Dearborn Pharmacy believes that while every pharmacist is responsible for all drug-related patient care, community pharmacists are vital in improving the population’s health. They are essential parts of community members’ lives and deserve deep appreciation and gratitude for their services.

As community pharmacists continue to serve as front liners during this COVID-19 pandemic, Dearborn Pharmacy believes that they deserve the increasing recognition they are getting. Facing patients is an essential part of a community pharmacist’s work. Still, it puts them at risk of getting infected by the coronavirus, which may have been transmitted by patients who come to the pharmacy. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started, Dearborn Pharmacy observed how the role of pharmacists significantly evolved. From regularly filling prescription drugs and counseling to helping administer COVID-19 tests onsite.

Pharmacists also work around the clock to increase drug availability to ensure that their patients get what they need when they need it. They play a crucial role in quickly innovating accessible healthcare and relevant resources to their local communities. Since they see more patients daily, community pharmacists are critical in providing patients with access to quality healthcare, products, and other essential services.

Dearborn Pharmacy believes that community pharmacists are effective in counseling, drug education, and reliable resources for COVID-19, general health information, and wellness concerns. It is vital that the pharmacists also get protection to ensure that they can continue providing the needs of the members of their local community. Everyone in the pharmacy must follow recommended guidelines. Amid the pandemic, many individuals and patients rely on their community pharmacists for medications, needed medical supplies, and, more fundamentally, reliable and high-quality information. Dearborn Pharmacy firmly believes that community pharmacies play a vital role during the current global health crisis many countries are experiencing. Community pharmacies can give hospitals relief by providing more vaccines and addressing the worsening drug shortages by compounding commercially available prescriptions.

Dearborn Pharmacy believes that other than filling prescriptions and verifying a patient’s medical information, counseling and mentoring are two of the most vital roles pharmacists play in the healthcare system. Through effective sessions, pharmacists can significantly impact patient care. This task is essential primarily when the patient lacks knowledge about the prescribed medication and how it can affect him or her.

For Dearborn Pharmacy, counseling provided by pharmacists has three objectives: to evaluate the patient’s understanding of the medication, to improve drug adherence, and to encourage the patient to be active in his or her health management. All of these goals are vital for the patient’s quick recovery and overall improvement of health. But how do you know if you are a competent counselor? Dearborn Pharmacy believes that while pharmacists implement personalized counseling techniques for each patient, several vital skills will make the pharmacists more effective in counseling and the patient more proactive in their health management.

The very first step to being more effective in counseling is to establish rapport and trust with the patient. For Dearborn Pharmacy, pharmacists, especially community pharmacists, are among the most trusted and accessible professionals in the healthcare system. It is essential to exhibit a genuine interest in patient care when facing the patient and encourage engagement. Listening and asking appropriate questions are the other two most critical things to make your patient counseling more effective. Dearborn Pharmacy believes that listening and addressing their concerns, needs, and questions during counseling will make patients feel that you are doing their best to provide them with the best patient care they deserve. On the other hand, asking appropriate questions will assure your clients that you are concerned about further assessing them and gathering all the valuable information that you need.

Physicians prevent, diagnose, and provide management and treatment for diseases to improve a patient’s overall health and well-being. On the other hand, pharmacists are responsible for the quality of medicines supplied to patients and ensuring that the medications are suitable for the patients. They are also tasked to advise patients about medicines, including how and when to take them, what reactions may occur, and answer patient’s other questions about certain medicines. Physicians and pharmacists have different priorities as the mot important drug-related problem is not always the most important medical concern. However, Dearborn Pharmacy believes that it is essential for physicians and pharmacists to collaborate effectively to improve healthcare.

Unlike before, the healthcare system now is patient-centered, which continues to move towards a team-oriented, highly-collaborative approach. Over the years, Dearborn Pharmacy has seen that the multidisciplinary approach to healthcare, one in which pharmacists are responsible for adjusting medication regimes, obtaining and reviewing medication histories, and identifying challenges and barriers to adherence, highly enhances the healthcare system as a whole. In the collaborative care model, pharmacists are also expected to make sure that the patient is well-educated regarding the physician’s diagnosis and prescribed medications, including how and when to take it and the associated effects of the drugs.

