The ABCs of patient counseling

A survey indicates that pharmacists need to improve their services to meet the requirements of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. They are required to screen for potential problems with prescriptions, offer medication counseling, keep patient profiles, and document prescribed actions. They need to offer to discuss common drug topics with customers, develop presentation aids, overcome barriers which hinder communication with customers, and develop a general plan which can be adapted to individual customers.
Introduction Patient counseling refers to the process whereby a pharmacist listens to a patient's concerns about his/her drug therapy and offers education appropriate to the patient's needs. The purpose of [...]