Your independent pharmacy does more than fill prescriptions. It is a bonafide healthcare destination that can provide exceptional patient care in several ways. 

Naturally, your independent pharmacy’s inventory consists of products other than pills in a bottle. Whether you’re looking behind or over the counter, your small business has all the pieces to help make patients happier and healthier. 

Then there are certain over-the-counter products that can provide great relief from certain ailments, even if they aren’t FDA approved. 

Perhaps no greater example of this is nutraceuticals. These kinds of products are likely hot ticket items in your independent pharmacy. You likely know they iffiness of recommending these products, so it’s your responsibility to educate your patients on how they truly work. 

Here’s what you need to know about nutraceuticals.

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What Are Nutraceuticals? 

Because nutraceuticals are not FDA-approved, it is difficult to find a definitive definition. For the sake of this blog, we’ll go with a study by the National Library of Medicine. 

The article acknowledges the various definitions and speculation surrounding nutraceuticals. Among these definitions include one from the European Nutraceutical Association: 

“Nutritional products which have effects that are relevant to health … which are not synthetic substances or chemical compounds formulated for specific indications … contain[ing] nutrients (partly in concentrated form).” 

Because nutraceuticals lack a definite definition, it’s difficult to give definite examples of these products. 

‍Drugs.com provides a list of nutraceutical products, acknowledging they are not tested or federally regulated. These products include:

• Fish Oil (also known as Lovaza) 
• CoQ10 
• L-Carnitine 
• SAMe 
• Pryflex 

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Should You Recommend Nutraceuticals? 

A patient approaches your independent pharmacy’s consultation window. They have a nutraceutical product in their hand, asking you if it can help with their current ailment. What do you do? 

It’s entirely up to you whether or not you’d want to recommend a nutraceutical product. If you own an independent pharmacy, you almost certainly have a say as to what sits on your pharmacy’s shelves. As such, you know the benefits — and risks — of recommending certain products. 

Whatever you do, it’s best to tell the patient that a bottle of fish oil is not FDA-approved. Therefore, you can’t attest to the product's effectiveness.

Again, it’s up to your discretion to recommend a certain nutraceutical product. If you’ve used the product in question and can speak to its effectiveness, then have at it. You’re running the pharmaceutical ship after all. 

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The Gift of Knowledge 

As you can see in the previous section, there is a large gray area when recommending nutraceutical products. 

Most cases will likely end with you taking a diplomatic stance, telling the patient to talk to their doctor or another healthcare professional. And there’s nothing wrong with that. 

However, the prevalence of nutraceuticals highlights the absolute necessity for quality health literacy. The gray area of nutraceuticals becomes a little clearer when your patients know just a little bit more about the product in question. 

Health or patient literacy has long been an important topic of pharmacy work. Patients are more likely to lead healthier lives if they at least know the basics about their medication. 

Health or patient literacy can easily be swept under the rug of everyday pharmacy work. It takes time to help patients understand what exactly they’re taking. However, that momentary inconvenience will have profound effects in the long run. 

Tell your patients about the potential risks of nutraceuticals. Highlight how these products are not FDA-approved, and how that isn’t automatically a bad thing. 

A smarter patient is naturally a healthier patient. And when it comes to subjects like nutraceuticals, health literacy is an absolute must. 

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Teamwork Makes the Dream Work 

It takes a village to effectively run an independent pharmacy. Your clerks, pharmacy techs, and fellow pharmacists create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Clerks and techs are at the literal forefront of patient care, often being the only staff members your patients interact with on a given pharmacy visit. 

They should have fairly extensive knowledge of your independent pharmacy’s products, namely nutraceuticals in this case. They can field patient questions, up until the patient asks for a recommendation. That’s when you come in. 

This method of communication makes your workflow even more efficient, letting you focus on the pharmacist-only aspects of the job until you absolutely, positively need to intervene. 

Now let’s look beyond your independent pharmacy. Reach out to fellow healthcare professionals — namely doctors — to get their perspective on certain nutriceuticals. 

They will likely say much of the same: you’ll probably have to approach recommending these products on a case-by-case basis. They can also give you a new perspective on these products. 

Doctors examine their patient’s general health, studying how certain medications interact with one another. They might notice certain red flags that would’ve gone unnoticed otherwise. 

Whether you’re working with your pharmacy staff or picking a doctor’s brain, collaboration and communication gives you a clearer way to approach nutraceuticals. 

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Conclusion 

Your independent pharmacy’s shelves are filled with all sorts of quality health products. Nutraceuticals have recently become a highly sought after product. Because they’re not FDA approved or regulated, they can advertise how their products are this wonderful cure-all for all your ailments. 

If it sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is. And it’s your job to educate your patients on how complex nutraceuticals can be. They can indeed help patients in certain respects, but it is always best to err on the side of caution. 

While it’s okay to make an informed recommendation on nutraceuticals, what ultimately matters is your patients are better educated on what they’re taking. 

While nutraceuticals can help them in certain respects, health literacy will lay the foundation to a greater and more prosperous health journey.

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