1-on-1 Guidance for All Your Medications
Taking the right medications is vital for treating health issues and maintaining your health. But it’s not always obvious which medicines to choose.
- Which medications are best for you?
- How much should you take, and how often?
- What’s the difference between different brands?
- Do you need prescription or over-the-counter medication?
Even if your primary care physician has given you an Rx, you may have additional questions that you wished you’d asked before you left the doctor’s office.
Onsite pharmacist counseling removes that uncertainty by providing you with the personalized guidance you need about your medications and treatment plans right at the doctor’s office.
Here’s how it works and why it’s such an essential service.
What is onsite pharmacist counseling?
Onsite pharmacist counseling is a service in which pharmacists provide individualized guidance and instruction about medications at the patient’s primary care office.
Traditionally, a physician will order a prescription for a patient or direct them to purchase an over-the-counter medication, and the patient will fulfill that order at a secondary pharmacy. If the patient has any questions about the medication at that point, the off-site pharmacist will provide answers, however they won’t have access to the patient’s specific medical history.
Onsite pharmacist counseling brings the counseling to the site of the patient’s care setting for convenience and more personalized advice.
Benefits
Pharmacists can play a vital role in a patient’s care and health outcomes by providing effective counseling. But when the pharmacist is located off-site, and not affiliated with the patient’s medical provider, their advice is limited to their knowledge of the medications, not the patient’s individual situation.
Providing the counseling on site, at the patient’s primary care setting, delivers several benefits:
- Onsite pharmacists can provide individualized advice according to the patient’s specific medical goals and doctor-prescribed treatment plans.
- Patients can ask questions and get important answers right away, at the time of their doctor’s appointment, rather than hours (or days) later, when they may forget what they wanted to ask.
- Onsite counselling can help to reduce medication errors by providing patients with the knowledge and instructions they need.
- Patients are more likely to trust and follow the pharmacist’s advice when the counseling occurs at the place of their primary care, rather than a secondary, unaffiliated pharmacy.
- If any questions come up about the patient’s medical history, there’s no frustrating back-and-forth between the pharmacy and the doctor’s office. The onsite pharmacist can discuss the treatment plan directly with the physician as needed.
Why counseling is essential
One of the most common reasons why patients become nonadherent with their treatment plans, or make mistakes, is the lack of knowledge about their medication.
Pharmacist counseling provides the guidance that patients need to understand their medications and achieve better outcomes.
At Maryland Primary Care in Lanham, MD, we provide a wide range of care to assist patients with every need, including both primary care and urgent care services. In addition, we offer onsite pharmacist counseling to give patients personalized guidance for their medications.
Make an appointment today by calling 301-277-3555. All patients at Maryland Primary Care also get access to our free app, which analyzes cardiovascular risk and creates a personalized plan of activities and diet for a healthier lifestyle.
