10 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Pharmacy Experience
You are the most important person when it comes to your health. The right health care professionals understand this and will help in any way they can to ease your concerns and ensure your experience is positive.
You are the most important person when it comes to your health. The right health care professionals understand this and will help in any way they can to ease your concerns and ensure your experience is positive.
When taking care of yourself or a loved one, there are a number of simple steps that you can take to make sure that you are getting the most out of your pharmacy experience.
Here it is, 10 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Pharmacy Experience
1. Make your pharmacist your most reliable source for information about medications. Pharmacists are truly medication experts – no other health professional possesses the unique body of knowledge that pharmacists draw upon to monitor and manage drug therapy.
2. Take medications as prescribed. Most medicines must be taken exactly as directed by your pharmacist for them to have the proper effect. Be sure that you understand all instructions before you take your medicine, and if you notice side effects or feel sick from taking the medicine, call your pharmacist for advice.
3. Let your pharmacist know if you find it hard to remember to take your medications. Some medicines have complicated directions, and we all have had times when we forget to take our prescriptions as directed. Talk to your pharmacist if you find this happening. They can give you helpful advice on how to stick to your medication plan.
4. Talk to your pharmacist! It's never too late to ask your pharmacist a question. Even if you don't think of one until you get home, you can still call the pharmacist for advice. If your provider suggests a course of treatment you don’t feel comfortable with, inquire about other potential treatment options. Don’t be afraid to ask more questions. If you’ve asked a question and still don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask again.
5. Ask for a list of your medications. Even better, ask for a one-on-one medication consultation. Most patients who take a prescription medication regularly will benefit from a medication review, they’re not just for those with complex medical conditions. Studies repeatedly show that regular medication reviews result in better health outcomes. If you are taking a medication on a long-term basis review your medication(s) annually with a pharmacist.
6. Get advice before you mix prescription or non-prescription medicines or herbal/natural products. There can be significant or dangerous interactions between prescription, non-prescription and herbal products. Interactions are not restricted to just mixing prescription medications either, interactions can also occur with common foods.
7. Ask for privacy. All pharmacies should have readily available private consultation rooms to meet with you one-on-one where you can talk without interruption and should be encouraged to ask questions.
8. Find out how you can order your refills to avoid interruption. Many pharmacies offer online refill requests and can send you a text when they’re ready for pick up. If you need more refills, in some cases your pharmacist may be able to authorize a refill of your prescription but in other cases your doctor will need to be contacted.
9. Ask the pharmacist about what else you can do to help achieve your health goals. Medication is one piece of the puzzle, there are many ways to help reach your goals. Many pharmacists incorporate lifestyle-modification patient care into their practice and can offer patients information, guidance, and counseling regarding lifestyle changes that can help manage their medical conditions in addition to prescription therapy.
10. Staying with one pharmacist and pharmacy is the best way for you and your pharmacist to keep track of your care. Your prescription records and history are maintained in the pharmacy where the medications are filled, which means your pharmacist can better understand your prescription history and identify possible drug interactions or allergies with any new prescriptions that you fill at that pharmacy.
Developing a strong relationship with a pharmacist you trust can transform your health. Make the most of your relationship by learning about and taking advantage of some of the many clinical services pharmacies now offer. If you’re interested in learning about the services at Bearspaw Pharmacy, please visit our website and check out our patient portal at bearspawpharmacy.ca.
Submission By: Kim Henke
Email hello@bearspawpharmacy.ca
Website https://www.bearspawpharmacy.ca/
Safety - But why would I do that?
The amount of small, medium, and even large business owners that do not have a clue on the repercussions of not implementing basic safety in their workplace is scary.
The amount of small, medium, and even large business owners that do not have a clue on the repercussions of not implementing basic safety in their workplace is scary. For some yes it may be a slap on the wrist (which may only happen since we are in Alberta) but for some it could mean jail time and/or large fines. Sure, Safety isn’t just for owners, it’s for workers too but the owners are the ones who pay longer term with larger penalties.
Which is where my passion and come drive in.
If I wanted to go work for the extremely large companies, I could and have. But what about the small to medium size companies who’ve maybe never been taught some basic and, potentially life saving, safety skills?
