I have been working in community pharmacies for almost 5 years now. I have probably seen enough of everything.
Ps. I am not allowed to give out any specific health advice.
[AMA] I Am a Community Pharmacist, Ask Me Anything
Farmacist on 05/11/2018 - 10:43
Last edited 05/11/2018 - 10:47 by 1 other user
Last edited 05/11/2018 - 10:47 by 1 other user
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What services are worth paying extra for example?
Medication review, diabete management, mental health service, weight loss…..Those are some of the good one. Most of the services you do not actually need to pay anything. Service based pharmacies tend to offer them and they are well trained in those areas. If you are on multiple medications and you not sure what you are taking or you feel like your GP just pushing the pills to you, have a sit down medication review with the pharmacists and they are more than happy to help you with it. My title is professional services pharmacist, I have helped lots of people cutting down the amount of pills they should be taking or detect early sign of side effects, etc.
Why do we see chemists selling a lot of psuedoscience hyperbole? Alternative medicines, homeopathic medicines and other non proven therapies?
Would it not be better for your industry, the health of your customers and the education of our society if the shop fronts did not push non proven medications?I cant speak on behalf of every pharmacies on this issue. Pharmacy is a very special health profession because there is retail side to it. I think a lot of stores sell them to increase the traffic.There are still lots of people believe in them. However, I personally do not believe in homeopathy and non proven supplements. Whenever people ask me about it I always declare that I do not believe in them (say it quietly so the boss cannot hear). I then proceed with recommending stuffs that I actually have done research on with strong studies to back them up. I am a pharmacists and I want to make sure all of my advices are for patient's benefit not to push for $$. There have been a lot of debates over this topic within different pharmacy bodies but I have not seen any significant changes been made.
Its to do with money, that's it. If the public demands it, we should sell it.
There's a limited amount of money out there for real prescription medicines.
Look at how big the industry is in vitamins… companies like Swisse, Cenovis and Blackmores etc.
I feel like someone who has a healthy diet and has some regular exercise (ie. those 8,000 steps and 8 glasses of water etc.) does not need any supplements.
It would be cute if you saw the breakdown of revenues for a chemist vis a vis real medicine vs. supplements… then again have you see the various groups buying hundreds in supplements and sending them overseas???
What a great business (if you're a chemist warehouse).
I read a really interesting article by a professor of nutrition who is regarded as a worldwide expert on these matters. He said that the only 'supplement' he would recommend for a healthy person wanting to optimize their health and well-being is magnesium. He rattled off a long list of health benefits for supplementing and a long list of problems you may have if your levels are too low.
I started supplementing it about three months ago and I have already noticed that I recover faster from hard workouts, (SMIT), sleep better and feel less tired later afternoon after a tough day at work.@[Deactivated]: magnesium is great. I take it and love it. I am more relaxed and feel better. Another one that I actually recommend is vitamin D especially if you stay indoor most of the time. Lots of people are vit D deficient unknowingly.
@Save Medicare: I had written a longer reply but accidentally closed the tab… check details at the link, there are some benefits even to non-deficient people: Blood pressure, Asthma, Insulin.
@abb: Ctrl-shift-t, opens the last closed tab, generally with any filled form information present too.
He said that the only 'supplement' he would recommend for a healthy person wanting to optimize their health and well-being is magnesium
Good to know. Thanks.
Sadly, most of us are not healthy. And the leading causes of poor health and death are almost all caused by, or linked to, issues of nutrition.
"if the public demands it, we should sell it"
Well that's one way to look at it.
The other may be, that pharmacists are supposed to be a respectable science based profession and as such should only supply/ recommend treatments that are known to be effective.
Personally I think it degrades the profession to sell pseudo-scientific supplements and treatments when there is no evidence they are effective, just to make a buck.
@parsimonious one: Placebo effect is a powerful thing too though. Homeopathic products give a great range for placebo effect medications :p
One also has to take into account placebo effects. The mind is more powerful than people think, and people can get better simply by taking something that they believe will work. This is particularly the case for diseases with a mental component (depression, anxiety, pain).
