The Pharmacist - A Friend at the Drugstore

CEBU, Philippines – The International Pharmaceutical Federation (IPF) designated September 25 as World Pharmacists Day. This year, pharmacists all over the world were enjoined to conduct activities to promote the role of pharmacists in improving people's health.

Pharmacists in the Philippines still continue to strive for a definite spot in the healthcare field.  In a system where doctors are highly regarded for both diagnosis and medication, the pharmacists find it quite a challenge to gain recognition.  As it is for now, the matter of drugs is not the exclusive turf of pharmacists.

Pharmacists are not very visible; thus, the public is not very familiar about what it is they do. The contributions made by these backroom professionals is not very well understood or appreciated. And there have not been significant developments to bring pharmacists out of their seeming invisibility.

Without an identifying mark, like the nurse's cap or the doctor's stethoscope, a pharmacist is not easily spotted.  In the drugstore, he just blends with the assistants often wearing same color of uniform, white. Even if today's pharmacists wear more than a white coat - a pleasant smile and an accommodating demeanor - still, he is not easy to recognize.

The pharmacist is ultimately the one to receive prescriptions and provide medication information that is imperative to improve treatment.  When the patient or the patient's kin buys an important chemical - like medicine - he shall demand to be explained about how to use it, what effects to expect or side effects to watch out for, and its possible interactions with other drugs.  Such information is very important.

Medicines are not without consequences. They are not like plain candies or similar items.  To quote Paracelsus: "Dosis facit venenum," the dose makes the poison.  Toxic substances are often harmless in small doses, while a harmless substance can be deadly if over-consumed.

Most pharmacists are found in drugstores. And the drugstore is the place where people in need of medicines go. Therefore, the drugstore is a good place to start for pharmacists to introduce their service to the public and begin to make a difference.

The Department of Health (DOH) has launched the Tuberculosis Direct-Observed Treatment Short-Course (TB DOTS) program some years ago. This program was introduced by the World Health Organization to address the incidence of TB worldwide. The success of the program is mainly dependent on the number of individuals with presumptive TB (based on case detection) that enrolls in the program at the barangay health centers.

While in the course of the program, the patient undergoes a complete six-month TB therapy under direct observation of a health worker. The patient has to go to the health center every day to take his anti-TB medication. This method registers high cure rates, but case detection rates are rather low.

The Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPhA) has been adopted as partner in the implementation of the DOTS program, not as a treatment center but as a referral site.  The community pharmacists, the ones in the drugstores, are trained under the Pharmacy DOTS Initiative (PDI), a USAID project under IMPACT managed by PPhA, to assist in case detection of TB.

Patients with cough often self-medicate. They go to the drugstore and ask for cough preparations. The pharmacist then asks clarificatory questions regarding the patient's condition.  If necessary, the patient is given a referral slip to bring to the barangay health center for TB screening.  If the test turns positive, the patient is enrolled in the TB DOTS program. He gets free medication and his chances of recovery are good.

The patient enrolled in the TB DOTS may also refer his family members, neighbors, friends, and acquaintances to the program.  In effect, case detection rates go high, cure rates improve as well, and there is going to be fewer undetected - and thus untreated - cases.

Indeed, pharmacists can help a lot in improving public health. And they are doing their part well. But it takes for the public to meet their pharmacists halfway, to do their part too.

When one visits the drugstore, it is nice if he asks to speak with the pharmacist. There is a lot to learn from this friendly guy in white, whether information on medication or on health in general. There is more to the white coat, and the smile, and the accommodating demeanor - he is a friend always willing to help.