This time of year, many people are stopping by Jennifer Chafe’s pharmacy to get their flu shot.
“People can drop in and get a flu shot done as long as they have time to wait 15 minutes after,” she says. “We can usually be quite accommodating.”
The flu shot and other vaccines are just some of the services offered by pharmacists people may not be aware of.
Chafe says the job entails much more than just counting pills and filling prescriptions. Pharmacists carefully check medications for appropriateness before signing off.
Pharmacists are able to make changes and fill continuing care prescriptions.
“If somebody runs out of their medications and they’ve been on it for six months with no changes, the pharmacist can prescribe a month’s worth of medication to give them more flexibility to get in to see their doctor,” says Chafe.
Pharmacists can also assess many minor ailments and prescribe treatment to avoid a visit to the doctor. Chafe says cold sores and allergic rhinitis are the two most common.
“Especially cold sores, time is of the essence and they may not have the ability to get into their family doctor or have the time to wait in a walk in facility,” Chafe tells CTV News.
Many pharmacies also provide rapid strep tests – a swab of the throat that takes about 20 minutes. A positive result can speed up the process of getting treatment.
“When they do go to the walk in clinic the doctor there already knows that we’ve done an assessment and it’s come back positive so they don’t need to start right from the beginning,” Chafe says. “They can prescribe an appropriate therapy for that.”
Chafe says she spends on average seven to ten minutes counselling the patient before they leave with their filled prescription to make sure they understand what they are using it for, any dietary restrictions and if there are any other medications they should avoid.
