Nevada News: Better Communication With Your Patients

April 22, 2011 10:13 AM

Originally published in the April 2011 Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter
As you all are aware, in Nevada patient counseling by a pharmacist is mandatory for all new prescriptions, and that counseling must be documented by the counseling pharmacist. Refusal of counseling by the patient must be made to a pharmacist, and that refusal must be documented by that pharmacist as well. Studies have shown that over half of your patients read and comprehend at about the fifth grade level, making effective counseling challenging at times. Some tips on helping your patients understand not only what you say, but what you hand them:

1. Get their attention (ask them to get off their iPhone . . . ), focus on them, and by all means be ready to listen.
2. Involve the patient in the conversation by asking open-ended questions and encouraging feedback. Again, be ready to listen.
3. Do not use “medical-ease”; use language they can understand like “heart” rather than “cardiac” and “liver” rather than “hepatic.”

Counseling is probably the most important part of the filling process and is the last shot you have to make certain that what you are about to send your patient home with is correct. A recent case involved a prescription for estrogen filled with a blood pressure pill and marked “counseled.” One wonders what that conversation entailed.