2008
The Profession
Four main areas in which pharmacy should
make a major contribution to health
outcomes were identified :
a. the management of prescribed medicines;
b. the management of chronic conditions;
c. the management of common ailments;
d. the promotion and support of healthy
lifestyles.
2008
Community pharmacy
Dispensing : the focus of dispensing now
rests not only on accurate supply of
medication, but on checking that
medication is appropriate for the patient
and counselling the patient on its
appropriate use.
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Domiciliary visiting
Pharmacists have traditionally
delivered oxygen to a patients
home, and many pharmacists will
visit a small number of patients to
deliver medicines and provide
advice on their use.
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Pharmaceutical advisers
Hospital pharmacy
Clinical pharmacy services have been
established in the hospital setting for some
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Clinical effectiveness
Clinical effectiveness is a term often used to
describe the extent to which clinical practice
meets the highest known standards of care.
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Vocal communication
Vocal communication, sometimes called
paralanguage, concerns the vocal
characteristics, the quality and fluency of
the voice.
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Body language
It is well documented that our impression
of another person is very often created at
first glance.
Body language can be broken down into
several component parts which include
gestures, facial expression, eye contact,
physical contact, body posture and
personal space.
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Gestures
Hand gestures in particular are useful
when emphasizing a point or to help to
describe something.
Facial expression
It has been suggested that, after the
spoken word, facial expression is the
most important part of communication.
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Eye contact
The maintenance of eye contact during a
conversation is vital to ensure the
continuation of the process, it indicates
interest in the subject.
Physical contact
It can be used to enhance verbal
communication. A sympathetic touch on
an arm can often say more than any
number of words.
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Body posture
We can usually control the words we say,
we are not so good at controlling our body
language. Body posture can have a major
influence on how well communication
progresses.
Good communication will provide much
useful information which can then be used
to the benefit of the patient.
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Personal space
We all have our own space in which we
feel comfortable.
Four main areas :
General area : this is approximately 3m or
more;
Sociable area : this is approximately 1 3m
Personal area : this is approximately 0,5-1m
Intimate area : this is usually 0 50 cm
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- self talk :
* choose the right situation;
* prepare for situations;
* behave assertively during the
situation;
* review the situation afterwards.
Empathy
Ilness is often associated with different
emotional aspects, like uncertainty,
stress, fear and dependency.
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Empathy :
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Facilitating empathy
Being empathy requires that pharmacists
are able to communicate their readiness
and willingness to listen to other people
and to establish a safe non-threatening
atmosphere where they can express
themselves.
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Responding
involves the verbal and non-verbal
expression of how much we understand
and that we are intersted to hear more.
QUESTIONING SKILLS
- one of the most widely used social skills
good question skill
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Open questions :
- describe your symptoms to me;
- tell me about any over-the-counter
medicines you are taking just now;
- how do you relieve the symptoms of
headache?
- what do you do when that sensation
occurs?
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LISTENING SKILLS
Asking question is a part of communication,
mlistening to the answers is of equal
importance.
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BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
Common barriers are :
* environment
* patient factors
* the pharmacist
* time
Environment
- a busy pharmacy
- lack of privacy
- noise
- physical barriers
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Patient factors
- physical diabilities
- comprehension difficulties
- illiteracy
The pharmacist
- lack of confidence
- lack of interest
- laziness
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- delegation of responsibilities to
untrained staff
- a feeling of being under pressure,
especially time pressure
- being preoccupied wioth other matters.
Time
it is worthwhile checking what time people
have available before trying to embark on
any communication.
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CONFIDENTIALLY
Ethical guidelines and privacy laws set
the rules about confidentiality in
pharmacy. Any information relating to an
invidual which the pharmacist or any
other staff member acquires in the course
of their professional activities has to be
kept confidential
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SUMMARY
Good communication is not easy and
needs to be practised. We have all
different personalities and skills which
means we have strengths in some areas
and weakness in others.
Key points
- non verbal communication is made up of
vocal communication (paralanguage) and
body language.
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