Services pharmacists give

I am writing in connection with the article Pharmacies ‘Risk Closing Down’ (January 5). I would like to state some facts to the laypersons out there:

• The pharmacy course isfive years long, years in which future pharmacists could have earned a salary instead of studying a wide range of subjects ranging from pharmacy-related topics to mathematics and statistics.

• Temperature monitoring of a pharmacy is not a new regulation but has been in place for a number of years and is not a costly process. It involves having an electric thermometer for both the pharmacy and refrigerator. One must remember that medicines, like food, are ingested. Would you leave a carton of milk outside in-stead of putting it in the refrigerator?

• Pharmacists are usually a reference point for most patients who present with an ailment to their local pharmacist and then it is up to the latter’s discretion whether to refer it or not to a doctor. Most ailments presented are minor and can be cured with over-the-counter medicine. However, pharmacists do not charge for advice when they dispense it together with the medicine, advice for which they had to spend five years at the University instead of enjoying their youth stress-free. All other professionals charge fees when consulted.