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For Patients

Who should you turn to with questions about your medicines? The answer should be your pharmacist but you may not know what your pharmacist can do for you. Your doctor and your pharmacist are a powerful team, working to ensure the best selection and management of your prescription and nonprescription medicines.

Pharmacists are the medication experts. You might not realize it, but they do much more than count tablets and pour liquids, and you’ll find pharmacists throughout the health care system. For each prescription dispensed, your pharmacist must check to see that the information provided by the prescriber is complete, that the new medication will not interact with other medications you are taking, that the medication and dosage are appropriate for your health condition and that you understand the proper way to store and take the medication.

Ultimately, you have the responsibility for managing your health care, but your pharmacist can help if you keep him or her up-to-date about your health and the medications you are taking. For this reason, it is important to use the same pharmacy for all of your prescription services, especially when seeing multiple health care providers. This ensures that your pharmacist has access to your complete medication history when checking for problems or possible interactions.

By working together with your pharmacist, you can be sure that your medications are taken safely, effectively, and appropriately to maintain your good health. Pharmacists want you to know that they are always available to advise you about your medications.

The Iowa Pharmacy Association has provided you with multiple resources to help you in best utilizing the services of your pharmacist.