Dearborn Pharmacy also believes that the physician-pharmacist collaboration is vital when it comes to keeping the integrity of health data. With more health data being exchanged each day, the quality and accuracy of data reporting must be maintained. Real-time data sharing among members of the healthcare system, as well as open collaboration between healthcare professionals, has been essential not only in maintaining the integrity of the data but also in making sure that the patient receives the best care possible. Effective collaboration between physicians and pharmacists also improves communication, which allows a pharmacist to improve medication management. With all these benefits from effective teamwork, an improved system of information exchange is developed, which ensures that the system prioritizes patient safety and well-being.

Together with medical doctors, nurses, medical technologists, and other medical professionals, pharmacists have been serving in the frontline in the fight against the novel coronavirus. Dearborn Pharmacy believes that community pharmacists are playing a vital role in supporting patients and providing their needs, especially in the areas currently in lockdown. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, most, if not all, affected areas are observing community lockdowns and social distancing to prevent further transmission of the virus. However, many individuals are dependent on their medication; therefore, some pharmacy trips are necessary. When patients visit their community pharmacy for prescription refills, pharmacists make use of the time and share vital information to their patients. Reliable information from trusted community pharmacists helps avoid unnecessary fear and anxiety of the general public and also relieves pressure on the rest of the healthcare providers.

As one of the first point of contact between patients and the healthcare system, community pharmacists are playing a key role in the identification and primary management of potential cases of COVID-19 – a part which Dearborn Pharmacy believes should be recognized and acknowledged. It is essential to maximize the use of community pharmacies to meet patients’ needs and maintain continuity of services. However, like the other healthcare providers risking their lives in the frontlines, pharmacists also need to be protected against the elevated risk of virus exposure.

Dearborn Pharmacy believes that during this worldwide health crisis, community pharmacists go above and beyond their primary roles. The workload of pharmacists has gone from providing prescription refills, counselling, etc. to triaging patients and providing primary care, which is usually done by physicians. Since it is inevitable that the changes in the healthcare system now will shape the future of primary care, Dearborn Pharmacy hopes that the part of pharmacies is in this crisis will be recognized and articulated to provide better healthcare to the general public.

Dearborn Pharmacy is a well-known local drugstore that has been around for nearly a decade now. Clients continue to patronize us for our versatility. We go above and beyond what is expected to make your experience with us as pleasant and enjoyable as possible. After all, being a local pharmacy, we like to think of the community as our family. And you would never cheat your family, right?

What does Dearborn Pharmacy do? We offer:

1. Prescription Drugs

These are medicines one can only purchase if they had a medical prescription. The FDA regulates these drugs because there are people who abuse their side effects. Types of abused drugs can range anywhere from regular sleeping pills to opioids such as morphine.

2. OTC Medicine

Keep the common cold, flu, cough, and fever at bay with over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. These are medicines that patients can buy any time they want without the need for a medical prescription.

3. Vitamins and Supplements

Your immune system is your first line of defense against diseases and illnesses, so it’s important to keep it strong and healthy. A solid way to boost your immune system is by taking dietary supplements. These give you the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals the body needs but are hard to source from foods.

4. Compounding

Dearborn Pharmacy provides compounding services for clients who need specialized, unique medication. For this service, we might need to work with your physician. Access to your medical records is a must if you want to get an accurate, effective drug.

5. Medication Consultation

Clients can come to us for medication consultations. Our pharmaceutical team will do a complete analysis to create a personalized medication solution specifically for your needs.

6. Sugar Testing

Feel like you’re at risk of diabetes? Then get your blood sugar levels tested. We provide free blood sugar testing services to Dearborn Heights residents.

7. Blood Pressure Testing

The key to regulating blood pressure levels is regular observation. Drop by Dearborn Pharmacy for blood pressure readings if you feel you’re at risk of heart ailments or hypertension.

As the number of people infected with COVID-19 increases worldwide, so makes the demand for PPEs, says Dearborn Pharmacy. Personal Protective Equipment must be worn by those who directly deal with or treat COVID-19 patients. 

