APhA Policy Manual

Pharmacist/Patient Communication

PATIENT/PHARMACIST RELATIONSHIPS

APhA acknowledges the following:
1. Patients have the right to be informed participants in decisions related to their personal health care.
2. Pharmacists have a professional obligation to contribute to the education of patients to help achieve optimal drug therapy.
3. Pharmacists should provide drug-related information to their patients (or patients’ agent) by face-to-face oral consultation, supplemented by written or printed material, or any other means or combination of means that is best suited to an individual patient’s needs for specific information.
APhA acknowledges that the pharmacist is responsible for initiating pharmacist/patient dialogue and assessing the patient’s ability to comprehend and communicate so as to optimize the patient’s understanding of and compliance with drug therapy.
APhA encourages the research and development of ancillary communication aids and techniques to maximize patient understanding of medication and its proper use.