PHARMACISTS SHOULD NOT GIVE THEIR STORE OF KNOWLEDGE AWAY
"Knowledge is power," said my sixth-grade teacher. "Your knowledge
can't be taken away from you." That is, of course,as long as you don't
relinquish your knowledge so freely that you might as well be condoning its theft.
Under the guise of "service"---usually in service to our employers
rather than our patients--we pharmacists have abandoned the idea of
having any kind of practice philosophy. Regardless of the situation, we oblige
every request for information presented to us. Why, oh why, have we been
doing this?
I am a client of a physical therapist with a small local empire of P.T. centers.
At my first visit, he assessed my condition and authored a treatment plan.
Today, I imagined something. What if he, knowing me to be a pharmacist,
approached me as I lay on one of his cots, and asked me if his
medication profile (scribbled on a Starbucks napkin) contained drug interactions?
My proper response should be, "Well, Joe, I think you should route these questions to your regular pharmacist.He/she is the one with the full custody of your medication history, and can best advise you."If he persisted, I would add, "Joe, if I were not your client in physical therapy, would you consider it good practice to advise me on the best exercise for vague pains, and would you advise me without charge? You're certainly charging for today's therapy for me." But, no! Had I not thought about what I was doing (which I usually don't in these instances), I would try being a good egg for this guy and tell him everything I know about his medications---information he might expect to pay for if he got it from his doctor!
But, you should expect my imagined, thought-out response from a physician, attorney, plumber, engineer, nurse, or any other skilled professional you try to buttonhole on the street. Pharmacists should join this club, and fast!
This approach should also apply to acquaintances, and for people you receive
cold calls from, who don't get their pharmacy services from you. Refer them to
the pharmacist who filled the prescriptions in question, or invite them to
bring their prescriptions to you. Do you think you are being cruel or selfish
by doing this? Think for a minute--you sometimes expect to pay others for information, but you are robbing yourself by giving away your own professional expertise just for the asking!
You expect the "make an appointment" response from a physician, attorney, plumber, engineer, nurse, or any other skilled professional you buttonhole on the street and
attempt to milk for precious information. Pharmacists should join this club,
and fast!
Knowledge is not only powerful, it is valuable in coin of the realm. If we
continue to give away the knowledge we cultivated so carefully through our
costly, rigorous education and training, we will devalue our profession to the point of its extinction. Just a few legislative changes, plus a few shifts in public
opinion, and we shall be replaced by some very good automated
dispensing machines. Wait until Walgreen and Diebold really start
talking!