People aren't throwing their money down the drain if they get a placebo effect, and the more they spend, the stronger the placebo effect.
I am the boss at my shop and I say it to my customers all the time.
I possess an infinitely powerful homeopathic remedy for every ailment in past, present and future existence (and non-existence). Postage is free and it arrives instantly.
Do I get free steak knifes if I buy in the next 7 minutes?
do you giggle when you cover the "P" in Pharmacist ?
It is a mystery :D
Have you ever worked on the "wrong side of the tracks" so to speak, and what's your scariest/most extreme story of a less-than-ideal customer?
Luckily not. Most of the pharmacies that I have worked in are pretty good or not really "wrong side of the tracks" so to speak. Pharmacists get lots of abuse from consumer when they try to do their job unfortunately. I was threatened to be harm once by customer for refusing his unethical request. He shoved the computer and the shelves. I was scared but I was just doing my job. Some of my colleague got hold up with gun on their heads before.
What proportion of the medications that customers need do you have in-store? Where do they come from if they aren't in-store?
Also, what is the extent of medications which a compounding pharmacy can supply? Where do they source their pharmaceutical supplies?
And what is the extent of medications which a medical practitioner can prescribe? Must they adhere to a list from the TGA or can they prescribe pioneering treatments?
Thank you in advance. :)
About 80-90 percent of them. However, I have worked in a few super busy pharmacies and it can be very difficult to have sufficient stocks for even common medications like blood pressure pills. The rest of the stocks come from our main suppliers which can be order in the next day easily unless it is some trial or new medications. However, there are always shortage of medications in Australia. Pharmacies cannot really do anything about it because big pharma decided the distribution of meds across the World.
Compounding pharmacy can pretty much compound anything (Intravenous is an exception, lots of requirement). They use the same sources as other pharmacies and some special one for some compounding stuffs.(I never work in once but thats what my friend told me).
MP can prescribed anything within their scope of practice. GP can prescribe almost everything unless some specialised medications which you need to see a specialists. I have seen lots of off label prescribing. You will be surprised how many times I have seen people administer eye drop orally to treat something else.
Most compounders will get their pharmaceutical active ingredients from Medisca or PCCA as these two are the only ingredient suppliers that have tga certified premises, which for most people mean temperature controlled, validated ingredient purities, etc.
There are other companies that supply pharmaceutical raw material but they only have a licence to onsell, they cannot repack the material they import as they do not have validated facilities, and their quality can be questionable as their premises are not validated for temperature control or safe storage. Most of these other resellers will also rely on the validation tests and purity tests of the manufacturers rather than conducting their own, and some won't reveal their manufacturers making it difficult to determine if these manufacturers are TGA/FDA certified. A big one recently involved a certain thyroid hormone manufacturer losing their FDA certification and still supplying their ingredients.
Compounders can do a lot of things, including making human and animal medications. The main guidelines are they cannot supply an equivalent medication and strength of a commercial product unless that commercial product is out of stock, a good example is infacol is out of stock but something with the same ingredient and strength can be compounded. Compounding pharmacies also cannot make therapeutic claims on their medication, they can only claim that the medication has the correct drug at the correct strength. There are also restrictions on expiries if testing data is unavailable.
So if I had Melatonin capsules compounded, could they be reasonably priced? Circadin is a rip-off.
@Scrooge McDuck: The price is usually quite reasonable depending on where you get it from. Legally they can't make a 2mg slow release as circadin is available, but they can make other strengths and quantities. If you go to the PCCA website, they have a find a compounder search where you can find your nearest compounder that uses PCCA as an ingredient supplier. I would encourage you to ring around as different compounders will have different prices.
@Scrooge McDuck: Melatonin is commonly compounded, mostly for children, but it's usually more expensive than the Circadin brand.
