#pam2016

As the video says, pharmacy is more than just counting pills! 

Despite the video being American, all 10 things are applicable in Canada (including the bits about the registered pharmacy technician)!

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can help teach patients how to use a puffer and even review a patients’ technique.

However, how would you be able to tell if a patient who really knows how to use their puffer vs one that believes that they know how to use it?

One method that may help involves asking the patient a few questions during a patient interaction, or even tacking-on a few reminder phrases. For example:

How does your puffer taste?

How often do you use your inhaler?

Do you mind taking a few minutes to show me how you use your puffer?

Remember to prime your puffer before you use it!

The answer to these questions/prompt can help you determine if a patient needs further counseling or not! For example, if a patient can taste their Ventolin inhaler (salbutamol) whenever they use it, you would know immediately that their technique should be checked (because they shouldn’t be able to taste it). Or even, if the patient looks at you blankly, when you say prime, they may need a refresher!

Besides, you never know if you would encounter a patient that may have been using their puffer improperly (like in the video below)!

How does this information help a pharmacy technician/pharmacist/patients? This information is useful as it makes health care more affordable in regards to medication costs.

It is important to note that NOT ALL hospital pharmacies look like the one in the video (but if they did that would be awesome!). This is due to a variety of factors that include the age of the hospital, the hospital pharmacy’s budget, the population that the hospital serves and more! 

Please keep in mind that different people, and even facilities, may use different techniques and/or procedures that deviates from the video when sterile compounding!

As with the Epi-pen post from last week (see here), a Breezhaler is a device that a pharmacy technician can be in a position to teach!

Now what is a Breezhaler? It is a small device designed to help deliver the medication (in the form of a dry powder) to the lungs. 

Currently, there are three different medications that use the Breezhaler that is available on the Canadian market: Onbrez Breezhaler,  Seebri Breezhaler and Ultibro Breezhaler. Additionally, these three medications are typically used to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

For additional information about this medication, consult with your local pharmacist and/or physician!

As the video says, a drug can be called by its chemical name, brand name or its generic name (and potentially more). A brand name is the name of the drug given by the manufacturer, whereas the generic name is the active ingredient (the thing that makes the medication work) and is typically the shortened version of the chemical name. In the pharmacy, we call the drug by either it’s brand name or generic name.