Ever wonder what a day in the life of a pharmacist at the new Clarendon Pharmacy is like? Clarendon Pharmacist Manager Sian Bowen takes us behind the scenes and gives The Royal Gazette a sneak peek into a day at the new Clarendon Pharmacy.

"Working in retail the pharmacists have to sometimes get involved with the day to activities in running a retail operation," explains Ms Bowen. "They have to make sure the cashiers have got their cash drawers and that their computers are working. They make sure the staff have got everything they need for the day. They are also in charge of the dispensary. We will fill prescriptions and give over the counter advice. We will take phone calls from doctors regarding prescriptions and we have people and doctors faxing prescriptions too. We also have doctor's offices calling us for advice on medications. Even phone calls between pharmacies are common and we will speak to other pharmacists around the Island.

"A lot of people are not aware you can actually transfer your prescription from one pharmacy to another. All of the Phoenix pharmacies use the same database so it doesn't matter if you went to Woodburne the first time for your prescription you can go to any other Phoenix Store to get it filled.

Ms Bowen does recommend people staying with one pharmacy when they can because the pharmacist will have a detailed profile of all their medication.

"It's nice when the pharmacist has a complete picture of your medication and they can see what you're on and if you are on a new medication. We can tell if there will be any drug interactions or if they are not compatible. Sometimes you get two different doctors prescribing people very similar drugs for the same thing and one doctor might not know they are already on it and that's when we step in to pick up on the overlaps."

Discussing the dispensary side of the pharmacy Ms Bowen said: "We get the majority of our medications from BGA which is also our sister company. Sometimes we do have to write for special orders if the doctor writes something that is a little unique, that we might not have on the island.

"Other times we will compound the medication. This is when the doctor writes a prescription for a particular cream and we have to mix things together to produce the product they want. This goes back to the old days when everything was made from scratch."

Although she adds: "We don't do that a whole lot anymore, but sometimes the dermatologists will prescribe their own unique medication that we then make up."

"I also meet with the pharmacist in charge over at BGA frequently, we discuss any issues and work closely together. Sometimes there are supply issues and BGA is excellent at sorting them out. If they can't get it from one place they can get it from another distributor. We never run out because BGA has a constant inventory so even after a major hurricane there is no danger of running out of medication on the Island."

Ms Bowen said at the Phoenix pharmacies there is always a male and female pharmacist so people can feel comfortable asking questions. She also said people can take advantage of calling in their order or, alternatively, they can place orders online to save the time of waiting in line.

"It makes it a lot easier for people picking up their prescriptions," explained Ms Bowen. "Calling or going to the www.phoenixstores.bm you can get your order in even if it is transferring from other pharmacies."

Ms Bowen has some examples of things people should not do with their medications and noted: "Some people might take their medications out of their original containers and mix them in with other medications. They will crush things that should not be crushed. They will lend things to friends and say, 'The doctor has given me this for that, perhaps you should try it.' That should never happen. It's prescription medication. It's been prescribed to you for that condition and you should not be giving it to your friend or family member. There could be something in it that is not suitable for you or something that might complicate their condition further. That sometimes happens. If people have old medications they aren't using they can bring them here and we can dispose of them properly by incinerating them. All of our pharmacies have that ability."