A community pharmacy can have an impact on the overall health of your town through an ongoing dialogue about correct medication use, vaccination awareness, and lifestyle choices.
An independent community pharmacy does more than provide a place for customers to have their prescriptions filled. Community pharmacies, like Smith-Caldwell Drug Store in Benton, Arkansas, play a crucial role in promoting and advocating positive public health practices in their city and the surrounding areas.
Healthy Living
Customers typically see pharmacists more often than they see their doctor, which gives them a chance to get additional advice on healthy living. When you pick up prescriptions, pharmacists can talk to you about making healthy lifestyle changes to help manage health problems and improve your overall well-being. These lifestyle changes, such as eating nutritious foods, giving up smoking, or exercising on a regular basis, can help lower the occurrence of serious diseases, which can help reduce healthcare costs in the community.
Medications
Pharmacists help keep you in good health by making sure that you know how to take their medication safely and that you are taking the right medication. This helps reduce medication errors, such as taking too high of a dose or stopping a medication too early. Pharmacists can also prevent you from taking medications that might interact with other prescription or non-prescription drugs. If you feel that one of your medications may be ineffective, a pharmacist can give you advice on speaking to your doctor about trying a different one that may work better.
Chronic Diseases
Pharmacists can give advice that hopefully slows the progression of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, and lower the risk of complications associated with these diseases in communities when they interact with customers like you. They can let you know if symptoms you feel might be linked to a chronic disease and recommend seeing a doctor for an exam. Detecting these diseases early helps ensure that you receive prompt treatment, which reduces the risk of complications and might help prevent your symptoms from getting worse. Some community pharmacies like Smith-Caldwell also offer health screenings for diabetes, blood pressure, and other health issues. These screenings can alert you to possible health issues you may have, so you can be proactive in your healthcare.
Vaccinations
Pharmacists at independent community pharmacies can provide you with information on vaccinations that you might not be aware of. They can suggest vaccinations if you may be at risk, such as pneumonia and shingles vaccines for senior citizens or flu vaccines for adults during flu season. This helps keep you and your family from getting sick, but it also benefits the greater community by reducing the number of individuals with the condition. The more vaccinated citizens there are in the community, the lower the risk is of having certain infectious diseases spread.
At Smith-Caldwell Drug Store, we strive every day to provide exceptional service and make sure that all of our customers have the information they need in order to take their prescriptions safely. We encourage our customers to ask us any questions they have about their medications or bring up any concerns about health issues they are experiencing. We also offer compounding services that can provide you with customized medications that are specially formulated to meet your medical needs or personal preferences.
If you would like to witness the benefits of a community pharmacy in Benton, Arkansas, contact Smith-Caldwell Drug Store at 501-392-5470.
