Legal Aspects of Healthcare Module 4 (BHM443)

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Legal aspects of healthcare
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It is most common that pharmacists and patients often interact in real life and therefore for patients’ recovery and well-being, the pharmacist have a great role to play (Pozgar, 2012). Some of the responsibilities a pharmacist should play are as discussed below:
Dispensing drug prescriptions: Pozgar (2012) states that pharmacists have the sole role of dispensing to their patients all forms of drugs as instructed by the specialist diagnosing the patient. Pharmacists ought to do this with great care and professionalism to ensure that the patients take home the correct dosage and give necessary drug accompanying instructions.
Secondly, Pharmacists have the responsibility of communicating with the Prescribers: this is to ensure and confirm correct formulation and dosage in cases where a prescription to a patient is potentially harmful or the order is not clear.
Responsibility of ensuring patients’ safety: every time a patient gets a refill or new prescription filled, pharmacists should often check the records belonging to their patients often as to ensure zero probability of a patient’s interaction amongst drugs.
Pharmacists should also counsel patients: here, counselling may involve enlightening patients on when and how to take their doses, patient follow ups to ensure the administered dosage works right and sharing information with patients on side effects minimization while deriving maximum benefits from the drugs (Pozgar, 2012). Basically, this involves share of information and tips with patients on how they should interact with medications.
Pharmacists also have the responsibility of working together with patients on general heath: pharmacists can do this by giving advice on nonprescription remedies and recommending other health supplements to patients such as use of natural and herbal health products, good diet maintenance and proper exercising.
Staff management: Dimond (2011) states that it is the pharmacist’s responsibility to ensure that the right patient receives the right drug with a right dose. Commonly referred to as the ‘three Rs’. As to meet this responsibility, it requires the pharmacist to oversee residents’, student interns’ and pharmacy technicians’ work. They also have the responsibility of making and enforcing acceptable workplace policies.
Pharmacists also have an administrative task to perform: this means that they have the responsibility of ensuring the patients’ files are kept up to date, stocking of needed products and ensuring necessary reports are generated and filed.
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