Making pharmacy the first stop
Making pharmacy the first stop
Working in pharmacy, it's easy to take your product and condition knowledge for granted and assume that customers will know many of these things too. However, often customers will not have this understanding, and their first course of action might be to visit their GP unnecessarily for antibiotics or "something strong" to deal with their condition.
There are lots of reasons why it can be better for customers to come to you first, before seeing their GP.
Here are some key facts it might be useful to pass on to your customers.
- GPs don't recommend antibiotics for flu because they won't relieve symptoms or speed recovery3
- In healthy people, flu can be treated without seeing a GP and customers should begin to feel better in about a week3
- There are numerous products available from the pharmacy to help manage symptoms of cough, cold and sore throat
- Antibiotics only work against bacterial infections, and colds and flu are caused by viruses, against which antibiotics are ineffective4
- Inappropriate use of antibiotics may increasingly cause customers to become infected with resistant bacteria5
ACTION POINT: How can you make your customers more aware of your expertise,and all that your pharmacy has to offer? Consider how you could communicate the above in a way that will engage your customers.