You can buy melatonin online from the US (the Natrol brand from iHerb is well-priced)
A note: While we sell time release 2mg melatonin, there is a growing body of evidence that 0.5-1mg is just as efficacious.
Hello how much money do you earn in a year?
Not as much as a lot of people think. The presence of discounter have brought down the average wage by a lot. 60-90k thats the range. It will go higher if you work in rural area.
I find this terrible, i actually expected it was more 150-250k. You are giving hundreds of medications out per week, a small percentage of that is if you give the wrong dose or medication you could potentially kill people. I thought the asian guy in my chemist warehouse would be on 150k+ but knowing hes probably on 60k makes me feel so bad
Hahah, hope more people can understand the stress that pharmacists have to endure on daily basis to get that low pay check haha.
That's why I left community pharmacy and a lot of my friends as well. Bad career prospects and average pay for the amount of study we have to do. A lot of the job is also just like working in retail which sucks. But it's not a particularly tough job if you don't mind just chilling at the back of a small pharmacy for 60k.
@Astrohawke: What do you do now?
I heard the only way to make money as a pharmacist is to own the store.
Pharmacists are paid wages not a salary. Fortunately there is always potential to make more money: work weekends or above your regular 38 hours Mon - Fri. People are just too lazy to go get their bread.
I don't believe discount pharmacies have been the main driver of lower than average incomes. The creation of Pharmacy schools in CSU and UTS drove down the entry mark required which in turn has caused greater supply and competition for jobs.
Most Pharmacists get into the profession with this vision of prestige and grandeur of the title (and not entirely wrong as it is one of the most trusted professions). But the reality is the market is so saturated - like many other jobs really. Hard to find a job that will be future proof unless you are willing to work extremely hard to set yourself apart from your cohort.
The wages for pharmacists has not increased by very much in the past decade, unfortunately.
Why do I need to wait almost 30 minutes for a prescription medicine when often it is a single item?
Haha, this is the question I get most of the time.
There are many reasons to it and keep that in mind not all of them apply to every pharmacies.
1. Some pharmacies purposely do it so you can shop around (mainly discounter because they need to increase basket size due to low profit margin)
2. They can be reallllllly busy. Sometimes you walk into the store and it seems empty. It does not mean that there are not 10 scripts baskets waiting to be dispensed.
3. Dispensing is not just about putting label on a box. Next time you visit a pharmacy, politely ask a pharmacist if you can visit the dispensary or see the dispensing procedure. It is actually not as easy as it seems. If you are healthy, not on any medication and present with a single script of antibiotic for example. It should not take too long. However, each medications have a lot of precautions, contraindications, side effects, interaction with other medications. Pharmacists spend most of their time checking for all of that. Sometimes, prescribers make mistakes on the script and pharmacists have to contact them to get it fixed. At the end of they day, we are just trying to keep you healthy.
Why are drugs so expensive Amoxicillin 500mg common antibiotic is $40 or whatever the set gov price is. Overseas is $1.30 just naming one of many I've seen that are way over the top.
I am not sure where you pay $40 for Amoxicillin 500mg 20 capsules. That's abit greedy of the pharmacy.
There are a few explanations for this:
1. The quality is actually very different in different countries. I can assure you that the medications in Australia are one of the best quality in the World. Medications from oversea sometimes can be a little bit dodgy. I have lived in some asian countries and even people from those countries do not want to buy meds there.The price also influenced by the deal between the government and the big pharma.
I think you shouldn't go to USA because you will be shocked at the medications price there.
Last time bubs was unwell, I paid 23 bucks for kids amoxicillin - same thing from the discount chemist was like 6 bucks.
This why I've never understand the argument of "provide more service". Cause a family member got the same service, infact the discount pharmacist recommended probiotics, which still cost about the same overall, vs. just getting the antibiotic only at a non-discounter.
@SharkChu: They don't provide more service to people who are coming in to buy antibiotics. The extra service is for specific types of patients like diabetics, people on multiple medications etc who want to be able to spend 30-60min having a detailed discussion with their pharmacist which smaller pharmacies are more able to do while discount chains are usually too busy.
