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Pharmacy questioning

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G

grainger

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
hey all

Just wondering if anyone else gets questioned by their pharmacy occasionally?

I was taken to a room yesterday when picking up my prescription and asked twenty questions about items on my prescription - I don’t understand why it’s any of their business - especially when they have no clue!

It happens about once a year.
 
I believe it's a medicine check - but my GP does that once a year too.

The pharmacist did want to do it to me a couple of months back but decided not to because I had the little one in tow :D😛
 
I assume you can decline if you wish.

I don't think my pharmacy will push the matter with me - there are at least 4 pharmacies that I can easily get too.
 
grainger said:
hey all

Just wondering if anyone else gets questioned by their pharmacy occasionally?

I was taken to a room yesterday when picking up my prescription and asked twenty questions about items on my prescription - I don’t understand why it’s any of their business - especially when they have no clue!

It happens about once a year.
Click to expand...
Yes, I get that, the pharmacy gets paid for checking that people are using their medication correctly. Which in some cases can be a benefit, when OH was prescribed several lots all at once it took him a while to get to grips with the best time to take them, and what he couldn't eat with them, side effects, etc, and having a review with the pharmacist was quite helpful. ( and our pharmacist is excellent anyway). His GP review tended to focus on whether the dosage or type of meds were right for the job they're meant to be doing.
My review at the pharmacy consisted of the pharmacist looking a bit embarrassed, asking me a few questions on how I stored my insulin, and saying, 'You will probably know more about it than me!' But he gets paid for each one he does, so...
 
My pharmacy is connected directly to the surgery and I just go in and the receptionist lets them know I'm there to collect meds. I have to sign for the controlled drug I use but other than that the doctor reviews my meds when required,
 
Robin said:
Yes, I get that, the pharmacy gets paid for checking that people are using their medication correctly. Which in some cases can be a benefit, when OH was prescribed several lots all at once it took him a while to get to grips with the best time to take them, and what he couldn't eat with them, side effects, etc, and having a review with the pharmacist was quite helpful. ( and our pharmacist is excellent anyway). His GP review tended to focus on whether the dosage or type of meds were right for the job they're meant to be doing.
My review at the pharmacy consisted of the pharmacist looking a bit embarrassed, asking me a few questions on how I stored my insulin, and saying, 'You will probably know more about it than me!' But he gets paid for each one he does, so...
Click to expand...

Very much my feeling Robin.

I think pharmacists are rather an unused resource actually, so while this can seem a bit weird, I think it can potentially be of real benefit - especially where people are combining multiple meds. A pharmacist is just the person who should know the latest information on potential interactions between meds.

If it just becomes a tick-box cash-earner for pharmacies trying to increaase income though, these potentially useful things will be less than useful.
 
Our pharmacy does the same. Mr Eggy had his last week and found it helpful, she suggested different times to take certain medications that cause him to be lightheaded. Then they just talked about cars and holidays!
 
Responses make sense - I guess because I’m seen at hospital so much, then reviewed at GP and now have to answer 20 questions at pharmacy that I just get frustrated.

When you say yes I’m testing about 8-10 times a day and they are all - but that’s a lot... then you explain and then they don’t even know what an insulin pump does and assumes it calculates everything for you you just feel like it’s a waste of everyone’s time. Maybe I’m just tired and hormonal but I have better things to be doing than justifying why I get to keep drugs on prescription that keep me alive.

I agree pharmacies could be used more, but then maybe something else could be reduced. Otherwise it’s just repeating information again and again.
 
Pharmacies offer a New Medicines Service when you have certain long term conditions (including type2) and are prescribed a completely new medicine. You normally have to ask to join the scheme and they will inform you of the side effects etc of the meds in a private area (not over the counter) You will then be invited back a couple of weeks later to see if you are having any issue with the new meds)
Personally I would rather go back to see the doctor who initially prescribed the new meds if I had issues.
 
Davein said:
Pharmacies offer a New Medicines Service when you have certain long term conditions (including type2) and are prescribed a completely new medicine. You normally have to ask to join the scheme and they will inform you of the side effects etc of the meds in a private area (not over the counter) You will then be invited back a couple of weeks later to see if you are having any issue with the new meds)
Personally I would rather go back to see the doctor who initially prescribed the new meds if I had issues.
Click to expand...
The problem I had with this is that the pharmacy can't actually change the prescription. So I could tell them I was having issues but their only response was that I needed to go to my GP to change it. Might as well cut out the middle man. Although if the issues are to do with interactions, a pharmacist is a much better person to talk to then the GP.
 
This has never happened to me, in nearly 50 years of being on regular prescriptions, from 10 or 12 different pharmacies.
But then for the last 20 years or so I've hardly ever picked up my own prescription, so maybe that's the way to avoid it if it annoys you - get someone else to pick up your prescription for you!
 
I get asked address, post code etc. I sometimes get asked if I've taken a particular medications before, espetially if it's new or I haven't taken it for a bit.
 
Thanks all. It’s good to see other people’s experiences
 
I have had a grilling from the pharmacist a couple of times. They always want to take the test strips off. I just grit my teeth and answer the questions and then think, well that's that for another year. Sorry to hear that you find it annoying. I save that feeling for the DN who has never heard of Dawn Phenomenon, thinks low carb diets are dangerous and that carbohydrates are the building blocks of life. She also told me that T2 diabetes is always linked to being overweight and inactive and that I am paying the price for not looking after myself properly. (Never been overweight and always very active,) Glad to say that she has decided that an annual review is all that I need now. Seriously thinking of not bothering with it anymore. Look at it this way at least you won't have any more pharmacist question for a year or so. 🙂
 
I get this once a year, and if I have time I comply, if not I decline.
My thought is that it is a useful check on the collection of prescription drugs I am on, and the pharmacists are good on interactions, so I am happy to go through them. If I was worried about any issues I would go back to GP for a review.
 
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