It always puzzles me when I see people treat their pets better than treating themselves. For instance, I regularly come across people picking up prescription medicines for their pets. The fact that people are willing to spend a fortune to see a vet but question the $5 government tax for their own prescriptions proves the point that they appear to … Read More
Imagine yourself as a pharmacist. Actually, it is hard for people to have an accurate image of what a pharmacist does. Because quite frankly, besides associating us as someone who counts pills and prepares prescriptions, people don’t know. I don’t blame them because they’ll need to have an extraordinary imagination to come close to fully understanding what their pharmacist does. … Read More
When I talk to my patients about vitamin D, almost all of them know exactly what it does – it keeps our bones healthy by maintaining an adequate level of calcium in our bodies. Vitamin D not only can strengthen our bones, but studies have also shown that it can reduce cancer cell growth, help control infections and reduce inflammation. … Read More
Over the past 6 months, I’ve noticed that there has been a large number of prescriptions for vitamin D. Also, recently, many of my patients have been asking me about vitamin D supplementation in response to COVID-19. Hence, I wanted to take the opportunity this week to give you all a brief summary of what vitamin D is and its … Read More
Alcohol, to many, is a universal representation of having a good time. The problem is that once we have a taste of a good life, our brain will almost always long for it. The aroma and taste that comes with a fine glass of red can become an experience that one would certainly relish. For some, perhaps such experience is … Read More
Living in a small country thousands of miles away from the rest of the world seems to be a lifestyle we all embrace as New Zealanders and sometimes take for granted. From being the first to see daylight, to a more simplistic society, where everyone seems to be living the life that someone across the world is striving to achieve … Read More
This week is antibiotic awareness week and I was reading an article on “Stuff” last night about how New Zealand antibiotic use is amongst the highest in the world. I couldn’t agree more because antibiotics are probably one of the most commonly prescribed medicines that my team and I come across daily. The amount of antibiotics being used over the … Read More
My long term relationship with medicine is a love and hate one. I love it when it does what it says but hate it when it gives my patients more than they can handle. One of the skills I’ve learned from being a pharmacist is the ability to create a meaningful relationship with drug(s). This unique set of skills … Read More
Hope all of you had a fantastic Labour weekend. The weather was fabulous and I managed to have a few walks down at the St Heliers Bay with my wife over the long weekend. It was great to see some of you along the walk taking advantage of the sun and absorbing much-needed vitamin D. In fact, I was reading … Read More
Yesterday, as I was tucked away in my office eating my lunch, I was interrupted by one of my colleagues who asked me to counsel a patient about his medication upon collecting a new prescription. I usually have a habit of writing “Talk” on the prescription receipt for any patient that I need to have a brief conversation with … Read More
