A chara, – Dr Tom O’Rourke (Letters, January 14th) criticises the proposal to expand the role of the pharmacist into the area of prescribing medications. As a practising community pharmacist, I would tend to agree with him.
He is correct when he notes that pharmacists receive little or no training in the diagnosis and management of illnesses. Our expertise is in pharmaceuticals and in guiding both doctors and patients towards the appropriate agent to use, as well as advising about its dosage and effects.
I believe our two professions work best when they are complementary to each other and, for all but the most minor ailments, that will involve an initial assessment by a doctor, who is unquestionably the most appropriately placed to determine what medical condition is involved, to rule out anything more serious, and to prescribe an appropriate medicine.
The ongoing encroachment by pharmacy into the territory of medics has far more to do with increasing the profitability of pharmacy businesses, than improving the job satisfaction of the pharmacists who work there, and who have little choice but to accept what they are told as each new “expansion” is foisted upon them.
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A return to a clearer delineation between the two roles would help to reverse the recent unhelpful blurring that has occurred in the eyes of patients, as well as improving relations between the two healthcare professions that are most accessible to the public. – Is mise,
DAVID CARROLL, MPSI
Dublin 2.
Sir, – Modern pharmacists in Ireland are university trained for five years, at minimum, and engage in mandatory lifelong continuing professional development. This training embraces physiology, pharmacology, etc, to ensure graduates have a sound specialisation on medication and effects on the human body. They learn and must implement the highest standards of quality management in their practices. We certainly are trained and are involved in the management of illness daily.
Pharmacists are obliged to adhere to a code of conduct, breaches of which can lead to severe sanctions, up to and including striking off. Principle two of the code deals with practising professionally so pharmacists must be very careful to communicate honestly with their patients and not endorse products for which there is no scientific evidence, which is a world away from a retail operation stocking popular products which cause no harm.
Our GP colleagues are working at or beyond capacity, yet healthcare demands are very real. Just as GPs function as gatekeeper for consultants and secondary care, Ireland’s pharmacists are well trained to provide safe, triaged access to primary care in a timely fashion.
Pharmacists just need to be resourced and empowered to safely provide the solution. – Yours, etc,
SEAN REILLY, MPSI
Castleknock,
Dublin 15.