The fact is with discount chains taking over, smaller pharmacies can't compete at all. You complain about why they charge you $23 for amoxicillin, it's because they buy it for like $15 so obviously they can't sell it for $6 like the discount chemists.
Good for the consumer, but overall bad for the industry and its workers which is going downhill.
@Astrohawke: I get your point of view, just sometimes it's hard to pay such a markup, when it can be easily obtained cheaper elsewhere. Generally these pharmacies are like a few doors down from one another. I'm sure those discounters also offer similar services, just less focus on it.
So the customer paying for the $23 amoxicillin, is essentially paying for another patient's benefit that requires those specialised services?
Surely Amoxicillin, does not cost $15(or even $6) to the pharmacy, I've seen some invoices ages ago and they go for like $2.00 prior to any supplier discount.
@SharkChu: I don't expect consumers to pay the markup in order to support the smaller pharmacies. I wouldn't. When I worked in an independent pharmacy, I would still go to chemist warehouse to buy my stuff. I'm just saying that these smaller pharmacies aren't charging crazy prices because they're greedy and do crazy markups. Their cost prices are just higher compared to the discount chains.
It's been a few years since I've worked in pharmacy but if they're charging $23 for amoxicillin syrup, I'd assume it's for the actual brand Amoxil which wouldn't cost $2. Typically these types of pharmacies try to do 30-50% markups.
The pharmacy I worked at would only stock 1-2 of the actual brand and try to push generics because they could sell the generics at least somewhat close in price to chemist warehouse whereas with the brand names, you get this exact situation where people get angry that you're trying to rip them off when there really is no way we could have sold it for $6 and still make a profit.
Different pharmacies can have vastly different prices.
We have a late-night pharmacy nearby which costs way more than all the others.
Usually $10 or so?
You're shopping at the wrong shop - I charge 5.99 for 500mg amoxycillin
Overseas they are supplied by other countries like India or China with more lax laws, lower min wages and patent regulations.
Ex: Valsartan is recalled overseas but not here.
https://www.pharmacytimes.com/resource-centers/cardiovascula…Aust manufacturing is expensive due to high minimum wages and safety regulations (active ingredient has to be +/- 5% with TGA pharmaceuticals)
This being ozbargain comparison would be buying cheap steaks from overseas for a questionable saving/benefit. I dont know how I feel about putting that in my body.Also I have never seen $40 amoxcillin.. more like $13-$20 tops
Do you want to continue working in a community pharmacy until you retire or do you have plans to do something else in the future?
I like pharmacy but I want to venture out into different area as well. I can't see myself being community pharmacist in the next 20 years though. Too repetitive sometimes and I want more challenges
Have you thought about going rural? Are you based in WA as I know some owners of some W.A rural pharmacies and they are always looking, pays a lot more than the city.
Yes and I am actually working rural atm. The pay is better but yeah abit far from my friends and family haha
If you want a challenge get into ownership. Plenty of challenges and buy in costs aren't as high as some would have you believe
Why was the pharmacy industry such asses with the codeine issue?
I cannot understand how pushing almost all codeine products into a combination with paracetomol was thought of as a good idea. I understand the idea was to make people sick before they could get high from the codeine. But paracetamol causes liver damage. Why was it considered the best course of action to give people liver damage instead of just managing the people coming in to buy medicine?
On top of that. Why push people to go to the GP unnecessarily just to get a script for codeine medication? There really didnt seem to be that much of a problem with it and it seems like an odd place to stick your flag and say this is the line. I never understood the pharmacy groups position on this because it seems like their priority is completely out of touch with reality.
Codeine addiction is a massive 'unseen' problem in Australia, as it is elsewhere.
