Why Your Pharmacy Might Not Sell You Pseudoephedrine

Cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine are
back on the shelves, but pharmacies are adopting a careful
approach in who they sell them to.

The Pharmaceutical
Society of New Zealand (PSNZ) has issued
guidance to its members addressing the possibility of
inappropriate requests for the drug.

Pseudoephedrine
can be used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine – the
reason it was banned by the John Key-led National government
more than a decade ago, despite its usefulness as a
decongestant.

PSNZ president Michael Hammond said the
guidance for selling pseudoephedrine was similar to other
medicines “that have potential for abuse”.

“We’ve
advised our pharmacies if they’ve got concerns about
inappropriate requests that when they’re recording the
patient details during that transaction, they could ask for
proof of ID,” he told Morning Report on Friday.

“Also,
they could really take the approach of selling the smallest
quantity they can on each occasion, and if they’re not sure
about the individual in front of them, they could refuse to
supply the medicine if perhaps there’s any evidence of
excessive amounts of pseudoephedrine being
purchased.

“Or if they’re concerned about break-ins..
we would be recommending they stock the smallest amount
possible, or they could decide to not stock the
medication.”

No pharmacy was obliged to stock
pseudoephedrine, he said, something he wanted the public to
be aware of.

Nor were they required to sell it to
anyone who asked for it.

“Pharmacists take a very
individualised approach to care. So they will look at the
patient in front of them, the customer, and look at the
other medical conditions, the other medications they may be
taking, the symptoms they’re experiencing and determine, is
this the right medicine for them? Is it going to interfere
with any other medicines they may be taking? … There are
certain individuals that [pseudoephedrine] is not the right
treatment for.”

Alternatives could include
painkillers, anti-inflammatories or nasal sprays, he
said.

Pharmacists who did not stock the medication
could recommend other places to buy it.

“If they don’t
stock it, they are still the medicines expert and can advise
patients on what the best treatment for them may be – and if
that was a medicine containing pseudoephedrine, they could
direct them elsewhere,” Hammond said.

PSNZ previously
called for a “real-time monitoring system so that when
pharmacists supplied a drug like pseudoephedrine, they could
log into a system that would show them if the person had
already been supplied with it”, chief executive Helen
Morgan-Banda said in a statement.

“That hasn’t
happened, so our focus now is on looking at how we can offer
education resources that aid pharmacists to be able to have
appropriate conversations with patients about the right
medicine for their presenting condition.”

Bringing
back pseudoephedrine was an ACT Party promise ahead of last
year’s
election.

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