I always wondered about American Pharmacist Month. Every October, the national chains, warehouse clubs, pharmacy organizations and deep discounters “recognize their pharmacists” in the media through press releases by touting their abilities to immunize, perform medication assessments, do health screenings and their public accessibility as a healthcare practitioner. These organizations offer additional services to the public to showcase their pharmacists’ “abilities” for the month of October. This seems a little confusing to me.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of pharmacists work to do the exact same thing that these organizations are promoting for the month of October. As pharmacists, we are one of the only, if not, the only profession where we are allowed a zero error rate in patient care. We are held to the highest standard of patient care and are exacting in our roles and responsibilities to ourselves and to the public.

I know many pharmacists that go out of their way to ease discomfort and  suffering, or lend an ear or some medication advice to a patient’s problem in hopes of providing a solution. I’m not talking about the daily “counseling” responsibilities we must provide. I’m talking about the EXTRA acts of kindness and the additional roles and responsibilities we adopt to improve patient health while enduring our hectic world of insurance reimbursement issues, drug-interactions, allergic reactions, mis-prescribing and other mundane stressors. These special interactions are like rays of light that shatter the darkness that has clouded our profession. By digging deep inside to go the extra mile for the patient, you get to experience why it is important to be a pharmacist.

Sadly, these extra acts of kindness are not always appreciated by the public or by employers. Since we do them because we care, and do not charge for our additional  services, it is assumed that it’s “part of the job”. It is now expected and we are held to this “new” performance level. Additionally, some patients feel that these extra services are “owed” to them and do not hesitate in telling the pharmacist to “do your job”.

Fortunately, times are changing. Pharmacists are getting wise to billing for these extra services and the patients are realizing that “free” is not always a good deal – especially when they benefit greatly from these value-added services.

So, during the month of October, and in fact, all year long, make it a point to appreciate your pharmacist for taking the time to look after your health interests and to be there for you when you need them. And if you are unhappy with your current pharmacist, let them know how to improve; however, do it in a nice way. If that doesn’t work, find a newer, better pharmacist to help you improve your health. That’s the best way to celebrate National Pharmacist Month.

Until next week, be well.

Dion