I don't think that pharmacists led the move to having a readily available product moved onto the prescription only list. It has to hit their bottom line.I still don't see how liver/stomach damage is desireable as a deterrent to codeine overuse. I also don't see why they'd go down the route of prescrption only instead of some sort of better management and better support for people who struggle with substance abuse. What happens now is that people simply stockpile their codeine medication for emergencies. Because the reality is when people need codeine (say a migrane headache) they aren't going to book a doctor, wait at the gps, get a script, go to the pharmacy, and suffer through that time. They'll probably grab the codeine stockpiled in the medicine cabinet, then the next day go to the GP, lie, waste their time, then restock at the pharmacy under script.
I cannot see why you make the connection between codeine control and codeine/paracetamol formulations. The two are unconnected. Medications containing both have been available for years.
There is no role for codeine or other opioids in the management of migraine. Opioid use for migraines can often result in a rebound headache.
Paracetamol 1g + aspirin 900mg + metoclopramide 10mg is the standard of care for abortive therapy in migraine
@Save Medicare: 1 gram of paracetamol? what's that gonna do! edit: im an idiot, you are clearly talking about 2x paracetamol tabs. i forgot tablets were milligrams!
@Save Medicare: I find opioids of no use for a migraine, doc suggested trying 3 Asprin generally the 900mg you said above and a coffee together, it's killed it off or at least left it in a manageable state, so I can get though the day.
Also the only time I can drink a coffee in the afternoon / evening without it affecting sleep. strange how somethings work
As @4sure mention, codeine addiction is a massive problem. I have seen a lot of people regret after they hooked on to it.
However, pharmacist wasnt the people behind pushing it to the script. We actually have a real time monitor program in place while the government still deciding on it. I believe if that software is compulsory for all pharmacies, codeine product can still be available otc.
A lot of my adult life in serious pain i have taken a short dose of panadeine forte for pain. a few months ago i took some to fix some pain which i had, and i got this really nice high i have experienced before, but i never enjoyed it this much. im not a drinker, smoker, drug user or anything.
After having a hard day at work a few days later with kids driving me insane and having a headache, instead of ibuprofen or paracetamol i decided to take a panadeine forte. 1 tablet after half an hour puts me into this really relaxed state, it obviously cures any headache/pains i have, but I get this warmth feeling through me and feel really nice for a few hours. i never really noticed this before.
so over the next few weeks i found myself taking a tablet a few times a week when i had no pain, just for that nice feeling. I know it's a dark road the way i am heading and i haven't taken a tablet in a month or so now (my wife won't let me).
so yes i can seriously see where addiction comes from using codeine. I am fine now but i think i'll still take one maybe once a month when i have a really shitty day and need it.
My question to Save Medicare and Farmacist (doctor and pharma) is: I have been told that codeine other than being addictive, is actually quite safe with minimal serious side effects. and that it works like morphine? is this true?
Serious pain solved with 1 panadeine forte tablet? Lucky you.
Taking pain killers for fun… that's so crap, I don't know the right wordsSince you have no answer for the pros, I will have to do (Biology Major). You must be very sensitive to codeine if the low dose version bundled with Paracetomol has significant psychological effects. OTC products only contained 8mg of codeine, prescription Codeine only is 20 mg from memory.
Codeine is the weakest narcotic; by narotic I mean it binds to and stimulates the same neurons that neurally synthesised endogenous opiates bind to. (If opiates are "evil", why do normally people produce them?). Others are morphine (from opium poppies), heroine (morphine modified with faster entry into the brain), fentanyl (available in patches, the little brother of carfentanyl the elephant tranqulizer), oxycontin (made made,sustained release), tramodol, and methadone.
I popped an Oxycontin pill last winter out of curiosity. Initally stomach upset, then 2 hours later a feeling of bodily warm, as though the temperature had risen 4 degrees. Analgesia, of course. It didn't make me as high as a kite though; instead I just found ordinary activities like listening to music and watching films to be much more enjoyable than usual (I am a depressive, so I get little pleasure from ordinary life). hen it was wearing off I felt drowsiness, then a slight, diffuse headache. Since you are sensitive to low does codeine, oxycontin would probably blow you away.
