Life as a homoeopathic pharmacist: day to day activities and predictions
for the future
John Morgan: the art of dispensing and manufacturing is alive
and well in homoeopathic pharmacy |
I have been working as a homoeopathic pharmacist for more than 25
years and manage a dispensing pharmacy, Helios Homoeopathy, in Tunbridge
Wells. The growth of homoeopathy has been extraordinary over the
past 20 years. I have found that people choose this and other complementary
systems, because of their beliefs or when conventional medication
does not work or produces unacceptable side effects.
Compared with a conventional pharmacy my pharmacy contains relatively
little stock. The shelves hold nutritional supplements, flower essences,
our own manufactured homoeopathic kits and remedies, selected natural
toiletries and books. By far, the main day-to-day activities are
giving advice and dispensing private prescriptions. Every member
of staff who counter-prescribes — a large part of homoeopathic
pharmacy practice — is either a pharmacist or has completed
a homoeopathic training course to
give them the expertise to prescribe accurately. Choosing an appropriate
remedy requires taking the time to engage with the patient, as well
as a knowledge of the remedies, and
this personal attention and service
is well rewarded with customer loyalty and recommendations by word
of mouth.
A basic knowledge of 20 or so remedies will allow most pharmacists
to treat many common minor ailments homoeopathically. However, with
more in-depth study and an increased knowledge of materia medica,
even more accuracy with prescribing can be achieved.
Homoeopathic pharmacy still maintains the art of pharmacy, with daily
tasks, such as the extemporaneous preparation of mother tinctures,
cream and ointment-mixing and the production of various solid dosage
forms such as tablets, pills, powders and granules. And for the initial
dilution of insoluble mineral remedies, mortars and pestles are still
in regular use.
Helios Homoeopathy is also a licensed manufacturer. When licensing
remedies homoeopathic pharmacopoeias are used as guides for the testing
of raw materials. Procedures include standard analytical methods,
such as including thin layer chromatography and assays, and it is
both satisfying and enjoyable still to be using skills I first learnt
years ago at pharmacy school.
The European Directive on Homoeopathic Medicines (92/72/EC) brought
into force in 1994, continues to make remedies commercially available
by a licensing route which ensures quality and safety. No indication
has been allowed unless supported by a conventional trial or an existing
historic product licence of right. New national rules will come into
force later this year and will allow some self-limiting indications
to be associated with a product as long as sufficient traditional
bibliographic evidence is present to support the claim.
I predict that the legislation change will result in many new products
coming onto the market to make the choice of a homoeopathic remedy
much easier for both pharmacists and customers. It will also move
the retail trend, in the UK, from traditional single homoeopathic
remedies to a more European model of combination products for specific
therapeutic indications.
— John Morgan |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal