A warning for all future pharmacists

[culchie82]

It's not often I start a thread, however I feel it necessary to enlighten you as to what the future holds for the Profession. It will give you prior notice of what to expect and allow you to put any alternative career paths in place.

Here's the all important link.

http://www.pjonline.com/forum/commun...7#comment-4340

[johnep]

I regret I share your vision.
johnep

[shaunyh1]

Hi John,
I spend most of my working week between working as a locum in the prison service and running my business but a couple of weeks ago I helped out a local independent whose pharmacist couldn't make it because of the snow. In the prison service we have access to patients notes, direct contact with prescribers and the ability to make sensible changes to scripts . I was astounded then, to go back to community work (and I worked in community for ten years prior to my current position) to find that community pharmacists are basically working in the dark as far as patient care is concerned and you don't realise it until you have worked in a more secondary care environment. Community pharmacies have become prescription factories since I stopped working regularly in the sector and the multiples love that as they can drive ever increasing efficiencies from the prescriptions they supply in the same way they do with the supply of apples, cans of beans etc - it's what they are all about, doing more with less people.However, if we let our profession become a purely factory like service then bigger factories will result.

So could a supermarket (or much more likely large multiple ) set up the model you describe? Absolutely. Will they? I think they'll try. Will it mean the death knell for small independents? No - Why do we still have post offices when email, facebook, twitter etc are so immediate and easily accessible. Answer - people appreciate good service in a convenient place and your health is far more important that a can of beans.

However, your point about supermarkets is a good one. These companies exist to maximise share holder value - for nothing else and that's fine. Most of us will have some of our pension money in supermarket shares whether we like it or not. The problem comes when supermarkets, large multiples and the like talk for "Pharmacy" No other profession would allow a corporate supplier to talk for the professionals Can you imaging Bupa talking for Medics!!! This is what is happening with the newly formed "Pharmacy Voice"

So my point is all is not lost if we stand up to be counted as professionals . The RPS and the PDA have to be much more high profile fighting for the rights of individual pharmacists because the public care about "flesh and blood" pharmacists not "bricks and mortar" pharmacies but if pharmacists get lost in the back of high street prescription factories they have nothing to care about.

[bolam]

i dropped out of uni today... thank you

[culchie82]

You must have made your mind up pretty quickly Bolam, as you were answering questions on Anti - arrhythmics 5 days ago!
Good luck anyway, you've got out before the ship sank altogether.

[admin]

Can I just remind people not to copy/paste from other web sites please - thanks for changing your post culchie82.

[culchie82]

No probs, wasn't sure if Pre Regs and Pharmacy students could log in to the PJ online to view it.

[Nik]

Yes we can, but for how much longer I don't know. All just re-affirms my committment to hospital over community.

[student]

Hi cant log in to PJ could you please enlighten me on the issue.

Thanks

[DavidS]

My memory is that you can log in from a pharmacy college's computers: they PJ have the IP addresses OKed.