At normal doses, codeine is safe in the sense that you won't die from respiratory depression like heroine injectors often do; it's not carcinogenic; it doesn't harm the heart like cocaine does. However, if you are constantly taking it without washout time, you will quickly develop high tolerance, requiring much higher does, plus have difficulties defecating (all narcotics paralysis your gastrointestinal tract). Only by using it occasionally (like once a day) can you minimize tolerance and prevent constipation. Most people aren't capabably of that sort of restraint though, and will keep escalating the does in the hope of a bigger rush.
Naracotics are classed as analgesic, but they are nothing like aspirin or paracetamol. They are very strong psychoactives, far mor potent than antidepressants, caffeine, or alcohol. For some people they are psychotherapeutic and improve mood, but the coalition of Nanny States (aka The UN) is fanatically opposed to people self-medicating on anything stronger than cigs, coffeee or alcohol.
Lastly, I should mention Targin, which is Oxycontin with an added narcotic recptor blocker called Naloxone. Naloxone passes through the gut but gets broken down by the liver before it enters the systemic blod circulation. The Naloxone prevents you getting the nausea and constipation sideeffects, but doesn't interfere with the pain blocking and mood elevating effects of the oxycontin in the brain. It is the best narcotic to use, but you will never get a prescription for it in Australia on the grounds that it makes you feel happier/less/anxious/less depressed. GPs get reprimanded for prescribing narcotics to people who don't have serious pain conditions.
The Pharmacy Guild didn’t support codeine being available via script only.
https://www.guild.org.au/my-guild/have-your-say/codeine-upsc…
https://www.guild.org.au/news-events/news/2017/ama-needs-to-…
What's with the dramatic paracetamol causes liver damage I see on here all the time. Paracetamol is one of the safest painkillers. There's no risk of liver damage unless you're overdosing. And yes, part of the reason it's combined with codeine is to indirectly limit how much codeine someone can take via these tablets because opioid abuse is a big problem.
Paracetamol is one of the safest painkillers.
Paracetamol is one of the most dangerous drugs commonly used.
I'll back that claim up. Paracetamol has a very narrow "therapeutic window" compared to most other drugs. That's the margin between an effective dose and a damaging one.
True but I'm talking about its relative safety when used within the therapeutic window. You're much less likely to experience adverse effects with paracetamol than other painkillers and you're not going to get liver damage from it unless you overdose.
It never was the pharmacy industry pushing it to script only. Codeine going on to script only cost the average pharmacy tens of thousands in lost gross profits
Why was it considered the best course of action to give people liver damage instead of just managing the people coming in to buy medicine?
Because "tough on crime" wins votes. Some people have little empathy and really don't give a shit if people that are outside their in-group die or are harmed. They have a feeling of moral superiority that puts drug users into the wrong side of the "us" and "them" divide.
The issue was that people were getting their fix from the over the counter products. Everyone has different ways of metabolizing codeine, there is a proportion in the population that have a gene that converts codeine to morphine. One of the issues was that addicts were taking 40+ Nurofen plus tablets a day to get their high and then presenting to the ER.
Paracetamol products don't cause liver damage at regular doses unless you have an existing liver problem. The dose before you hit toxicity is far higher than the regular 4g per 24 hours.
Everyone has different ways of metabolizing codeine, there is a proportion in the population that have a gene that converts codeine to morphine.
Got any more info about this? My understanding was everyone metabolizes codeine into morphine, and that's the main way codeine gives pain relief. (my source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codeine#Pharmacology )
I should clarify that a significant proportion convert codeine to morphine, but a small proportion convert it more extensively.
The CYP2D6 enzyme is responsible for the conversion of codeine to morphine. According to aspen, their research data suggests that 5-10% of the population lack the gene to product the CYP2D6 enzyme and hence do not convert codeine to morphine. Everyone else has varying levels of the enzyme leading to varying levels of conversion. Up to 2% of the population over produce CYP2D6 which leads to more extensive conversion to morphine instead of elimination by other pathways. There have been reports suggesting that this smaller proportion experience more of a euphoric effect from codeine compared to the general populace at the recommended dose.
