Pharmacy Environment In Pharmacy

The pharmacy environment is a unique environment in the field of medicine being that it is a place of informal counseling between the pharmacist and the patient. In most cases, in a retail or clinical pharmacy setting, pharmacists have plenty of opportunities to counsel patients concerning their medications and overall general health. Pharmacists have an important role in the distribution of medications along with bearing the knowledge of the importance of medication adherence. The importance of medication adherence can be relayed to the patients in many different ways, and the way that information is transmitted can have an effect on the success of adherence to chronic medications. The amount and type of information projected to the patient by the pharmacist is key to a better overall patient experience. What the patient takes from the counseling provided by the pharmacist can help aid in the way the patient begins their medication routine and can affect the adherence to certain medications.

Medication adherence in a pharmacy setting is defined as “the patient’s conformance with the provider’s recommendation with respect to timing, dosage, and frequency of medication-taking during the prescribed length of time.” In a pharmacy setting, the pharmacist has an important role in counseling and recommending different ways a patient may adhere to their medications. In a study conducted by Choudhry and Engel in 2011, it was found that only 51% of Americans treated for high blood pressure are adherent to their long-term therapy. That means that about half people in the United States who have high blood pressure are not taking their medications daily and thus possibly further harming their conditions. The importance of medication adherence...

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...ent to find times where taking the medication can fit into their schedule in way where it becomes part of their daily routine. Another way to help patient’s take control of their adherence is to put them in situations where they become in charge of their own well-being. Being in a position of power and responsibility is a motivating factor in most everyday activities and can be the building block to a successful adherence pattern. Active listening is an important factor in day-to-day conversations with patients. If the pharmacist makes it obvious that they are listening and hearing what the patient is saying, the patient is more likely to feel comfortable and take important advice from the pharmacist. Echoing patients’ concerns to show them that they are being understood is a form of active listening in which successful transmission of information can be observed.