Common PPEs

Examples of PPEs that must currently be worn by health workers as recommended by the CDC are the following: gowns, gloves, eye protection in the form of goggles or face shields (eyeglasses and contact lenses are not recommended), N95 respirators, or face masks. 

New Guidelines

The CDC has released guidelines that include new instructions on gowns, face masks, and airborne isolation rooms. This provides some relief to health workers previously having a difficult time amending the difference between what they had and what they were being advised. It also lowers the anxiety level in their average practice.

Use of Respirators

Dearborn Pharmacy says that according to the CDC’s guidelines, COVID-19 is spread chiefly through respiratory droplets. Healthcare workers can use a face mask if an N95 respirator is not available. However, the N95 or higher-level respirators must be used when conducting aerosol-generating procedures, such as open suctioning of airways or sputum induction. The same must also be worn when gathering respiratory specimens, although a face mask will do if there is a shortage. 

Use of Gowns

Gowns should be prioritized for aerosol-generating procedures, activities where sprays and splashes are likely and high-contact care activities with high opportunities for a pathogen transfer to the clothing and hands of a health care worker. 

According to Dearborn Pharmacy, high contact care activities include are bathing, showering, dressing, providing hygiene, or transferring. It also includes helping with toileting, changing linens, devise use, or care and wound care. 

Isolation Rooms

Airborne infection isolation rooms or negative pressure rooms must be prioritized for patients going through aerosol-generating procedures. Other patients with COVID-19 (either suspected or confirmed) must be placed in a single-person room with a dedicated bathroom and with the door closed. 

Dearborn Pharmacy adds healthcare workers must wear PPE at all times when coming into contact with surfaces that a patient has touched or has been near.

Do you think about not buying some medicines your doctor prescribed to you? The experts from Dearborn Pharmacy explain that you still need to buy all your medications. Here are compelling reasons you should do so: 

Your illness might get worse

If you don’t take your meds as prescribed or instructed, your illness might worsen, you could be hospitalized, or the worst-case scenario—you might die. 

According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at least 30 to 50 percent of chronic disease treatments fail because patients do not take their medications. That translates to about 125,000 deaths each year.

Common reasons for skipping medications

The most common reasons patients stop buying their drugs are as follows, according to Dearborn Pharmacy: 

• the cost of the medicine
• they don’t believe that the drug will work or cure them
• they find it difficult to keep up with many medications prescribed to them
• they find it confusing when medicines have different schedules

Buying your medicines and sticking to a medication routine can be difficult. However, you have to buy all the prescribed medicines. Then you must take the right dosage at the right time and frequency. 

Here are some tips if you’re finding it difficult to maintain your medicine intake:

1. Establish a good relationship with your pharmacists. Ask them all the questions you need to know, like the best way to take your medicine or when you should take your medicine. Dearborn Pharmacy explains that in this way, you can develop a good medication routine.

2. Ask your pharmacist if there are generic versions of your medicine. If you’re worried about the cost of your drugs, generic versions are less expensive alternatives that do not lose the quality and effectiveness of the medicines.

If you have more questions, contact the Dearborn Pharmacy. Its experts will be happy to answer all your queries and help you buy your medicines.

The very first difference you’ll notice between chain pharmacies and community pharmacies, such as Nabil Fakih’s Dearborn pharmacy, has to be in terms of popularity. Although local pharmacies are often well-known among the members of their community, especially if they have been around for years, chain pharmacies are better-known throughout a much larger territory. But the differences don’t end there.

#1. Convenience

Big retail brands expand all the time, so you’re bound to find a chain pharmacy close to your home, especially if you live in the city. Independent pharmacies, on the other hand, usually stick to their respective regions and neighboring locales.

What’s more, chain pharmacies tend to close late. This lets you pick up your medicine way after local businesses, including most community pharmacies, have closed for the day.

#2. Inventory and services

Chain pharmacies often brag and impressively diverse inventory of medicines. They may even sell other items, such as make-up, toiletries, and home products. Chain brands also have the means to offer other services, such as wellness screenings, rewards, and digital purchases.

In comparison, community pharmacies are straightforward. Besides medications, they may also offer basic health services, such as smoking cessation, weight control, and blood pressure monitoring.