Has moving codeine to script-only caused any issues for you? My GP heard stories of doctors writing scripts 100 tablets (as they felt the change was a waste of time/money) and this being a big headache for pharmacies.
Not as much anymore. It was during the transition time last year.Lots of people come in to ask for it to stockpile and shop aroud.
Do you think probiotics are placebos ?
There is a substantial and growing body of work indicating that our gut health has a massive impact on many other systems in our body. Probiotics are one way of balancing gut health, but probably not the best way for normal healthy adults.
However if you have done something to wipe them out (eg: taken a course of antibiotics) they are a quick and effective way of replacing them.
Just make sure that you buy the live ones, (the ones that have to be kept refrigerated).Probiotic is actually really useful. You do not necessarily need it if you are healthy and just on 1 short course of penicillin. However, if you are on some special types of antibiotic and longer duration, probiotic is very important. It helps building the gut flora back to normal. Gut flora is essential for pretty much anything or functions within the body. Lots of recent research prove that with healthy gut flora (microbiome) your general health will improve.
don't latest research is calling into question probiotic product?
e.g. :
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/probiotics-if-you-do…
Is there a particular probiotic/brand you would recommend? And is it desirable to change probiotics over time? Thanks
What is the pay like for a community pharmacist? Is there a big pay difference relative to hospital pharmacist?
Theres quite a gap between community pharmacist and public hospital pharmacist unfortunately. About 10-20k difference minimum if comparing average wage
Funnily enough, as someone who's gone from community to hospital, it's not as high as people would think. There are some community groups that pay more.
How do you get cold decongestion medicine as good as the old ones when they contained… 'pseudoephedrine' I think it is called.
If I'm talking about the correct ingredient: when I used to buy it in England it was the cold/flu cure (for me anyway)! So p**sed when I heard it was banned when moving over here.
You can still get pseudoephedrine in Australia. You just have to ask the pharmacist for it and show your ID.
ya you just go to the counter ask for 'real cold and flu tablets'
Same answer as Save medicare
wait really? so i don't need to go to a GP and figure out how to convince him that i need a medicine that works, without sounding like a druggy?
do you actually just walk into a chemist and say i want a pseudoephedrine cold medicine and they will give it with ID?
You probably thinking about codeine which is no longer otc. Pseudoephedrine is fine otc. You just need to rock up to pharmacy, answer questions about your symptoms and health etc and if the pharmacist think it is appropriate you can get your pseudoephedrine.
Some pharmacies don't stock it though (particularly those in bad areas where people are commonly shopping around for it) just to avoid the hassle.
The best way to do it is to ask to speak to the pharmacist, tell them you've got a cold/congestion and when they try to sell you the one with phenylephrine, say that doesn't work for you and ask if they have the other one. People who come in and directly ask for pseudo usually sets off alarm bells and you will get scrutinized way more and sometimes they'll tell you they don't stock it just to not have to deal with it.
phenylephrine, say that doesn't work for you
Considering the studies that show it doesn't work for anyone, that should hardly be surprising!
You could be thinking of ephedrine or ephedra.
Discounted chain impact heavily on other pharmacies no doubt about that. I have worked in both types of pharmacies before and there are huge differences. A lot of non discounted pharmacies focus on extra services to make up the loss. Meanwhile the discounter aim to selling as much items as they can at low profit margin to make profit. Hence, discounter often pay their staffs at lower rate but I have seen other pharmacies pay their staffs minimum wages too. If I were a patient, I will go to a discounter if I just need to buy 1 or 2 items or find a bargain.Pharmacists there are normally too busy with scripts volume to do anything else. However, If I have complicated health issues, want to spend more time with a health practitioners, service base pharmacy is recommended.