VPG chairman stresses veterinary pharmacy’s public health benefits
Public health could benefit from a greater involvement by pharmacists in the pet market, according to Andrew Cairns, chairman of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Veterinary
Pharmacists Group.
Speaking at the group’s annual conference in Telford on 24 July,
Mr Cairns said that pharmacists could bring an informed, capable and
ready-made selling network to the pet market. As well as advising on
animal welfare issues pharmacists can conveniently educate the public
on how to avoid the transmission of zoonotic diseases from animals to
humans.
Pharmacists are also in a position to encourage pet owners to worm their
pets regularly. According to the manufacturing industry, pets are wormed
much less frequently than they should be, said Mr Cairns, and this has
implications for public health.
What makes pharmacists’ involvement important is that they are
in contact with the pet-owning public much more frequently than veterinary
surgeons.
Of the 12,000 pharmacies on the UK’s high streets Mr Cairns estimated
that about 1,500 already sell pet medicines. This leaves plenty of scope
for increasing pharmacy’s involvement. Pharmacists have already
demonstrated a willingness to train and learn the skills demanded by
the new pharmacy contracts, Mr Cairns pointed out. It is just a short
step to gain the extra skills needed for competence in pet medicines.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal