Pharmacists Create Meaningful Interactions by Understanding Different Generational Needs

 A pharmacy is a place where a medically ill person can avail different kinds of medicines, and the person who distributes and directs about the usage of the drug dosages is known as a pharmacist. Medical care and pharmaceutical care are very much related to each other. Hospitals with medical care facilities and the pharmacies with drug supply are the two wheels on which the total medical business runs. This entire industry is bowed down towards their customer. So, it is very important for a pharmacist to track their customers’ need, interest, and to ensure that the drugs reach their customer on time.

“Pharmaceutical care is the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve a patient’s quality of life.” (Helper and Strand, 1990).

The above statement very clearly defines how important is the role of a pharmacist in a patient’s life. The role of a doctor is to treat the patient and to cure the ailment with the best of his knowledge, but the medicines which he prescribes are available in the pharmacy. A pharmacist’s main role is to ensure that his patient’s drug therapy should be guided in a proper way and the full information regarding the history of medicine be provided to them, which will be consumed by them.

India is a big country and a local pharmacy can be found in every nook and corner of a city. People can easily get access to the medicines nowadays. Customers interact with the pharmacists to gather all the necessary information with regard to the drug and its use. Customers rely on the pharmacists to provide them high-quality medicines so that their ailments can be cured. For Instance, people are very much busy with daily routine which creates an hinderance to approach a doctor, so they directly consult the pharmacist and ask for a temporary fix. In this case, the pharmacist has to be very careful and should have a thorough knowledge of medicines. Not only this, a pharmacist should also abide by the laws and regulations so that no illegal medicine can get in the hands of the customer.

With each passing day, things are changing for good. New medicines are evolving and the number of medicinal products in the market has increased. Different companies are producing same product with different label, so it becomes difficult for a pharmacist to understand his customers’ need, for instance, the drug type and combination which the customer is demanding for.

Today, the young generation is pursuing pharmaceutical studies as their career option. They are researching medicines so that they could present themselves as knowledgeable professionals to their customers and ensure to give a proper answer to any query These steps compelled people to completely trust their pharmacist while getting access to any medicine. A pharmacist interacts with his patient and tries to understand their need.

Needs and priority change with time and generation. Millennials (1980s and 1990s generation) have different expectations from their pharmacists prioritizing the factors like flexibility, accessibility and the convenience. They believe that by having face-to-face conversation, they could clarify all the information concisely, also they do not have to depend on word limits to ask any question that they want to query about. However, the generations I, Z and Alpha (people born from 1995 to 2025) are depended on digital world and find this platform inconvenient. Hence, pharmacists have to upgrade themselves accordingly to be able to participate in this domain so that it will help uplift their business to a new height. Today’s generation finds it easier to interact with anyone over the phone or on an internet chat, so this puts more challenges for the pharmacists, because now they have to improvise on their communication skills. The more, they interact with their customers, the more they will receive ideas of their needs. So, interaction with different generations help pharmacists to have meaningful experiences with their patients. Women are equally participating in this field and opting this domain as their career option. It is believed that women understand things easily and can handle the patients with more care.

During the lockdown period (March to August, 2020) due to the Corona virus pandemic situation, doctors were not available for consultations as most of them were busy in serving the virus-affected patients. During these tough moments, pharmacists have played an impeccable role by reaching to their customers at a moment’s notice. People were approaching them for different medications for their ailments. Apparently, pharmacists were putting their efforts to raise awareness among people about the seriousness about the virus and how to deal with the situation. They were putting more inclusive focus on patient’s care.

Conclusion: “Communication works for those who works on it” this line briefs that interaction with people is very important for anyone who wants to increase their knowledge and serve people. Pharmacy business in one such domain where pharmacist has to interact with their patient so that they could pay their best towards their job by understanding patience, need and value. It not only excels their business but also raise trust in the humanity factor. However, people should believe that the whole medical business runs on trust which comes only after having a good interaction between supplier and a buyer.

 

Keyword: Pharmacy, Medical, Trust, Business, Interaction, Clarification.