Understanding Our Patients’ Backgrounds in Practice

Mirna Elsheemy, Pharm.D. Candidate 2025

Pharmacists do more than just fill prescriptions—they build relationships with their patients, prescribers and the communities they serve. As future pharmacists, our goal should be to ensure that our patients receive the great quality of care that they deserve. This can include counseling patients on any new or changing prescriptions or informing patients of any potential side effects or warning signs, for example. To ensure high quality of care, we need to understand the patient's background. Getting to know our patients’ cultural backgrounds, religious beliefs, and financial situations can assist us in providing individualized care that respects patients’ needs. This kind of relationship builds trust and leads to better health outcomes. When pharmacists take the time to really connect, they can address concerns that patients may have felt embarrassed to disclose beforehand. Addressing those concerns and tailoring our patients’ care towards their backgrounds can make a difference in achieving positive patient outcomes. An example of providing this individualized care can be altering a medication order to adjust it to a patient’s dietary preferences. With that adjustment, a patient would more likely be adherent to their regimen. By being involved in our communities and knowing our patients personally, we can determine issues and preferences of concern and work to address them. This way, we can ensure that everyone gets the personalized and quality care they deserve.