Patient council

• Patient counseling is the provision of verbal or written information about drugs and other health related information by a pharmacist to a patient or an agent of the patient during pharmacist-patient interaction.
• Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should Know
• U.S Food and Drug Administration
• The pharmacist acts as both sender and receiver of the message in patient counseling.
• Transmission of messages in patient counseling needs to be clear and accurate.
• Factors that necessitate patient counseling include increase in drug use-related problems, increase in the number of drugs, increase in the number of drug regimens, inappropriate prescribing, increase in self-medication practice, and increase in the use of alternative medicines.
• The results of a properly conducted counseling interaction include patient recognition of the benefits of a prescribed medication, development of the ability to make more appropriate medication-related decisions, becoming a more informed, efficient, active participant in disease treatment and self-care management, and motivation toward taking medications to improve health status.
• Patient counseling benefits include improved therapeutic outcomes and decreased adverse effects, improved patient adherence to the treatment plan, decreased medication errors and misuse, enhanced self-management by involving the patient in designing the therapeutic plan, and benefits to pharmacists such as enhanced professional status, establishment of an essential component of patient care that cannot be replaced by technicians or automation, enhanced job satisfaction through improving patient outcomes, a value-added service to offer patients, and revenue generation through payment for couns
• Listening to the concerns, questions, and needs of the patient is essential when counseling patients about medication therapy.
• In case of a missed dose, patients should take the missed dose as soon as they remember, unless it's been more than 2 hours, in which case they should wait until the next dose is due and continue as normal.
• Paraphrasing is a skill used in counseling where the essence of what the person has just said is fed back to them, condensing aspects of content and some superficial recognition of the patient’s attitudes or feelings.
• Advise patients to take 1 pill every day for 28 days (four weeks) in a row, and then start a new pack on day 29.
• Counseling may contain one or more of the following information as deemed appropriate: trade name or generic name of drug, use, action, and onset of action, route, dosage form, storage, direction for use, action in case of missed dose, precautions, side effects and adverse effects, techniques for self-monitoring, potential drug interactions, contraindications, relationship with laboratory and other procedures, disposal of drug and devices, and any other health information unique to an individual patient, disease or medication.
• Advise patients to take the missed dose as soon as they remember or, if it's nearly time for the next dose, skip the missed dose altogether.
• If patients forget to take a birth control pill, advise them to take it as soon as they remember, unless it's been more than 2 days, in which case they should use another method of contraception and get advice as soon as possible.
• Advise patients not to double the next dose of antibiotics if they've missed a dose, as taking a double dose will increase the risk of getting side effects.
• Listening skills can be categorized into four classes: passive listening, acknowledgement, encouragement, and active listening.
• Pharmacists are among the most accessible and trusted health care professionals.
• When posing questions to the patient, pharmacists should state the reason for asking certain questions, so as not to offend the patient.
• Asking open-ended questions enables pharmacists to gather more information that may lead to other questions and/or provide valuable information to the pharmacist to further assess the patient.
• Pharmacists should be aware of patients with disabilities and be prepared to treat them with respect and understanding.
• Pharmacists should make every possible effort to be nonjudgmental and impartial, to focus on patient care, and to maintain a professional demeanor.
• Pharmacists who demonstrate a genuine interest in patient care are more likely to encourage dialogue.
• Today many pharmacies are equipped with special counseling areas to address privacy issues.
• Ensuring complete privacy and confidentiality helps enable patients to feel comfortable discussing personal medical issues.
• When counseling, pharmacists can reassure patients of privacy by monitoring voice levels and counseling patients away from the dispensing area when possible.
• Effective counseling not only provides patients with the pertinent information they need to use their medication correctly, it also motivates them to adhere to their medication regimens.
• When initiating a patient counseling session, pharmacists should introduce themselves with a brief, friendly greeting to make patients feel comfortable enough to ask questions about their medication therapies and health conditions.
• Techniques should be tailored to accommodate the needs of each patient via verbal counseling or the use of visual aids and demonstrations when warranted.
• When a pharmacist displays empathy and encouragement, a patient may feel more comfortable discussing his or her medical condition and medication use, thus enabling the pharmacist to obtain pertinent information on the patients needs and concerns.
• Paraphrasing occurs when the Pharmacist states what the client has just said, using fewer words but without changing the meaning of what the client said.
• Emphasizing to patients the importance of adherence to medication regimens can promote positive therapeutic outcomes and motivate patients to take an active role in the management of their health.
• Pharmacists can motivate patients by discussing the benefits of medication adherence, offering support, and explaining the pros and cons of treatment.
• The ability to tailor patient counseling to meet individual needs is critical.
• It is important for pharmacists not to allow personal beliefs either ethical or religious to affect their ability to counsel a patient effectively.
• Speak and interact directly with the person.
• Pharmacists can provide complementary skills, knowledge and attitudes to other health care professionals within a multidisciplinary team context.
• Stoop or squat to communicate with a person in a wheelchair; position yourself in front and at an eye level.
• Avoid leaning or sitting on a person’s wheelchair; use care for handling assistive aids.
• American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) Guidelines on Pharmacists-Conducted Patient Education and Counseling.