How to Get the Best Service at Your Pharmacy

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While basic rules for getting a good service apply (e.g. being polite with the salesperson), there some tips for getting the best of service when at the pharmacy. Here are some outlines.
Henceforth we'll be referring to two types of drugs:

Over-the-counter (abbr. OTC) are drugs anyone can freely buy without consulting a doctor. Examples include Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Coldrex
Prescription medications are drugs that cannot be bought without a prescription. Examples include Diazepam and Barbiturates

Steps

If you're buying OTC medications without consulting a doctor, explain your symptoms as precisely as possible. Avoid being too descriptive (e.g. "As soon as I get anywhere near grass my nose starts swelling and get snot all over me!" Saying you have a severe case of hay fever would be correct enough)
If this is the first time you buy the medication in question, ask about the dosage and possible side effects. Before buying the drug tell the pharmacist about any other drug you may be using, no matter how harmless it may be. This applies to birth control pills as well, or for when you have to buy a subsitute for a drug you've already been using.
Know the so-called "generic name" of the drugs you often use. For example, a drug with a generic name "acetylsalicylic acid" may be sold under the brands Aspirin, Asperan, Acetisal, or many more. By mentioning the generic name of a drug you will help the pharmacist suggest a proper substitute.
It is recommended that you know what is the "active ingredient" of your preferred medications. For example, Coldrex (a popular anti-flu preparation in Europe) consists of paracetamol, caffeine, ascorbic acid (that's the chemical term for vitamin C), and other ingredients. Here the active ingredient is the paracetamol, and the others are mixed with it to improve it's absorption by the system, or to alleviate the symptoms while the paracetamol works on the cause. So, if your local pharmacy has run out of Coldrex, you can nicely rough it with paracetamol alone. See the Warnings section.
If the pharmacist offers a specific medication for your condition, ask for alternatives with the same active ingredient. Often there are cheaper substitutes for expensive drugs, their only downside being their less famous manufacturer.
Be prepared to answer questions about your current health status. This information will help the pharmacist offer you the best medication for your condition, or even avoid giving something that could potentially land you in a hospital.
Mention any food allergies you might have, especially if you're lactose intolerant, even if the pharmacist doesn't specifically ask. Also, liver and renal conditions should also always be brought up.
Some mild antibiotics are OTC. When buying any of these, it's very important to inform the pharmacist if you have a history of hypersensitivity or abnormal reactions to any antibiotic.
When buying prescription drugs, ask the pharmacist to write the appropriate dosage for each of them on the package. This way the pharmacist will be able to correct any possible mistake made by your doctor when filling in the prescription. This will also keep you from ODing on a potentially lethal drug you may have mistaken for harmless.
Make a quick calculation of how long would the pack you just bought last, and ask your local pharmacist to order a supply of the drug three days earlier. This will save a lot of frustration, because some prescription medications are not in a great demand, and your local pharmacy might not keep it in large stocks.
It's a good idea to write down the phone number of your pharmacy. It could prove helpful in case of emergency, when there are doubts if the drug you took is the one that was actually prescribed.
Inform the pharmacist about the age of anyone else you are buying medication for. Basically, there are 4 age groups: Infant - 0 to 4, Child - 4 to 14, Adult - 14 to 60, and Old (or Geriatric) - 60+. However, always mention the exact age of the person.

Tips

In any case it is advisable to consult your doctor before taking any medication.
You should consult your doctor if you have fever and/or flu symptoms for over three days, or any pain lasting over a week.
Before purchasing a new drug, or a substitute you haven't used before, ask the pharmacist to read the patient leaflet enclosed. Check for possible contraindications, and make sure the indications match your symptoms or condition.
Give your pharmacist feedback on any new drug you have been taking. It will help them in their job.
While it's a good idea to have basic knowledge of medicine and pharmacy, don't overdo it.

Warnings

Never give or recommend the medications prescribed to you to anyone else, even if their symptoms are exactly like yours!
Never change (increase or decrease) the dose prescribed by your doctor or your pharmacist. Consult your pharmacist if the dose prescribed by your doctor exceeds the maximum single dose indicated on the package!
Each drug has a maximum daily allowance dose, indicated in the patient leaflet. To calculate it, multiply the indicated active ingredient for a single tablet (e.g. 500 mg of paracetamol) by the number of prescribed administrations (e.g. 3). This gives you a daily dose 1.5 gr. (1500 mg). Consult your pharmacist and/or your doctor if the calculated prescribed daily dose exceeds the dose indicated in the leaflet. Though sometimes a doctor would intentionally prescribe an exceeding dose, it's most often a mistake in the prescription that can cost you dear!
Be extremely careful when giving medications intended for adult use to kids. Though it's relatively easy to recalculate the single and daily doses of an adult version to match what is prescribed to your kid, DO NOT do it, unless you have no other option. A 30 minute drive to the next pharmacy that possibly has the children's form of the drug is always far less expensive than the health and - possibly - life of your child!
Stop using any medicine you have adverse reaction to! It will not go away with time, it will only get worse!
Always inform your doctor and your pharmacist of other drugs you're taking! A seemingly harmless tablet of Aspirin can prove fatal if you've been taking Diazepam to aid you in falling asleep!
Absolutely NEVER give ANY medicine to a child under 5 y/o without consulting with a doctor first!
Special warning for step 5 above: Taking the ingredients of a preparation and swallowing them does not have the same effect and can pose a serious health risk! In any multi-ingredient preparation the proportion of the ingredients and the overall quantity of the mixture are carefully calculated and measured to assure they supplement each other's effects. For OTC preparations (like the Coldrex example above) you may settle for the major active ingredient alone. For any prescription medication, DO NOT take any of the active ingredients no matter the dose!

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Sep 3, 2008