Pharmacist issues

How to Your Local Pharmacist Can Help You

For years the profession of pharmacy has been promoting and encouraging pharmacists to be more involved in communication with the public.  You may have seen many signs or posters in pharmacies or on television commercials stating "Ask your pharmacist" or Talk to your Pharmacist" etc.. These initiatives have come about because the profession is moving from one that was very product oriented to one that is more patient oriented.

People who respect the sanctity of life need to take this opportunity to use your local pharmacist as a resource for providing truthful and documented information that we would like to get about any drug or health issue that we are concerned about.  In this particular case we are needing more information about abortifacient drugs and devices. We also require scientific information about the beginnings of a human being's life.

Pharmacists have been voted the "most trusted professionals" with respect to honesty and ethics for the last 10years.  Thus the information that they provide should be factual and scientifically sound.  A pharmacist is in an ideal position to help provide this information because they are very approachable/ one does not need to make an appointment/  they are often open long hours/ and there is a pharmacy in most communities.

The profession has promoted the pharmacist as the community drug expert. You can ask them questions as simple as the address or phone # of any provincial pharmacy college, association  or pharmaceutical company and its product list.  Or more difficult information regarding drug side effects, mechanisms of action, availability or uses of any drug presently on the market or even those not on the market.

All pharmacies in Ontario are required to be linked to a specialized  DRUG INFORMATION SERVICE which can be consulted by the pharmacist to provide documented information not readily available at the store level.  The drug information service can often do a literature search for the information and provide an answer within a few days. These services are often under used by the public and thus we can help the profession to become more active by requesting information.

Initiatives to encourage the pharmacist to take a more active role with respect to birth control information can be seen in the article that appeared in a recent pharmacy journal.  Many pharmacists may be reluctant to be involved with these questions but it is their responsibility to provide you with and answer.  We can help pharmacists in their efforts to increase communications with the public about these issues by simply asking the questions.  The intention is to obtain factual documented information, not to engage in a debate or to be confrontational. The more times the pharmacist  responds to these questions, the less difficulty they will have in answering them.  They will have the proper information more readily available and will be more informed about the subject.

Finally,  the college of pharmacy in Ontario put out this pamphlet exemplifying these initiatives.  It states "DON’T BE SILENT" and "ask about any Health issue that concerns you".  This is so appropriate for the issues that we are dealing with and will be dealing with more in the future.  So let us use these initiatives to help obtain information and improve the drug information provisions of the local pharmacies.  Let us NOT BE SILENT!! about these destructive chemicals. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT   CAN   I   DO??

NFP - We must promote this safe and healthy alternative for fertility control.  Ask your pharmacists for information or agencies that teach these methods.  If they do not have information perhaps you can help supply information of the agencies in the area.

Pharmacies would be the ideal place for promotion of these NATURAL methods. They promote many other natural products these days.  A few years ago there was a great push by the Pharmacy Association whereby they made policy statements to promote Breast-feeding.  Therefore why not NFP as well?

PLAN B and PREVEN: The acceptance of Plan B and Preven on the Canadian market is a result of the wide and largely unchallenged acceptance of the Birth Control Pill.  The pills many side effects and even abortifacient activity are not often explained to women.

The pharmacy associations, licencing bodies and other groups are saying that Plan B and PREVEN work the same as the pill, as though the pill is harmless since it is so widely and routinely accepted.  It is because of the wide acceptance of the Pill and other birth control measures that the College of Pharmacy in BC are saying that distribution of these MAPs  is a “recognized” and “legitimate” service expected from a pharmacy.  However one of the mechanisms of Plan B and Preven are  to alter the endometrium so that implantation is not likely to happen.  The distributor, pharmacy associations and even licencing bodies all will admit to this.  We know that this is an abortifacient activity (thus a death causing service).  But do the pharmacists?

If the above is accepted as a “recognized” or “legitimate” service this will lead to other death causing services such as assisted suicide or euthanasia or even execution, (as identified by the College of Pharmacists of BC) being considered “recognized” or “legitimate” and thus pushing these services to be provided by pharmacists.

The average person probably does not see the problem with Plan B and Preven because the results cannot be displayed in the same way as SHOW THE TRUTH. People in these cases  must KNOW THE TRUTH.

