Dear patients, don’t hesitate to ask questions

What you need to know:

Imagine a “one mother one bed” Tanzania where there are no 398 martenal deaths for every 100,000 live births. Imagine free health care for every under five and elderly above 65. Imagine a nation eradicated off of communicable diseases and with great management resources for non-communicable diseases.

Imagine ‘A Tanzania’ where quality health care is available, accessible and affordable to all 55.57 million -or at least a vast majority of us and we all have a health insurance plan. As of 2015, about 13 per cent of under-five years of age were underweight. Imagine improving that ratio significantly.

Imagine a “one mother one bed” Tanzania where there are no 398 martenal deaths for every 100,000 live births. Imagine free health care for every under five and elderly above 65. Imagine a nation eradicated off of communicable diseases and with great management resources for non-communicable diseases.

Imagine the physician density is better than 0.003 doctors for 1000 people and we shift from the current 1:33,864 to the WHO suggested 1:1000 pharmacist to patient ratio.

Imagine having all your medical needs met at your local region without the need to be transferred half way across the country or abroad.

Well, we could go further on this cerebral adventure to the future, but I’d rather we pause and live in the moment.

Yes, there are strategies in place to make sure we move forward but spending too much time in the future is another reason we fail to make effective use of the resources at hand.

Health care information

One of the most wasted resources in the health sector is health care information which can go a long way in prevention, control and management of diseases.

It is less than exemplary that health care providers have not always made the initiative to inform patients thoroughly regarding their conditions or management and it is unfortunate that patients have very often not been in the positions to claim this vital information. A fault not of their own.

As torch bearers, health care providers need to make habit of communicating thoroughly and in their best patient language, all information regarding patient health status, medications, options and the goal of treatment.

Patients, take note

On the other side, patients should make sure they are on the same page with their experts, asking questions and -well I’m usually on the other side of the counter so it’s hard to come up with too many patient stuff- But, if you don’t know what to ask, then here are a few questions you can ask your pharmacist next time before you leave the counter.

Most important, ask about the dose and dosage. How much of the med should you take, when and for how long? This is important because it significantly reduces chances of overdose or under-dose.

Not every pill that looks like a tablet is meant to be dropped to the throat and flushed down the guts with water. Some are lozenges, to be put under the tongue and left to dissolve there and some are strictly to be chewed. In this matter, I cannot imagine a bigger tragedy than taking orally what’s meant to go through the other end of the alimentary canal.

It can be challenging for first timers to use aerosols and so before you leave the pharmacy make sure you know exactly how to. Most people never think to ask this but it is quite valid to inquire about what to do with left over medication. There are standard procedures for disposal of unfit or unsafe medications and you will be surprised to learn that most of our disposal techniques are not environmentally safe.

Many people believe that left over medications still carry both their economic and therapeutic values and so find it hard to dispose them and instead keep them for future use. That is not entirely false for some medicines but before you choose to do so, get your pharmacist’s opinion.

It is also very important to ask about possible side effects and interactions. I have heard many people quit a certain medication just because it made them worse not knowing that their experiences were merely tolerable side effects. Talking to your pharmacist about this will not only improve your compliance but it will tell you when you actually need to stop taking the medication.

These are just few questions to guide you in getting importatant information from your pharmacist. If you have other concerns, do not hesitate to raise them because it’s safer not to assume knowledge when clarity is just a question away.