1. Don't put up with the silent treatment. Pharmacists are required by law in most states to counsel patients and answer their questions. If your pharmacist seems too busy to do talk with you, take your business someplace else.
2. An over-the-counter version might do the trick. You may just need to take more pills and forgo insurance reimbursement. But always talk to your pharmacist, and do the math.
3. Ask about over-the-counter drugs. "People assume that if it's over-the-counter, it's safe," says Daniel Zlott, a pharmacist at the National Institutes of Health. "I've seen serious complications."
4. Go ahead and call me doctor (I'm just not that kind of doctor). Since mid-2004, pharmacy students must pursue a doctorate in pharmacy (Pharm.D) in order to be licensed. Pharmacists licensed before then must have at least a Bachelor of Pharmacy and pass a series of exams. Either way, your pharmacist has spent more time studying drugs than even your doctor has.
5. Open up a little. "The better I know you as a patient—your health history, your family, and how busy your life is—the better I can tailor medications to fit your lifestyle," says Zlott. "You may not want to take a drug three times a day, for example, and I'll know that if I know you."
6. "People take too many drugs, definitely," says Stuart Feldman. Two out of every three patients who visit a doctor leave with at least one prescription for medication, according to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. "Drugs are an easy solution," says Feldman, "but there are other solutions."
7. Talk to me—and check my work. Half the prescriptions taken in the U.S. each year are used improperly, and 96 percent of patients nationwide don't ask questions about how to use their medications. When you pick up your prescription, at a minimum, ask, What is this drug? What does it do? Why am I taking it? What are possible side effects? and How should I take it? Not only does this help you to use the drug correctly; it's also a good way to double-check that you're getting the right drug.
8. We'll save you money if we can. "A good part of a pharmacist's time is spent dealing with patients and their incomes," says pharmacist Cindy Coffey. Part of that is suggesting generic or OTC alternatives. Or if a doctor has prescribed a newer drug with no generic alternative available, says Zlott, "I might call the doctor to suggest an older drug that's equally effective."
9. "Some pharmacies are so volume-driven that the pharmacist can't look up all day," says pharmacist Cindy Coffey. There were a record 3.8 billion prescriptions filled in the U.S. in 2007—a 13 percent increase from 2003.
13 More Secrets from Your Pharmacist
I have been a practicing Pharmacist for 36 years. I would like to add that we are not serving fast food. Please understand that this is your health we are dealing with. People need to understand that it takes time to accurately process and fill your prescription.
I am a Nationally Certified Pharmacy Technician and I am offended by the comment :" A less-qualified pharmacy technician may have actually filled your prescription". First of all I have worked very hard to become Nationally Certified and I take my job VERY seriously. And second that statement implies that a Pharmacist does not check my work. Which of course is FALSE! I think you are generating unjust fear in the general public. CHECK YOUR FACTS!!
I have been practicing Pharmacy for 30 years and I understand that life, and people, are busier now. I think the last comment is probably exactly what I was going to say. Our favorite expressions in the pharmacy are "lack of planning on your part is NOT an emergency on mine" and "help me help you". Read your labels and call with questions - there are no stupid ones, but we need people to take personal responsibility. We will do everything we can to help but please don't shoot the messenger!
Finally! There is one thing I would like to add to this. People need to take some responsibility for their health care. All prescription labels have the number of refills on them and the date the prescription will expire. If you wait till you've run out of medication the day before, have no refills or the prescription is expired AND it's friday at 6PM, I will be able to do little for you. Yes, I will try, but don't get mad at me if no one answers my phone call. This is all too common.