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28 COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE FROM PAGE 27 Tapping into the potential When thinking about complementary medicines, be they vitamins, minerals, supplements, aromatherapy or herbal medicines, what comes first to mind as the best place to buy these products? For many, this may be natural health food shops. However, the complementary medicine space represents untapped potential in many community pharmacies. According to Mr Quigley, the reason many pharmacists may not engage with the complementary space, other than perhaps using it as a place to make an extra dollar, is the fear of not knowing. “I think the biggest problem is that everybody expects ... every person believes that they need to know everything about everything, and it’s not possible,” he said. “My suggestion is always that you look at a reliable source. Every pharmacy is required to keep a Braun and Cohen \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[authors Lesley Braun and Marc Cohen\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\], which is called Herbs and Natural Supplements: An Evidence Based Guide. “If they had that handy and they were willing to ... look at a section at a time, their confidence in using these things \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[would increase\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\].” Mr Quigley says he encourages pharmacy students and pharmacy staff to “develop a prescribing personality”. “Select something and learn about it,” he said, adding that this will open up the opportunities to help and “make a difference to a person’s life”. “It’s not about \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[just\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] making the sale,” Mr Quigley added. “It’s about fixing the potential problem and guiding the person into a regime of treatment that they might be mixing in with their medications as well. “The opportunities are endless ... but sadly it’s \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[often\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] looked at \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[as\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] making a sale. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[But\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] there’s got to be a reason for it \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[the complementary medicine\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] and the reason has to make sense to both the person recommending it and the person who is accepting it.” “Seventy per cent of Australians use some sort of complementary medicine \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[but\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] most people don’t spread that news. They’re frightened they’re going to get told off by their doctor.” RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • AUG 2020