The importance of strengthening pharmacist-patient relationships.
Trust is the name of the game. Patients need to be able to trust their doctors, care providers, and pharmacists to provide safe effective treatments and medications. Local pharmacies still play an important role in communities and we need to support them rather than resorting to generic online prescription services. Conversely, pharmacies need to be considering ways they could and should be strengthening pharmacist-patient relationships.
Almost gone are the days of the kindly neighbourhood doctor who had time to really get to know his patients and the slower-pace pharmacy where customers could have a leisurely chat with other customers and pharmacists alike. Those simple days have evolved into a fast-paced world of needing everything now without the frills and niceties.
The pace of technology affects all aspects of our relationships with our care providers. While technology continues to provide solutions for pharmacy inventory management and faster information flow, which will help ensure customers can get the prescriptions and over-the-counter medications they are looking for, pharmacists still need to maintain a personal touch with their patients. There are times when the pharmacist is the only link to make sure the patient understands which medication has been prescribed and why.
What can pharmacists do to preserve this vital link and ensure the sustainability of their business? What do customers expect from their local pharmacy? What steps can be taken to strengthen pharmacist-patient relationships?
Build a rapport with patients
Patients feel most comfortable with medical professionals who show they are genuinely interested in their well-being. Building a rapport with customers is so important.
Being friendly and using open posture and direct eye contact sets patients more at ease, especially patients who are nervous about their condition or about taking an unfamiliar medication.
Pharmacists who are calm and serene while explaining the drug’s dosage and effects and while answering questions are the most successful at creating satisfied, trusting patients.
Exceptional pharmacists will also take a look at a patient’s history and existing medication use to be sure that a new medication will not cause a bad side effect. There have been times when pharmacists were able to catch a prescription mistake and help the doctor resolve the situation to the patient’s benefit. Many doctor’s surgeries now have in-house clinical pharmacists, but this does not negate the role and importance of the local pharmacist.
Communicate honestly and clearly
Patients need to be told in distinct terms how to take their medications correctly and why the medications are needed. There should never be a time when a pharmacist exaggerates or minimizes a patient’s condition or gives the patient incorrect information about it. The pharmacist should never say what the patient wants to hear even if the circumstances are difficult.
- While pharmacists can make helpful suggestions about over the counter medications, they should never diagnose serious conditions or prescribe medications themselves.
Respect patients’ confidentiality
There is nothing worse than needing medication and having a pharmacist make a negative remark about it! How embarrassing and degrading!
Most pharmacists wouldn’t intentionally disrespect patients’ confidentiality, but sometimes they do not give due consideration to their actions and perhaps the lack of privacy in the store.
Even if the pharmacist knows about certain medical conditions that a medication might be prescribed for, he should never make assumptions or say anything derogatory to the patient. The pharmacist should trust the doctors’ judgment in these cases and not carry prejudices against the patients. The pharmacist is put in a position of knowing almost as much about the patient as the doctor does. Violating that confidence will make patients distrustful and cause them to seek a different pharmacist or resort to an online option.
Some pharmacies have also been establishing zones to keep waiting customers back a few feet away from the counter so the customer being served can have a more private conversation with the pharmacist. This is an excellent development to help people feel more relaxed and confident in their conversations.
Every patient needs a competent, reliable, compassionate pharmacist to be a guide in the use of medications. Doctors do not always explain these matters thoroughly to patients, so pharmacists have to fill in that missing link. Being knowledgeable, honest, and trustworthy will ensure that the patient will return.
- Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash