| Integrative
Pharmacies -- The Wave of the Future:
"The
profession of pharmacy is already following a trend away
from the dispensing role toward one of patient-centered care..."
Integrative
pharmacies offer wellness educators and herbalists.
"Nutritional supplements and herbal products are as commonplace
as prescription drugs."
At
the end of the article see links to more than a dozen such
pharmacies on the Pacific coast and in Colorado and New Mexico.
In a year or two they should spread to the rest of the country.
**If
you, or anyone you know, is looking for a good source of
information on different medications, check out Dr. Sidney Wolfe,
MD/Public Citizen's monthly newsletter "Worst Pills, Best Pills
News"
($15 a year; see www.worstpills.org). The lead article of the January
issue is "Watch out for Interactions Between Drugs for Erectile
Dys-
function and Other Medications."
Dan
Butts
January 31, 2009
***
>
> House Expands Access to Affordable Health Insurance for Unemployed
> The Committee on Energy and Commerce: "As part of legislation
> to rescue the American economy, the US House of Representatives
> today approved measures to expand access to affordable health
> care coverage for workers who lose their jobs as a result of
the
> recession.
> The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Tax-
> ation estimate that the package would help 8.2 MILLION people
> keep health care coverage for themselves and their families."
> http://www.truthout.org/012909HA
> California Health Insurers Discriminate Against Women, Lawsuit
Contends
> Nathan Olivarez-Giles, The Los Angeles Times: "California
insurers
> are discriminating against women, charging them more for individual
> health insurance than men, the city of San Francisco maintained
in
> a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the state regulators who govern
them."
> http://www.truthout.org/013009WA
***
Integrative
Medicine and the
Future of Pharmacy
Jeremiah
Smith
Citizen journalist
NaturalNews.com
December 30, 2008
The
current model of pharmacy practice, and of Western medicine
as a whole, is based upon managing symptoms. In some cases, this
may be necessary, at least for a limited amount of time. The prob-
lem is that care for the patient often stops with a prescription
being
handed over. A competent pharmacist will provide medication coun-
seling with the goal of ensuring optimal drug therapy.
**Ultimately,
however, the underlying cause of the symptoms is
not being addressed. At this point, dispensing drugs to patients
without providing further wellness education only compounds the
problem. It is like giving them a crutch to rely on; patients receive
false reassurance that their problem is "taken care of."
And
considering that most people only think about their health
status when something is obviously wrong, a great opportunity
for intervention and assistance with therapeutic lifestyle changes
(TLCs) is missed.
Thus,
the patient is left with degrading health, a lack of aware-
ness, and masked symptoms. Furthermore, drugs may produce
side effects, many times resulting in additional prescriptions.
Under
such conditions, it isn't hard to see how a downward spiral in the
patient's health might be established.
Where
are we now?
Just
take a quick glance at our current healthcare system. Spend-
ing is on the rise, while the country's health deteriorates. Obesity,
diabetes, heart disease and cancer are epidemic. The scope of
allopathic medicine is too narrow to reverse this trend on its own.
Allopathic
medicine certainly has its place in the healthcare arena,
most notably for acute care, as in cases of trauma. And an incredi-
ble amount of information has been discovered under its umbrella.
Still,
what good is the most thorough understanding of biochemistry,
pharmacology, or surgical technique if millions continue to suffer
from debilitating chronic disease?
You
see, the strength of the allopathic model can also be its weak-
ness, depending upon the situation to which it is applied. When
used to temporarily stabilize the body, system by system, there
is no better approach. It fails miserably, however, for keeping
individuals disease-free over the long run.
The
innate healing ability of the body is too complex, and the
factors that contribute to chronic disease too numerous to lend
themselves to a quick fix solution.
Likewise,
judging the effectiveness of natural medicine, using
allopathic standards, fails to acknowledge its aggregate and superior
healing ability. It's like comparing apples with oranges. These
two
medical philosophies are founded on distinct principles and treatment
practices.
Without
a more integrative model, health care will continue down
a doomed path. We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect
different results.
Where
should we go from here?
(Integrative Pharmacies -- the Wave of the Future--db)
Thoreau
is known to have said that "there are a thousand hacking
at the branches of evil to one striking at the root." Look
around,
and you can see those devoted to working on the root causes of
chronic disease, focusing on prevention and overall wellness.
Naturopathic
physicians, nutritionists, educators, herbalists, and
even some medical doctors and pharmacists, to name a few, repre-
sent this group of healers who hint at the possible paradigm shift
in medicine.
Pharmacists,
in particular, hold an excellent position for implement-
ing positive changes. They are the first point of access to health
care for the majority of Americans, owing to the accessibility and
convenience of pharmacies.
**The
profession of pharmacy is already following a trend away
from the dispensing role toward one of patient-centered care.
This is partly because most aspects of dispensing can now be
accomplished by automated equipment or technicians. Why would
a company want to dish out high salaries for a job that can be done
by a robot, especially when robots don't make mistakes?
**Compensation
no longer depends entirely upon filling as many
prescriptions as possible. It also comes from functioning as a
consultant, as an information expert, and as an educator.
So,
why not take one more step forward and continue this trend?
Pharmacy services could promote wellness and optimal outcomes,
not just optimal medication usage. Pharmacists have an opportunity
to push the envelope, serving as genuine patient advocates, while
securing their future as indispensable healthcare providers.
Integrative
pharmacies offer a glimpse of hope for the future of
health care. These are centers of wellness, rather than centers
of disease. Here, conventional and complementary medicine go
hand in hand.
Typical
employees include naturopaths, nutritionists, nurses,
massage therapists and aestheticians, as well as pharmacists.
Education is highly emphasized, with classroom lectures and
workshops being a normal part of services. Many topics are
covered including smoking cessation, weight reduction, yoga
instruction, and management of various disease states.
**Nutritional
supplements and herbal products are as commonplace
as prescription drugs.
Impressive
business models for such an operation already exist.
For example, Elephant is a pharmacy that originated in Berkeley,
California and continues to grow in the San Francisco area.
Pharmaca is another integrative pharmacy that has locations
throughout the Western United States.
References:
Pharmaca
Integrative Pharmacy
Seattle, Portland, Albuquerque, San Diego and more than a
dozen other pharmacies on the Pacific coast and New Mexico.
Boulder, Colorado.
"Our goal is to help you achieve optimum health, vitality and
wellness, whether through traditional prescription services, com-
plementary and natural remedies, or a personalized blend of both."
(http://www.pharmaca.com/)
Elephant
Pharmacy
Three locations in California.
(http://www.elephantpharm.com/)
About
the author
Jeremiah Smith is a pharmacy student with a strong interest in
naturopathic medicine and a passion for helping people achieve
optimal health.
*****
|