It’s simple for me – sharing is caring. Isn’t that what we teach our kids? I want to share what I’ve learned through experience. I want my audience to know they aren’t alone. Through my business is where you’ll get to know how you and your coworkers, employees and even subcontractors (if applicable) will get to know the basic requirements.
You don’t live in Alberta? No problem. Each province has their own OHS Legislation – its not rocket science. Sure, it’s a skill to learn but with the right coach and mentor, its less scary and more powerful.
Nelson Mandela said it right: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.
Each of us has our passion, have our business, have our knowledge – I want to share. I get a joy out of sharing. The joy really comes real when I get to visit my clients and I see them make the change. The change to improve and make themselves understand the law. OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) Handbook which is a minimum requirement in Alberta can be a scary thing. Business owners need to know it though. I can teach you and your team the parts that apply to your business, so you don’t have to sit there and rehearse it like a sacred book (even though it is a sacred book)
Submission By: Ashley Budde
Full Throttle Safety
Helpful Contracting Tips from Mike Figliuolo, managing director at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Through Mike Figliuolo’s course in LinkedIn, you will learn what different contracts mean, pricing and payment terms, warranties and liability terminology and expectations, and insurance requirements. He also lets you in on what you should consider when defining your project scope.
The following content is a mixture of copied text and personal interpretation. The purpose of this blog post is to share our experience taking this course and highlight it’s value and availability to access through LinkedIn’s Learning portal.
We know contracts are not the sexiest topic of conversation in business, but boy are they life savers. We have been writing contracts for years now here at YBB and we enter into contracts for a significant majority of our collaborations, specifically ones that span over months or years time. Event if exchange of services is the primary payment detail, we highly suggest you start entering business relationships with a contract agreed upon by both parties before any work or exchange is done. Through Mike Figliuolo’s course in LinkedIn, you will learn what different contracts mean, pricing and payment terms, warranties and liability terminology and expectations, and insurance requirements. He also lets you in on what you should consider when defining your project scope.
Helpful contracting tips the highlights are:
Minimize the size of numbers.
“Instead of saying, "The client will pay $60,000 for 300 hours of services," say, "The client will pay $200 per hour of services rendered. "The consultant will provide up to 300 hours of service."
Those are much smaller numbers. That's a lot easier to accept and approve on the client side.”
Specify expenses in words verses in numbers.
“If you say, "The client will pay up to $15,000 in travel expenses," they'll likely negotiate that number. It's a big dollar amount. If, instead, you say, "The client will reimburse "for actual travel expenses," it's more likely to be accepted as written with no negotiation.”
Require a minimum purchase of services.
“A lot of effort goes into selling, proposing, and contracting for an engagement. You don't get paid for that time. If the client uses 60 hours of your time contracting and then only does a six hour engagement,you've made a pretty poor hourly rate. Require the client to pay for a minimum number of hours,whether or not they use them. It'll at least guarantee an acceptable return on your sales and contracting time.”
Define your classes of travel.
“Many consultants spend a lot of time on planes and in hotels. The client will want you to choose the cheapest accommodations possible. Don't sacrifice your lifestyle unreasonably. Specify acceptable classes of travel in your contract. At thoughtLEADERS, when we travel internationally, we specify that we travel business class. My instructors are on the podium for eight hours, teaching a class to up to 35 people. I cannot put someone on a plane for 20 hours to go to Singapore and teach a class back in economy in the back of the plane. It's specified in the contract the class of travel that we'll use.”
Use terms like in its sole discretion, or as mutually agreed upon in writing.
These terms can simplify contracting and improve negotiating success. The terms are advance permission to make a decision without further approval, or they get the contract done sooner and leave the smaller points for future discussion and mutual agreement.
If you’re interested in taking Mike’s course on LinkedIn, here is a list of learning objectives you will learn:
Learning objectives
Identify effective consulting contracting techniques.
Explain how to evaluate an attorney for legal counsel.
Compare and contrast different types of major contracts.
List the major players in a contracting process.
Define payment terms.
Define warranties and liability.
Scope a consulting engagement.
Describe how to negotiate major contract points.