ASKING YOUR PHARMACIST:

By directing questions to a pharmacist you will be providing him or her with an opportunity to talk to their manager about the public’s concerns.  Your questions about being uncomfortable patronizing a pharmacy that supplies death causing products will allow the pharmacist to bring up the subject in their work setting.  They will then be able to explain that some of their clients are concerned about the product being distributed from their outlet.   They will not have to rely just on the manager’s sympathy toward their conscientious, moral or ethical beliefs.  Death causing products are not a “recognized” or “legitimate” product distributed from a health care facility.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ Concerns about PlanB and Preven and other MAPs

PHARMACY DISTRIBUTION OF THE "'MOURNING' AFTER PILL"? Post-coital Interception(PCI)- A Health Care Concern

1. A woman who requests post-coital interception is a person who has a real concern. She may be pregnant (a condition of having a developing embryo or fetus in the body, after union of an ovum and a spermatozoon- Dorland's Medical dictionary 25th ed.) or she may not be pregnant. Considering that pregnancy is a physiological condition, not a disease, she is a healthy person. However, taking high doses of female steroid hormones for her condition may put her in an unhealthy state. (See below). Her concerns would be best addressed through proper counselling with compassion and understanding of her situation with someone who cares about her health and that of her newly conceived baby if conception has occurred. Health care facilities such as pharmacies are places one goes to restore or maintain health, not damage a person's health. This is one of the reasons why tobacco is not available in pharmacies.

2. Pharmacists are knowledgeable health care professionals about drug treatments, how drugs work and interact. It is in dispensing this information that pharmacists often best serve the public. Women requesting post~coital interception can best make use of this information by seeking advice from staff who are properly trained to understand these crisis situations in a private, compassionate setting such as offered by Birthright or Beginnings.

3. When Does a Human Being Begin?- One very important concern that is not often addressed in promotions of PCI is regarding the effect of this procedure on a newly created human being. PCI definitely adversely affects a newly conceived human being by preventing his or her implantation. This needs to be identified clearly and understood by all people involved with its promotion, distribution and use. It is a scientific fact that human life begins at fertilization, however, this fact is often shaded by proclamations that it is a religious belief.. The credibility of the scientific proof for when human life begins should not be undermined because certain religions had the right answer first. In fact, you would think that in this modem technological society, scientific proofs would be considered the standard, in spite of whatever religious belief had determined previously.

4. Health Concerns for women taking PCI - I Are health risks to the woman, who takes this high dose steroid hormone regimen, being considered in its promotions? What about long term effects? Effects on future fertility? The Health Protection Branch's (HPB) responsibility is to protect the health of Canadian Citizens including women and their children, isn't it? (Ask for HPB's criteria for evaluation of drugs considering its damaging and teratogenic effect on offspring if taken by women of childbearing age before during or after conception) II There may be serious consequences to woman/teenage girls who have health problems eg. Epilepsy, diabetes, breast cancer, migraine headaches, circulatory or cardiovascular problems, etc III Other than chemotherapeutic drugs, what drug therapy causes such high amounts of nausea & vomiting. Apparently 60% nausea/29% vomiting. (Drug information centre Toronto, ON/1997) IV With this much N&V, how can this regimen be considered safe? Also, side effects, warnings and other risks would be more intense than with usual doses of birth control pills(BCP) since this is 4 times the dose of a BCP that has such a high amount of estrogen that it is not recommended for BC any more. What about safety to the conceived child? What about long term effects on the woman and conceived child? Will we see a repeat of deformities in offspring as was the case with DE.S. or thalidomide? Or instead of just damage the child, he/she will be eliminated. ,, V Can these regimens be considered pharmaceutical care? For whom, mother? Baby? Do they follow the principles of pharmaceutical care? 1) Cure a disease? 2) Elimination or reduction of a patient's symptomatology? 3) Arresting or slowing of a disease process? or 4) Preventing a disease or symptomatology?

Pharmacy Awareness Week- May 5-11/2001 Talk To Your Pharmacist

Pharmacy Awareness Week- Pharmacists are promoted as being glad to share their knowledge on any health related concern and as an excellent source of information for every patient. This is a time specifically promoted for the consumer to bring their questions and concerns to the pharmacist's attention By participating in the promotions of this week you will be making this week a great success for the profession "Talk to your Pharmacist"., Pharmacists have an important role to promote proper health care in the community. (Prepared by PFLI/Canada)