Flu vaccines, including 50 free ones, available at pharmacy month open house

The Idaho State University College of Pharmacy faculty, students and staff will provide flu vaccinations, free of charge, to the first 50 guests who register for flu shots during the College of Pharmacy Open House, slated for Friday, Oct. 26 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the College of Pharmacy building, 970 S. 5th Ave. These shots are a $30 value. Once the 50 free vaccines have been used, Sav-on Pharmacy will provide additional shots at a reduced rate of $25.

The event is being held in conjunction with American Pharmacist Month, sponsored by the ISU chapter of the American Pharmacist Association (APhA). The event will feature tours of the college, refreshments and information regarding immunizations, heartburn awareness programs, diabetes education and poison prevention.

The theme of American Pharmacists Month, “Know your medicine, Know your pharmacist,” encourages patients to get to know the resources a pharmacist may provide.

For example, pharmacists instruct that taking medication properly is one of the best ways to avoid future health care costs. Each year, thousands of people end up in the hospital, fail to get better and spend more money than necessary because they do not take their medication as prescribed, according to APhA.

Consumers with questions about medications should talk to their pharmacists, as they can be the best and most accessible medication experts. Guests are invited to bring their prescriptions and over-the-counter medications to the open house where student pharmacists, assisted by licensed pharmacy faculty members, will answer questions regarding prescriptions.

The APhA says every person should be able to answer several questions before taking any new medication such as the length of time a medication should be taken; if the medication contains anything that can cause an allergic reaction; if alcohol, foods, activities or any other medicines should be avoided while taking the medication and several other questions.

APhA also says consumers should expect a higher level of service from today’s pharmacists.  Consumers should look to pharmacists to provide medication-counseling services, including drug regimen reviews and drug interaction checks, coordination of patient care with physicians and other health care providers and monitoring of side effects.  Some pharmacists can also perform limited patient testing, such as cholesterol screening, glucose monitoring and blood pressure checks, for serious health-threatening problems.

For more information about the ISU College of Pharmacy open house, contact them at (208) 282-4597.