UBURN
UNIVERSITY, ALABAMA – The Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy
is celebrating National Pharmacy Week on October 17 with a public
seminar and health screening. Dr. Kelly Scolaro will present "Plants,
Pills, and Potions, Oh My! Tips on Medication Safety" at 12:00 Noon in
the Harrison School of Pharmacy. The seminar will address how to best
use your pharmacist and common myths about self treatment with
medications. Following Dr. Scolaro’s presentation, guests can have their
blood pressure read free of charge, and interested students can talk
with School representatives about a career in pharmacy. If you are
interested in attending this free event and need directions to the
School, please call (334) 844-8348.
Dr. Lee Evans, Dean of the Harrison School of
Pharmacy, states, "The School is dedicated to educating pharmacists,
other health care providers and the lay public about the safe and
appropriate use of medications. We are pleased to offer this seminar to
the Auburn community."
Consumers with questions about their medications don’t
have to worry about where to get information. Pharmacists are their best
and most accessible drug experts. A dialogue between the patient and
pharmacist about any prescription and nonprescription medicines being
taken will ensure that maximum health benefits are received and harmful
side effects avoided.
Pharmacists can provide consumers with answers to
questions that might arise from the myriad of online health information.
Your pharmacist knows about interactions with food, medicines, or
dietary supplements that can effect how medicines work. Some
interactions can be dangerous. When picking up a new medicine, ask if it
will work safely with other prescription and nonprescription medicines
you may be taking. Tell your pharmacist about any herbal products that
you may be using, as well.
Following the pharmacist’s advice can also save money
for consumers and help lower the nation’s health care bill by ensuring
proper medication use. Not following a medicine’s instructions or
discontinuing its use without consulting with your health care provider
can lead to more expensive treatment, such as surgery or
hospitalization.
"It is important for patients to communicate with
their pharmacist. Patients should update their pharmacist on any changes
in their prescription or nonprescription medication regimens. Frequent
communication between patients and pharmacists helps ensure medication
safety and healthy results," said Dr. Scolaro.
"The pharmacist is no longer simply a dispenser of
drugs, and the pharmacy itself has become a health care center," said
Thomas E. Menighan, a pharmacist and President of the American
Pharmaceutical Association (APhA), the national professional society of
pharmacists. "Pharmacists are actively changing their practices to meet
the challenges of the health care system and their patient needs and
demands."
The American Pharmaceutical Association says that
consumers should expect a higher level of care from today’s pharmacists.
Consumers should look to their pharmacists to provide
medication-counseling services, including drug regimen reviews and drug
interaction checks, coordination of patient care with physicians and
other health are providers, and monitoring of side effects. Some
pharmacists can also perform limited patient testing, such as
cholesterol screening, glucose monitoring and blood pressure checks, for
serious health-threatening problems. Many offer immunization services
for adults.