Switching Pharmacies: Tips for Choosing and Changing Your Nominated Pharmacy

Summary

If you are responsible for ordering and collecting medicines for someone, it’s well worth choosing a pharmacy which can give you the best support.  This article will outline what to consider when choosing a pharmacy or when you need to change pharmacies.

If you are responsible for ordering and collecting medicines for someone, it’s well worth choosing a nominated pharmacy which can give the best support to you and your parent.

Key features to consider:

There are a number of things to think about when changing your nominated pharmacy.  You might want to consider how well-placed or suitable they are in terms of:

• • Location – convenience for you especially

• • Opening hours – these need to fit in with your schedule and availability to minimise disruption to you both routinely and in an emergency

• • Reliability  – do they get medicines ready for when you need them? Do they carry plenty of stock so that they actually have the medicines you need?

• • Range of services available  – some pharmacies provide other services which might be useful to you such as medicines deliveries, medication reviews, new medicines advice, vaccinations, retail, optometry

• • Numbers of staff and levels of skill  – you want to be sure there are enough staff who are suitably qualified and skilled to be able to provide a safe service

• • Flexibility  – how quickly can they change their support in the face of any changes such as a new illness, a change in dose or type of medication, after or during a hospital stay

• • Personalised care and support  – how well do they know your situation and that of your parent and how well can they tailor their support to give you the best help

A lot of medicines are issued routinely nowadays, based on regular computer generated prescriptions. This can work well until there is a change in the dose or types of medicines being prescribed or needed.  A good pharmacist will help you reconcile any loose ends and alert you to any new side effects or potential problems.  They can tailor their advice for best results if they know the patient well and are familiar with their health problems and regular medicines and allergies.

Remember, large pharmacies can be very efficient, offer plenty of services and are more likely to carry plenty of stock but some carents have expressed their concerns about them being  more impersonal and less flexible than some smaller pharmacies.

Pharmacies are not just there to issue prescriptions. They can help you in other ways.  They can help with things like inhaler technique, taking medicines safely, understanding how best to take a medicine and how often and reviewing how well you are managing with a new medicine.

Pharmacies can also:

• Provide an emergency supply of medicine – which is very useful if you forget or run out of a medicine or have some new symptoms which need treating.

• Provide “first aid” advice relating to minor illnesses or health concerns

• Provide “over the counter” or non-prescription medicines such as paracetamol.

It is up to you to decide where you get your prescriptions and to nominate your pharmacy- taking some time to consider the best option for you could help make your life easier, whether you’re sticking with your current pharmacy or deciding to change pharmacies.