Pharmacy in Dominica

Today (Tuesday October 26th) we went to visit the La Plaine health clinic again. This time we rotated roles in the clinic where some of us would sit alongside the doctor/nurses and the rest of us would go into the pharmacy. Today I was in the pharmacy and was able to see how the pharmacist dispenses prescriptions, keeps track of the medications, how he orders supplies, etc. The dispensing of prescriptions is a lot different than how it is done in the US. Everything is done manually and there are no computers to look anything up. One thing that really stood out in my mind as being way different than the US is that the prescriptions from the doctor are written in the patient's note book. The patient must bring this notebook with them everytime they visit the health clinic as it contains all of their medical information. The patient then brings the notebook to the pharmacist who dispenses the prescribed medications. There are lots of times when the pharmacist does not have a particular medication as the supplies are very limited. If they are available, the pharmacist will count out a week or two worth of medication and pour it into a plastic bag where the directions, the patients name, and the name of the drug are written on the bag. The pharmacist would then document this in a very large book where he would write the patients name, the medication dispensed, and the quantity. It is also hard to believe how limited they are on medications and how a lot of the time the patients can't even get the medications they are prescribed unless they go elsewhere for them and pay out of pocket. The government pays for everyones prescriptions if it is something that is supplied by the health clinics.
-Sara-