Structured pharmaceutical advice made easy: three quick steps to implementation

Dr. Laven's structured pharmaceutical consultation represents an innovative consultation model that helps pharmacists to provide effective and precise advice, even under the stressful conditions of a pharmacy. This form of advice is designed to communicate all relevant information about medicines, their use, possible side effects and interactions clearly and reliably. The aim of structured pharmaceutical advice is to ensure a high quality of patient care and minimize the risk of medication errors.

Basic principles of structured pharmaceutical advice

Structured pharmaceutical advice is based on several core principles that together enable a comprehensive advisory experience:

1. Patient identification and data collection: Every consultation begins with the correct identification of the patient and the collection of all relevant data on their medication and health history. This phase is crucial in order to avoid errors and lay the foundation for a personalized consultation.
2. Medical history: Structured pharmaceutical advice requires a thorough analysis of the patient's needs. Not only the medical necessity is considered, but also the patient's individual lifestyle and personal preferences.
3. Communication and advice: The actual consultation takes place through clear and comprehensible communication, which ensures that the patient understands all the information necessary for the safe and effective use of their medication. A key element of structured pharmaceutical counseling is the active involvement of the patient in the decision-making process, known as shared decision making. This encourages patients to take responsibility for themselves and supports them in making informed decisions about their treatment.
4. Objective: Finally, a common goal is agreed and a follow-up is planned to check the effectiveness of the medication and ensure that the patient is coping with their therapy. This also helps to promote the patient's long-term commitment to their health.

Are you already a member of the Pharmabrain Community? Here you will find a training video that you can use to easily learn and then practice the method.

Integration of Motivational Interviewing and Shared Decision Making into structured pharmaceutical counseling

Structured pharmaceutical counseling is particularly effective because it integrates motivational interviewing and shared decision making techniques. Motivational interviewing is a method that aims to strengthen the patient's inner motivation by addressing ambivalence and resistance to treatment. This is particularly important in pharmacy, where adherence to medication is crucial to the success of treatment.

Shared decision making strengthens the patient's role as an active partner in the treatment process. This approach not only improves treatment adherence, but also increases the patient's satisfaction with the treatment as they feel valued and understood. By combining these techniques, structured pharmaceutical counseling promotes a deeper and more productive interaction between pharmacist and patient.

Challenges in everyday pharmacy life

Pharmacists are often under pressure to advise a large number of patients efficiently and safely. Stress and time pressure can lead to important information not being adequately communicated. Structured pharmaceutical consultation helps to minimize such errors by providing clear guidelines and processes that can be followed even under time pressure.

Training and implementation of structured pharmaceutical advice

Comprehensive training of pharmacy staff is required for successful implementation. These trainings focus on providing pharmacists with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively apply structured pharmaceutical counseling. Further training usually covers topics such as communication techniques, management of consultations and the specific application of structured pharmaceutical counseling in different clinical scenarios. Some examples can be found in Pharmabrain's YouTube Channel.

Future prospects

Structured pharmaceutical counseling has the potential to redefine the role of the pharmacist in healthcare. By taking on more responsibility in direct patient care, pharmacists can play a more central role in the healthcare system. This approach not only improves the safety and effectiveness of medication administration, but also the therapeutic relationship between pharmacists and patients.

Overall, structured pharmaceutical counseling offers a reliable and effective method of meeting the challenges of modern healthcare and significantly increasing the effectiveness of drug therapy and patient satisfaction. It is an essential component of high-quality pharmaceutical practice that helps to increase patient safety and ensure better healthcare.