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  • N&PD Moderators: Skorpio

finally Pharmacologists can write scripts

Im not doubting pharmacists have an extensive knowledge of the pharmacology of the drugs they are dishing out, they also must have a passion for it.

However as a pharmacologist myself I was a tad bit concerned at the level of pharamacology training med students recieved at when I was at uni. All of the medics that I knew at probably did just a semster of pharmacolgy throughout their entire 5 year medicine degree...

In my opinion just a bit concerning, seeing as MD's are the guys who acutally prescribe the drugs their knowledge could and should be somewhat more advanced
 
I definitely think that doctors should confer with a pharmacologist or pharmacist. Too many times I have been given inappropriate meds for herniated disks in my back. I understand the hesitancy to prescribe opioids, but if a patient is sitting right there with MRI results and a printed med history then give them some appropriate pain meds or at least give them a referral and enough meds until they can see the Pain Mgt. Clinic.
 
This is fantastic news. I hope the same happens in the UK. It's clear people have been given the wrong medication often and with a pharmacologists knowledge I think this would happen a lot less. Pharmacologists have in depth knowledge of the disease process, channels affected in the disease, the medicines to treat them and the exact mechanisms in which the drugs work.

I speak to medical students who intercalate with pharmacology and they all say they had no clue about such in depth theory behind disease and medication before hand and find it very different and difficult.
 
These days medicine is pretty much about dispensing medication so naturally the person with most advanced knowledge should have the most to say in dispensing meds. It just makes a lot more sense.

Maybe for diseases like strep, UTI etc where the disease is simple and its obvious which drug to give there is nothing wrong with doctors in this situation. But NP's are just as good and cheaper at diagnosing simple diseases.

For more complex disease often doctors really don't know what to do. They aren't exactly sure how different drug interact within the body. They often give drugs that don't go well together cuz they are not up to the current research. For example for people who have high cholesterol and diabetes and pain I really wouldn't trust doctors to give out the best meds. Pharmacologists a lot more about how drugs work in the body. They studied it for years and years.

Chronic pain is a good example. I have seen 20 doctors with no results, telling me its in my head and I just need to live with it. Then I saw a pharmacologist and I'm pain free.
 
Each profession has their strong points. A docs the obvious guy to go to for a diagnosis and the whole managing of treatment, and no pharmacologist is gonna be able to trump that. But when it comes to hospitals and you got a patient on 8 diff types of meds and with some sort of disease drug will interacts with each other, leading to needless complications. In this situation a doc is not gonna be able to see how they interact and how the body's gonna metabolise them to the extent a pharmacologist can.

I reckon some docs are to arrogant to recognise when they're out of their depth.

If only somehow they could work together . . .
 
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