You and Your Pharmacist: A Winning Team

Did you know your Pharmacist can help improve delivery of your primary care?

Independent Pharmacists have provided these kinds of services since the term "pharmaceutical care" was first introduced in 1990.

Most office visits involve medications for chronic conditions. In order to be truly effective, these medications require assessment of their effectiveness, their cost and your adherence to recommended regimens. Some patients have concerns with these requirements as well as the delivery form and timing of their doses.

When you work collaboratively with your Lynn’s La Vega Pharmacy Pharmacist, you’ll find that you’re better able to obtain personalized information about your medications and have better communication among your health providers.

At Lynn’s La Vega Pharmacy, our Pharmacists can help by:

• Compiling a personal medication record to help exchange information among your doctors
• Performing comprehensive reviews of prescribed and self-care medications
• Resolving medication-related problems
• Optimizing complex regimens
• Designing adherence programs, and
• Recommending cost-effective therapies.

Recently-completed studies found that when patients took advantage of these services, the cost of their medical care went down by an average of nearly $100 per intervention. Inappropriate medications for the elderly were reduced, and treatment shifted from acute medications (penicillin antibiotics, and narcotic analgesics) to chronic medications (lipid lowering agents, ACE inhibitors, and beta-blockers); resulting in greater savings from fewer office visits, laboratory services, urgent care and emergency room visits and lost work time.

Of patients who were not at pre-defined goals when they enrolled in these programs, 55.0% improved, and 95.3% felt their overall health, wellbeing and quality of life had improved.

Isn’t that what you want, too?

Next time you visit the Lynn’s La Vega pharmacy, ask one of our pharmacists about what Drug Therapy Management services might be best for you.