#3. Customer service

Chain pharmacies, understandably, tend to have more customers, so their staff members have less time for meaningful interaction. This also means you’ll have to wait longer to have your prescription filled.

Community pharmacies, such as Nabil Fakih’s Dearborn pharmacy, may have far fewer customers, but this gives them sufficient time to engage buyers, even when they have a small staff. Their pharmacists can answer questions and you don’t have to wait as long for your purchase. If you need your products delivered, your local pharmacy can do that quickly, too, since they tend to be situated close to their customers.

#4. Relationships

Because their clientele is highly varied, chain pharmacies have little chance to engage them outside of business transactions. Community pharmacies, in comparison, know their customers. In fact, it wouldn’t be strange if the pharmacists know you by name.

Although they may offer almost the same products, chain pharmacies and community pharmacies have key differences, especially in how they engage their customers. If you value variety, then the former would serve you well. But if you value relationships, then the latter would give you more value.

Nowadays, pharmacies do not just dispense drugs for their patients, but they also offer a range of other services to customers to help them live healthier lives. Just like Dearborn Pharmacy, other pharmacies are now offering a variety of services. Continue reading to find out what these services are:

Immunizations

Mainly in the form of flu vaccines, many pharmacies now offer immunizations to their patients. Some also offer vaccines for other conditions such as Hepatitis A and B, measles, rubella, mumps, shingles, and chickenpox.

Health education regarding vitamins and other nutritional supplements

Some reports state that people spend about $133 billion worldwide for dietary supplements. However, customers who regularly buy these supplements are often not sure what is best to take or how much to take. This is why Dearborn Pharmacy and other pharmacists nowadays are offering advice about the best supplements to take and what will work best with various medication regimens. Pharmacists can help patients avoid harmful interactions between supplements and drugs and explain what nutritional supplements will replace nutrients lost by patients when they use certain medications.

Services involving medication adherence

Besides dispensing drugs for their patients, pharmacies are also helping them stick with their medication regimens to help manage chronic conditions and reduce complications. Programs like this include coordinating prescriptions, having all of them available for pickup on the same day, and checking for drug to drug interactions. Pharmacists also meet with their patients from time to time to discuss their medications.

Helping control diabetes

Pharmacists may also help different patients with managing their diabetes. This can take various forms such as health education, blood glucose testing, reviewing the patient’s medications for the disease, and offering nutritional counseling.

Conducting laboratory tests

Teaming up with other healthcare providers such as medical technologists and physicians, help pharmacies offer appropriate laboratory tests as well as pharmacogenomics testing for their patients.

Smoking cessation

Now, more pharmacies are offering smokers programs such as counseling and medication to help them quit smoking.

As the owner of Dearborn Pharmacy, Nabil Fakih is a staunch advocate of supporting local businesses. Before starting his own business, Nabil Fakih worked at a big-box drug store. However, he decided to give back to his hometown of Dearborn Heights. There are many reasons shopping at your local pharmacy like Dearborn Pharmacy is better than going to a big chain store for your medical needs.

1. Customer service is underrated as an attribute of a successful business. While large chain stores run training programs that help their employees serve their clients with a smile, nothing beats the personal, “down home” service that only a local pharmacy can provide. For many local pharmacies, some people, even whole families, have been their customers for a long time, and this familiarity with their customers allows them to provide better advice. Many of Nabil Fakih’s customers have been getting their medicine from Dearborn Pharmacy since childhood, and are now getting their children’s medication from him too!

2. While big box pharmacies are fond of bragging about their lower prices, the opposite is actually true. Except for some generic products that big pharmacies attach their labels to, local pharmacies like Dearborn Pharmacy offer lower prices for medicine and other items. In addition, Nabil Fakih says that if you ask your local pharmacy if you could pay for your medicine in cash instead of using your prescription card, you could also save a lot more money.

3. At Dearborn Pharmacy, you could actually see the pharmacist. This means your prescription will be filled with a high degree of accuracy and product knowledge. They are also more likely to spot any medications that could interact with others on your prescription and would be able to answer any questions you might have about the medication you’re about to take.