Ask Your Pharmacist makes its debut
A new site dubbed 'Ask Your Pharmacist' is making its debut, which aims to increase discussions between pharmacists and patients.
The new initiative, which aims to elevate pharmacists as healthcare providers in the minds of the public and to bring attention and recognition to all of the services that pharmacists offer their communities, is the brainchild of editorial board members Jason Ausili, head of pharmacy transformation for EnlivenHealth, and Alison Haas, owner of Jackson Pharmacy & Wellness Center.
The site helps to inform and educate consumers on the types of services that pharmacists can provide beyond the traditional prescription filling functions. This is intended to motivate the public to drive more dialogues with their local and trusted pharmacist.
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"Today's pharmacists help protect us against flu, COVID-19, hepatitis A and B and other diseases with vaccines, they can test and treat for communicable diseases and chronic conditions, too. They also can help proactively offset the potential side effects of prescription drugs with supplements and nutritional suggestions, as well as advance public health initiatives like opioid overdose prevention, diabetes prevention and tobacco cessation. And, with 90% of Americans living within five miles of a pharmacy, they are the most accessible healthcare providers for their communities," EnlivenHealth said.
In addition to raising patient awareness of expanded pharmacy-based services, the site aims to inspire and empower pharmacists to embrace their growing healthcare provider role and advocate for expanding pharmacists' scope of practice privileges.
"This broadened provider role is essential to the pharmacy transformation movement, which in turn is crucial to achieving the nation's health equity goals and ensuring the continuing growth and health of the retail pharmacy industry overall," EnlivenHealth said.
[Watch DSN: Walgreens pharmacists on the frontlines of patient testing services]
Consumers can access the Ask Your Pharmacist website here as well as on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.