Drive-Thru Health Care Extends to Pharmacies

One month ago an email to my inbox from Pharmacist e-link highlighting how pharmacists can implement a "successful pharmacy immunization program". I don't remember why I signed up for access to this website, since I am not a pharmacist. I know that I had a reason for signing up, and it was a good reason, but I never perused whatever that reason was and I never took myself off their mailing list.

Something about a pharmacist administering vaccines didn't sit right with me, even if it was just a flu vaccine. I proceeded to check out the online course provided by Novartis, makers of the Fluad vaccine. Some people may be comfortable receiving a vaccine from a pharmacist, but I am not. Maybe I am over cautious because one of my children went into anaphylaxis after receiving a vaccine. Pharmacists may be trained to administer a vaccine but are they trained to deal with unexpected complications that can result? Pharmacists are not doctors and there are still states that paramedics can not administer epinephrine if someone is going into anaphylactic shock without calling the hospital to gain permission. I am sure that tighter regulations are in place for pharmacists.

Skip forward to today to an article that was run in USA Today about a five year old boy who was given the wrong drug for two months. Instead of the blood pressure medication that was prescribed he received a steroid used in male hormone replacement therapy that caused early onset puberty. In the word of pharmaceuticals, a mistake could cost someone their life.