Advice for patients when buying medicine at the pharmacy

According to medical experts, most drugs are like a double-edged sword. In addition to their beneficial effects in treating diseases, they also have the risk of causing unwanted side effects. Therefore, using drugs properly and rationally will help minimize this risk. Only when taking drugs according to the instructions of medical staff (doctors, pharmacists, nurses) can safety be ensured.

1. Medicines not only cure diseases but can also cause diseases.

Before using medicine, everyone needs to remember that: pills not only have a curative effect but they can also be the cause of the disease.

When buying medicine, each of us should prepare some questions in advance to ask the pharmacist to answer before leaving the pharmacy. These are questions such as: What is the effect of this medicine? Should this medicine be taken before, during or after meals? Do I have to abstain from anything when taking the medicine? What are the effects of the medicine and what are the harmful effects? If the medicine is harmful, what should be done to overcome or prevent it? ….

2. Some ways to avoid harm when buying and using drugs

1. You should choose a pharmacy where the pharmacist is the one who sells the medicine. The pharmacist and the pharmacy staff are friendly and trustworthy and you should be loyal to one pharmacy to establish a relationship with the pharmacy. At the same time, the pharmacist can easily monitor the progress of the disease and give advice.
2. You should choose the right time to buy when the pharmacy is free to take advantage of detailed advice from the pharmacist about the disease and medicine. Especially with serious, chronic diseases.
3. For mild illnesses, you can ask a pharmacist for advice on what medicine to buy, but for serious illnesses, you must see a doctor and only buy medicine with a doctor's prescription.
4. Do not use a prescription from a relative or friend, or an expired prescription to buy medicine.
5. Don't be afraid to ask questions about medication to the pharmacist. If the pharmacist cannot answer right away, you can ask the pharmacist to come back to the counter later to get an answer. Because information about drugs is very diverse and rich. Pharmacists themselves cannot grasp it all. Most pharmacists who want to answer have to spend time looking it up to find the correct answer. Therefore, don't be surprised or doubt the pharmacist's ability when you see that they cannot answer right away but have to look up books. The pharmacist looking it up instead of answering randomly will demonstrate the pharmacist's responsibility and professionalism.
6. Try asking about the medicine or buying medicine at a few different counters. Then choose the counter that has good medicine, reasonable price and good quality advice.

3. Visit a specialist to get a suitable prescription

For maximum safety, everyone should pay attention to see a specialist before buying and using medicine. If you have any unusual health symptoms, it is best to see a doctor to get an accurate diagnosis of the cause of the symptoms. From there, the doctor will give appropriate treatment instructions, as well as prescribe the right medicine needed for your health problem.

Along with that is the need to accurately and optimally consider the dosage, how to use the medicine, the time to take the medicine and related issues such as taking it before, during or after meals, what to avoid when taking the medicine, lifestyle...

Above are the necessary notes from medical experts when buying medicine at the counter as well as when using medicines. To use medicine most effectively and avoid causing harm to health, each of us should seriously follow these things.

If you are a foreigner who needs to use medical services while traveling in Vietnam, your medical benefits will be supported as Vietnamese citizens. To ensure your medical benefits are best guaranteed, you should go with an interpreter to exchange and receive information fully and effectively.

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