Counselling Service puts patients’ minds at ease

A Pharmacist Medication Counselling Service is being offered to patients as part of the Medication Delivery Service. Any patient with inquiries about their medications can request this service through the ‘HA Go’ mobile app while arranging for the medication delivery.

The pharmaceutical care provided can help reduce accident and emergency department visits and unplanned hospital admissions, according to William Chui, Hong Kong West Clinical Service Coordinator (Pharmacy). He said about 20% of such admissions are due to issues related to medication.

“Patients are allowed to meet the pharmacist with their family members through the tele-pharmacy service,” he explains. “They can discuss their chronic medications and their use of proprietary Chinese medicines and supplements to make sure there are no interactions.”

William said the service gives patients the opportunity to speak to pharmacists in detail and build trust with them in a way that is rarely possible in busy pharmacies.

Zheng Sin-man (pictured), Clinical Pharmacist of Queen Mary Hospital, said the experience of counselling patients with COVID-19 showed greater patient interaction. “Some didn’t understand the need for oral antiviral drugs and were hesitant, so we had to explain it to them patiently,” she recalls. “In other cases, patients might be confused with their medications due to change in packaging and ended up taking incorrect doses. The pharmaceutical care provided through this service therefore enhances patient’s therapeutic outcomes.”