"Expert Advice You Can Trust Since 1995"
Senior Care Pharmacist Consulting in St. Louis

Common Questions

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Common Questions

How do the services of HbL PharmaConsulting differ from those of a retail pharmacy?

Why not just ask my retail pharmacist?

Why would I want a medication consultation?

How do I know if this service would be helpful for me or my loved one?

I just take medicines that my doctor prescribes, why would I need a consultation?

Can the consultations address the use of herbals and supplements? 

Why does it take several days to receive the written report?

 

How do the services of HbL PharmaConsulting differ from those of a retail pharmacy?

HbL PharmaConsulting does not dispense medications and is not a pharmacy. Our focus is to provide individualized medication information to help the client manage his medicines at home and avoid medication-related problems.

  • Consultations are held in a private, unhurried atmosphere. Each consultation is comprehensive and tailored to meet the client’s unique needs.
  • Consultations focus on all aspects of medication use, from drug selection to monitoring for desired and undesired effects of drugs. Healthy lifestyle changes also are addressed.
  • Patient education and drug information material are individualized for each patient.
  • All medication assessments include written reports – for the patient and health care providers.
  • Dr. Levy is a certified geriatric pharmacist with over 15 years of experience working with seniors in the community.

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Why not just ask my retail pharmacist?

Retail pharmacies are busy places. Not all retail pharmacists are equipped to provide a thorough medication evaluation supported by the latest medical research.

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Why would I want a medication consultation?

People who request a consultation most often are concerned about drug side effects or drug interactions. Adult children often request a medication consultation for mom or dad because of changes noticed in mental status or concerns about being over-medicated. Other people request a consultation because they want more information about the medications they take, and their questions are not fully answered by their health care providers.

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How do I know if this service would be helpful for me or my loved one?

Take the HBL Medication-Risk Questionnaire to assess your risk of experiencing a potential medication-related problem. A medication review ideally will identify problems or concerns that can be corrected by the patient and/or physician. Preventing a problem from happening is an important goal, which makes regular medication reviews so important.

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I just take medicines that my doctor prescribes, why would I need a consultation?

Medication use goes far beyond just taking what the doctor prescribes. Many patients take nonprescription medicines that their doctors do not know about that could impact their health. Many patients take medicines that are prescribed by more than one doctor, so interactions could be a problem. Many patients do not follow medication instructions – usually not realizing it until a face-to-face medication consultation occurs. Physicians may not be looking for a problem with drug therapy and thus problems might go unnoticed. A Pharmacotherapy Specialist is trained to identify actual and potential drug therapy problems. Finally, remember that no physician prescribes a medicine with the intent for a bad outcome. Yet up to 28% of older adults are in the hospital because of a medication-related problem. Many of these problems are preventable.

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Can the consultations address the use of herbals and supplements? 

Yes, the pharmacy expert is able to check the latest resources to find information on the safety and effectiveness of a wide variety of herbal products and vitamin supplements.

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Why does it take several days to receive the written report?

Consultations are very thorough and based on the latest research and information available in the medical literature. In addition, the Pharmacotherapy Specialist is trained to identify many issues that may not be evident to the patient. A complete medication review and evaluation of the medical literature takes a little extra time.

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