NEWSWORTHY

Vital travel health services provided locally

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LANGLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, March 15, 2018

For Canadians planning to travel locally or internationally, there are many reasons to visit their community pharmacist before going away. Whether travellers are planning to visit a tropical paradise or embarking on an epic family journey to a theme park or a “bucket list” eco-adventure, your pharmacist can meet your essential travel health and safety needs.

“To fully enjoy a vacation and come home feeling recharged, it’s important to plan ahead to protect yourself from illness and injury says, Allison Nourse, Pharmasave’s Director, Pharmacy Innovation. Nourse continues, “Depending on which part of the world you are travelling to and how you plan to get there, your community pharmacist can recommend and administer vaccines and ensure you have the necessary prescriptions and over-the-counter medications based on your travel itinerary and health history. Based on your destination, they can provide details on potential health and safety risks (such as food and water safety as well as insect precautions). Ideally, travellers should see their pharmacist six weeks before they plan to leave.”

Up to 64% of travellers to developing countries report a health problem during their trip. Most of these are illnesses that may resolve on their own or which should have no long-term harmful effect on a traveller’s health such as diarrhea, respiratory infections, and skin disorders. However, approximately 8 percent of these travellers are sick enough to seek medical care from a healthcare provider either while travelling or shortly after returning home.

Pharmacists can help you prevent common travel-related illnesses and meet your travel needs with key services and products including:

• travel health/risk assessment
• immunization recommendations for vaccine-preventable illnesses
• information and travel products you may need to be prepared for any health issue that may come up while travelling
• recommendations for prevention and/or self-treatment of various health issues you may encounter on your travels, such as diarrhea, sunburn, sunstroke, insect bites, altitude and motion sickness, and jet lag
• information about any safety precautions you should be aware at your travel destinations, such as food and water cautions
• first aid or travel kits tailored to your specific travel needs
• comprehensive medication reviews for patients taking multiple medications; helping to effectively use medications while you travel
• medication management services such as MedAlign@Pharmasave, to help reduce the chances of running out of medications or forgetting refills before you travel

Visit your local Pharmasave today and get the support you need for your travel or everyday health needs.

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About Pharmasave:
With more than 650 stores across the country, Pharmasave is one of Canada’s leading independent community pharmacies. Since being founded in 1981, Pharmasave has focused on building a national platform of community-based retail outlets designed to provide exceptional patient-centred healthcare, medication advice, drug store products and customer service. MedAlign@Pharmasave is a collection of services that help patients manage their medications more effectively, increases patient adherence and improves health outcomes. Through MedAlign@Pharmasave, pharmacists provide medication reviews and medication synchronization, assisting patients by aligning their refills to come due on the same day. Pharmasave continues to differentiate itself through leading-edge digital solutions. Patients can access everyday tools to manage their health in ways that are simple to set up and easy to maintain with eCare@Pharmasave. This suite of interactive solutions enables patients to engage digitally with their pharmacy and empowers them with mobile refills, medication reminders and so much more. Each Pharmasave store operates independently to serve its individual community, tailoring both programs and services to the unique needs of customers and reinforcing the commitment to help all customers live well with Pharmasave.

For more information, contact:
Media Relations
Pharmasave Drugs (National) Ltd.
604-455-2455
info@bc.pharmasave.ca

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2018/post-travel-evaluation/general-approach-to-the-returned-traveler
Accessed online February 13, 2018