When might my pharmacist contact my doctor?

Your pharmacist is you most accessible health care professional. Your pharmacist is supposed to review, access & question any prescription for appropriate prior to dispensing. They review your medication profile and ask pertinent questions in order to reduce the change of drug related problems. Dubbed the medication experts, he/she may contact your doctor for several reasons but not limited to:

• Pharmacist may need to clarify prescription name, dose, frequency with your doctor prior to filling it to reduce errors
• If there is any duplication of therapy, e.g. you may be taking enalapril for blood pressure and your doctors switches to another drug, lisinopril, which is in the same therapeutic class of drugs.
• Depending on the type of medication that requires monitoring such as blood work, kidney or liver checks, your doctor may require a pharmacist to call each time a prescription is to be refilled.
• Pharmacists perform drug utilization review prior to filling any prescription. If there are any potential drug/food interactions, the pharmacist will probably call the doctor for recommendation for a new drug.