Counselling Patients Flashcards
How much personal space should we give our patients?
Depends on the context and how the patient responds
Is our delivery important?
Yes, it is just as important as what we are saying
What are the steps for counselling a patient?
1) Who is the patient
2) Seen an MD (we don’t need to always ask this if situation can be handled by a pharmacist)
3) Assess patient’s symptoms:
a. ask open ended questions and narrow down.
b. process of elimination to rule out other reasons.
c. watch out for non-verbal information
d. Increases confidence in diagnosis
4) Contemplate a tentative course of action (this is in your head, and come up with some questions to refute your course of action, if everything checks out you have picked the right choice)
5) Assess patient health status (what must you know to be sure recommendation will be safe. Be calculated in your questions that help you focus on determining illness/treatment. ask more questions from people at risk)
6) State your recommendation (reassure patient about their health, people expect OTC but recommend non-drug measures too, MD referral might be necessary if we lack the tools or training, does patient listen to our advice)
7) Provide information on proper use
(How to best use the agent, improvements/side effects to watch for, what success looks like, if stretched for time getting the right drug is more important vs. how to use it)
What is the differential process?
Rule in and Rule out
If you ask enough of these questions, then you can eliminate improbable diagnosis
ex. sneezing (cold rule in), but I have a fever for the last 2 days (cold is ruled out, but flu ruled in), I have body aches (flu ruled in, probably not cold)
How to differentiate between colds and flu?
Colds have slow onset, you can tell its coming. Flu has fast onset
Head congestion and cough is found in both
Fevers are found in flus, not so much in cold
Body aches are found in the flu, but not so much in colds
Should we help someone looking for help with a product when you are busy?
We have to deal with this issue immediately or they will leave. Head over to the shelves and talk about products.
Put product into customer’s hand and explain your choice
How many pharmacy interactions lead to MD referrals?
5-10% of interactions are referred
Patients are more likely listen to their pharmacists refferral depending on the severity of the situation. the patient may feel it is not worth going
How do patients percieve the severity of their medical conditions?
Variable (some are tougher than others)
ex. About 50% of men disagreed that rectal bleeding for 3 weeks should be cared for by an MD
How are pharmacies different compared to health food stores?
Pharmacists will say that the product will not work. Health food stores will claim everything is great
This is why pharmacists are trusted. We give honest and educated advice (we are held to a higher standard)
Do you need to know each ingredient in every product?
No, use your mind space for tasks that need human interpretation/higher order
