Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, chairwoman of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in BaltimoreCity, was recently named president of the Maryland Pharmacists Association.
She spoke with The Examiner about the expanding role of the community pharmacist.
As MPhA president, how will you advocate for pharmacists?
I would really like to establish a dialogue with other health care associations in the state ? [the] nurses association, physicians association ? to establish a more cohesive solution to health care.
What role should the pharmacist play in delivering health care?
The community pharmacist is one of the most accessible health care providers.
They are located in people?s neighborhoods.
You don?t need an appointment, and most of the time you don?t pay.
So they can be a very important link between patients and physicians and other resources or referrals.
Pharmacists are medication experts [and should be] utilized to serve as a consultant about the best medication and monitor the patients.
Why are pharmacists still seen mainly as prescription-fillers?
I think it?s just because of the current way pharmacists practice because of the volume of prescriptions.
The volume continues to increase each year, and it will get worse as the baby boomers age.
We need to find more effective ways to work with the work flow to allow the pharmacists the opportunity to interact with patients and really be able to sit down with the patient.
I want to empower the public, and when the public starts asking for the pharmacy services they need and deserve, I think the business plan will change, and the customer?s needs will be met.
Every patient should know they have aright to be counseled by the pharmacist.
