Wyoming patients may not be receiving sufficient information about their prescription drugs from their pharmacists, the executive director of Wyoming Board of Pharmacy said Wednesday in Casper.

At a gathering of pharmacy professionals, Jim Carder said pharmacists are by state law supposed to review a prescription every time a patient comes into the pharmacy.

There are seven areas in which a pharmacist should be looking for conflicts, including overuse of drugs, drug interaction warnings and abuse of medications. These checks are in addition to making sure the patient has the correct medication, dosage and directions.

The problem, Carder and others suggested, is that not all who are charged with dispensing medication may be following protocol or communicating effectively with patients or other health care providers.

"The law is pretty blunt," Carder said. "As a staff, we feel this is not being done enough in the state."

The board wants to hold a statewide conference in September to discuss these issues in a forum with insurance companies, dentists and members of the Wyoming Healthcare Commission.

On Wednesday, board members discussed some of their own reasons patients may not always be informed about what they are taking.

Perri Schneider, pharmacy supervisor for Walgreen Drug Stores in Wyoming, said patient expectations play a large role in the solution to this problem.

"Patients expect convenience and speed, and this is a dangerous combination," Schneider said.

Dr. Rick Davis, a retired cardiologist from Cheyenne and a board member, said many people, including some physicians, do not realize pharmacists are more than just people who dispense medications. They are valuable sources of health information, he said.

They are health care professionals trained in collecting information, counseling patients and caring for patients, Davis said.

"Everyone thinks the pharmacy is a drug store, a retail store," Davis said. "But it is a practice. This is a barrier that needs to be addressed."

Another barrier to making sure patients receive information is the shortage of pharmacists in the state, several meeting participants said.

Davis said recent medical journal articles have recommended pharmacists spend an hour with patients on new drugs and periodically review their treatments in person for 15 to 20 minutes each time.

Ben Vavra's eyes widened at this statement.

"Geez, we're going to need more pharmacy techs," said Vavra, who will graduate from the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy in May.

Vavra worked at a pharmacy in Cheyenne that filled 500 prescriptions a day, and he could only spend about 10 seconds with each patient.

Carder said same pharmacists in the state are "trying their hardest" to follow every law set up and talk with patients, but when one pharmacist is trying to fill 30 prescriptions an hour, it becomes impossible.

Carder hopes to address the feasibility of funding for better software to review prescriptions, ways for pharmacists to improve rapport with patients and the insurance companies' involvement in this issue at a future meeting.

Cost is also a huge concern, said John Vandel, dean of the UW School of Pharmacy.

"There is a lot of cost involved with this," Vandel said. "Usually this gets filtered down to the patient."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@casperstartribune.net.