The heart of pharmacy beats in the pharmacy – part 5/2.

The Hungarian Chamber of Pharmacists (MGYK) is one of the 12 professional public bodies, and as such, it has the duty to represent the professional, ethical, economic and social interests of the pharmaceutical profession as a whole, and all this in accordance with the public interest, the legitimate interests of society – and especially patients – validate along. We asked the presidents of the MGYK county organizations what they think is an important message to convey to patients, readers, and the general public.

Dr. László Ujházi
MGYK county president
County of Hajdú-Bihar

Humility towards patients

My first thought for patients who come to us is always to thank them for their trust in us. Appreciating this, we can continue to build and work together with them for patient well-being. What I consider to be important and an example for myself and my colleagues to follow is that this profession can only really function if it is about humility towards patients. I am convinced that those who do not have this kind of attitude from within cannot really fulfill themselves in this profession, because in this case the essential ingredient is missing.

All of this is important because it is the basis of the trust that the patient needs to share information about his condition and important for his recovery. As a result, the pharmacist-patient cooperation is realized, as a result of which the medicines and dietary supplements prescribed for him or recommended by our colleagues are probably used in the most optimal way.

The older a person gets, the more he sees and is able to feel that the kind of vulnerability expressed by patients is very real, and the need to solve their problems becomes more and more serious.

The above-mentioned trust is also important because, with this, we can properly help, convince and guide the patient
in the labyrinths of the health care system. In many cases, a blood pressure and/or blood sugar measurement takes place at the end of the trusting relationship between the patient and the pharmacist, and at the end of the discourse about the problems. Having the measured result and authentic information from colleagues equips the patient sufficiently to go to the family doctor and possibly further. None of this will happen if you don’t have the pharmacist’s colleague’s credit and trust in him! Thanks to these, however, the patient enters the appropriate level of the care system and presumably receives appropriate therapy! Such and similar cases occur every day, and I can say for sure that we are an important and increasingly important player in healthcare.

We must also mention that today’s stock of medicines is huge. In addition to prescription drugs, there are many over-the-counter active ingredients available. This was not always the case. Today, however, this palette of never-before-seen size gives our colleagues the opportunity to treat effectively and start the necessary therapy on time. In many cases, thereby relieving the burden on other actors in the healthcare sector, but above all, gaining health for the patient. This greater wealth of medicines also comes with greater responsibility, and it cannot be without the fact that our colleagues must be open to all kinds of professional innovations and that our profession cannot be practiced at the required level without “lifelong learning”.

Humility therefore results in trust, which is necessary for properly designed therapy and thus for the desired recovery. This is the key to a long-term pharmacist-patient relationship, where, similar to family medicine, within the framework of family pharmacy, we treat all members of the families who return to us, and not just the disease. I believe in this.

The article was published in Patika Magazin. Look for it every month in pharmacies!

June 2024

Other parts of the series:

Part 1