LOVE-HATE Relationship
I received this comment from a pharmacist ( http://www.blogger.com/profile/25632041)yesterday in response yesterday's entry.
From your other post, you seem like quite a broad minded fella. I am a pharmacist. Hhhm, I guess that it doesn't strike you that what we hope to achieve is correct usage of drugs and not a quick way "to save a buck." Oh the times when we screened and found that an antibiotic was started when not warranted. That goes for other drugs. But I am not here to be antagonistic. I wish that I could say, "To hell with the guidelines." That would certainly make life easier for me...and you. Trust me, if I wanted easy, I would not be here. But like you, I have a responsibility to the patients and that responsibility is to ensure that they are getting the correct drug, the correct way. I am sure that there are ways of working together that doesn't leave you and me feeling frustrated at the end of the day.
It seems that whenever I write something that even remotely mention 'pharmacists' or the 'pharmaceutical industry' I could very well expect a response, sometimes diplomatic like the above, right down to angry responses.
Let me just state here that my blog is not meant to be antagonistic. I am penning here my daily angsts and joys working as a physician. If anyone feels slighted by what I wrote, then I offer my sincere apologies.
With reference to my entry yesterday, I suppose some people think that I have a bone to pick with the pharmacists. Perhaps I should have use better words and sentences. My bone of contention was with the hospital and it's rules, not the pharmacists, and not any individuals.
I think that in Malaysia, the relationship between the medical and the pharmacy people is at best a love-hate relationship. There are many issues that both parties fight for which have dragged on for donkey years. You can read it in the media on and off or the MMA News. I don't want to go into that.
That was not how I was educated. I was a medical undergrad in a country where the roles of the pharmacists and doctors were very well delienated. We worked in harmony. Doctors prescribe, pharmacists dispense. There, doctors don't hang on to their 'right to dispense' and likewise, pharmacists do not do what doctors do (you know, diagnose, investigate and prescribe) or tell the doctors what they can or cannot prescribe. Alas, that's not the case here and that is sad indeed.
Anyhow, let me reiterate that I am not here to antagonise anyone nor do I claim to be a 'know-it-all'. Just let me write what I feel here. Comments are welcome. Apologies are offered if anyone is offended. Some may not like what I write. Heck, I find some people's blog totally offensive too.
But I hold on to the adage: "I may not like what you say but I will defend your right to say it". I sincerely hope I will be accorded the same priviledge.
I received this comment from a pharmacist ( http://www.blogger.com/profile/25632041)yesterday in response yesterday's entry.
From your other post, you seem like quite a broad minded fella. I am a pharmacist. Hhhm, I guess that it doesn't strike you that what we hope to achieve is correct usage of drugs and not a quick way "to save a buck." Oh the times when we screened and found that an antibiotic was started when not warranted. That goes for other drugs. But I am not here to be antagonistic. I wish that I could say, "To hell with the guidelines." That would certainly make life easier for me...and you. Trust me, if I wanted easy, I would not be here. But like you, I have a responsibility to the patients and that responsibility is to ensure that they are getting the correct drug, the correct way. I am sure that there are ways of working together that doesn't leave you and me feeling frustrated at the end of the day.
It seems that whenever I write something that even remotely mention 'pharmacists' or the 'pharmaceutical industry' I could very well expect a response, sometimes diplomatic like the above, right down to angry responses.
Let me just state here that my blog is not meant to be antagonistic. I am penning here my daily angsts and joys working as a physician. If anyone feels slighted by what I wrote, then I offer my sincere apologies.
With reference to my entry yesterday, I suppose some people think that I have a bone to pick with the pharmacists. Perhaps I should have use better words and sentences. My bone of contention was with the hospital and it's rules, not the pharmacists, and not any individuals.
I think that in Malaysia, the relationship between the medical and the pharmacy people is at best a love-hate relationship. There are many issues that both parties fight for which have dragged on for donkey years. You can read it in the media on and off or the MMA News. I don't want to go into that.
That was not how I was educated. I was a medical undergrad in a country where the roles of the pharmacists and doctors were very well delienated. We worked in harmony. Doctors prescribe, pharmacists dispense. There, doctors don't hang on to their 'right to dispense' and likewise, pharmacists do not do what doctors do (you know, diagnose, investigate and prescribe) or tell the doctors what they can or cannot prescribe. Alas, that's not the case here and that is sad indeed.
Anyhow, let me reiterate that I am not here to antagonise anyone nor do I claim to be a 'know-it-all'. Just let me write what I feel here. Comments are welcome. Apologies are offered if anyone is offended. Some may not like what I write. Heck, I find some people's blog totally offensive too.
But I hold on to the adage: "I may not like what you say but I will defend your right to say it". I sincerely hope I will be accorded the same priviledge.
posted by Jimbo @ 6/08/2006 07:57:00 AM
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