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Med+info in Australia | The Future | Newsletter

The Future

For pharmaceuticals in general and pharmacists in particular ‘the future’ is already here. The first new wave has happened; we now have healthy people taking medicine to prevent a possible future health failure.

More than ever before Governments are now facing the reality that there will never be enough money to deliver 100% on health care. Compromises are already happening with almost daily reports of ‘impossible hospital waiting lists’ and ‘funding problems’, along with limited availability of some new pharmaceuticals.

One of the problems of new pharmaceuticals is that they are very expensive (because of costly research, long lead times and exhaustive trial processes) with no guarantee of success. Media hype and public pressure and expectations do not make the going easy – they can open the way for premature and irresponsible medicine approval and prescribing.

For all the above reasons, and many others, pharmacists already (and certainly in the future) need to ensure they remain freely accessible to the public. They must be available to answer medicine questions, check medicine safety issues and encourage compliance – becoming dispensers of information as well as dispensers of medicine. Funding for this emerging scenario will have to be addressed.

At Medicine Information Systems Ltd we take great care to ensure that the role of the pharmacist is highlighted in all our med+info leaflets. They actively encourage people to ask questions of their pharmacist and to seek reassurance and guidance as appropriate. Today the pharmacist is the most accessible health professional available to the public on a one-to-one basis.

The provision of med+info leaflets along with a supportive pharmacy environment will go a long way towards helping people understand their medication and health issues.

The pharmacist can provide a good degree of certainty and comfort to the public as medicine and primary health care come under increasing pressure from all quarters.

As the cost of pharmaceutical care continues to rise, it is important that pharmacists are active in helping the public to understand their medication and comply with instructions. This helps to ensure that everyone gets the best value for the pharmaceutical dollar.