3 ms·

100% agree. I'd love to see this in the US. most pharmacists have way more knowledge about drugs, their interactions and other issues that can crop up with pre

by bargl 8y ago

100% agree. I'd love to see this in the US. most pharmacists have way more knowledge about drugs, their interactions and other issues that can crop up with prescription drugs. Given a diagnosis they are typically better at prescribing the correct medication than a general practitioner. It's also a lot cheaper than a doctors visit for insurance.

RichEO 8y ago
You handwave over “given a diagnosis” like it’s an irrelevant detail. You appreciate this is the largest part of the problem, surely?
- StillBored 8y ago
  I would be interested to know what percentage of prescriptions are for things which can't be diagnosed by a pharmacist (or are just requests for a refill of an existing medication). I think this is the point of the nurse practitioners that CVS (or was it walgreens/etc?) had in some of their stores a few years ago. When my kids were in day care and got frequent ear infections, I could tell by their behavior it was time to check their ears and.. well i'm not a doctor but I can probably tell if you have an ear infection with my cheazy/plastic over the counter otoscope I impulse purchased from said drug store. Going to the doctor to get the same prescription I had filled two months previously is just silly. Same thing with my poison ivy...
- bargl 8y ago
  I don't think it's the place of a pharmacist to diagnose people. But I do have a friend who's a pharmacist and they see doctors consistently poorly picking medicine for things they've diagnosed. I get that the initial diagnosis is the biggest part. But there is a ton of domain knowledge in drug interactions, expiration, etc that doctors just don't deal with on a daily basis. It makes sense to separate the jobs so each individual can get the best at their role. I don't mean to undermine diagnosis that's a huge deal, but I'd love to see doctors focus on what they do best.

by bargl 8y ago

RichEO 8y ago

You handwave over “given a diagnosis” like it’s an irrelevant detail. You appreciate this is the largest part of the problem, surely?

StillBored 8y ago
I would be interested to know what percentage of prescriptions are for things which can't be diagnosed by a pharmacist (or are just requests for a refill of an existing medication). I think this is the point of the nurse practitioners that CVS (or was it walgreens/etc?) had in some of their stores a few years ago. When my kids were in day care and got frequent ear infections, I could tell by their behavior it was time to check their ears and.. well i'm not a doctor but I can probably tell if you have an ear infection with my cheazy/plastic over the counter otoscope I impulse purchased from said drug store. Going to the doctor to get the same prescription I had filled two months previously is just silly. Same thing with my poison ivy...
bargl 8y ago
I don't think it's the place of a pharmacist to diagnose people. But I do have a friend who's a pharmacist and they see doctors consistently poorly picking medicine for things they've diagnosed. I get that the initial diagnosis is the biggest part. But there is a ton of domain knowledge in drug interactions, expiration, etc that doctors just don't deal with on a daily basis. It makes sense to separate the jobs so each individual can get the best at their role. I don't mean to undermine diagnosis that's a huge deal, but I'd love to see doctors focus on what they do best.