Pharmacists as patient-centered professionals: Collaborating to ensure high quality and effective patient communication

With the growing demand for pharmacists to provide preventive care for patients, it has become vital that pharmacists are prepared to be a primary source of health information for their patients and communities. Pharmacists and student pharmacists are enthusiastically rising to the challenge of providing health information via regular verbal communication and the provision of written materials for patients as well as public-health services such as vaccination efforts and organized screenings. However, in an effort to provide the highest quality of technical information, health literacy and cultural competency considerations are often overlooked. These aspects of patient education are the most important because without these considerations an unsuccessful intervention will ensue. Based on experiences gained at a teaching hospital, this presentation will cover the contributions pharmacists are actively making to improve health communication through an inter-disciplinary approach. As part of a team of public health professionals, pharmacists at this site have helped improve educational materials that are ultimately distributed to patients to use as guidance before or after procedures. Examples of poor patient communication pieces will be shown as well as high quality pieces to provide distinct examples of ineffective and effective intervention. Additionally, resources will be shared to assist others in creating appropriate educational materials for patients. Gaining an understanding of how to better communicate with patients will not only improve patient outcomes but is also a crucial step for pharmacists and student pharmacists as the profession moves from a focus on dispensing-the drug product to providing direct patient care.