult with other healthcare professionals to resolve issues and monitor
outcomes of therapy. It is also an understated but important role of the
pharmacist to monitor and advise on over-the-counter medications that
patients may select for themselves. Many health care providers and patients
are unaware of the interactions between over-the-counter products and
other prescribed therapies. As seamless care and patient options expand,
so will the education of the pharmacist.
Already educational institutions are incorporating non-traditional treatment
components into their pharmacy curriculum. Pharmacists of the future will
need to understand the issues surrounding self-care choices such as herbals,
dietary supplements, and homeopathy as these therapies continue to gain
public popularity. Pharmacists today are educated to be technologically
savvy. For example, in the future we will see communication systems that
will link pharmacies in real-time with all other parts of the health care
system. Pharmacists are learning to use technology as a tool to enhance
the provision of seamless care. The role of the community pharmacist is
evolving, but technology will not remove the approachable, recognizable
face of a community pharmacist.
Tina Browne is a second-year pharmacy student at Memorial University who has written this article to promote the national Pharmacy Awareness Week from March 4-10, 2002.
