School of Pharmacy Dean Ronald W. Maddox has announced that a recently completed instructional DVD will be mailed free of charge from Campbell University to each school of pharmacy in the United States to motivate, instruct and sensitize pharmacists and pharmacy students to overcome the communication difficulties associated with serving the growing Latin American patient population in our nation.”Medication non-compliance, the failure to take drugs on time in the dosage prescribed, is as dangerous and costly as many diseases. About 50% of the 2 billion prescriptions filled each year are not taken correctly,” said Maddox. “To enhance patient compliance, it is imperative that proper, understandable instructions be provided by the pharmacist. The intent of the Spanish Language DVD prepared by Dr. Thomas Holmes is to provide a training vehicle to better accomplish this goal in the Hispanic community.”This DVD includes three segments: Part I – Improve Your Practice with Spanish, a seven-minute motivational video; Part II – Being a Pharmacist for the Latino Community, a sixty-minute exposé of cultural influences which can affect the provision of healthcare services to the multi-cultural Latin American community offered by Rafael Torres, M.D., an experienced practitioner of rural family medicine; and Part III – Medication Administration in Spanish, a twenty-two minute instructional video on common phrases and practices which would be invaluable in communicating dosage and product use instructions to patients using Spanish.”In order to deliver safe and effective medication therapy to all patients, clear and precise communication by the pharmacist in both oral and written communication is absolutely necessary,” said Dr. Tom Holmes, associate dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Pharmacy. “Pharmacists have an obligation to remove as many barriers as possible from the communication process. This DVD provides a solid basis for reducing communication barriers between the pharmacist and the Latin American patient. We want to encourage all pharmacists to improve their Spanish communication skills through self-study. This DVD is one tool that they can use in this regard.”An accompanying written booklet, included for Part III, was developed in its entirety by Angela Cassano, Pharm.D. through a grant from the NC Schweitzer Fellowship Program. More information on this video project can be obtained from Executive Producer, Dr. Tom Holmes, associate dean for Academic Affairs, Campbell University School of Pharmacy, P.O. Box 1090, Buies Creek, NC 27506 or [email protected]/* */.
“Spanish Language in Pharmacy Practice” DVD Released