HuffPost: Things you didn't know pharmacists could help with
Pharmacists are there for patients to fill prescriptions and answer questions about medications, but they also can help patients in a number of additional ways.
Michael Hegener, PharmD. Photo/University of Cincinnati.
Michael Hegener, PharmD, director of the Wuest Family Pharmacy Practice Skills Center and associate professor of pharmacy in the University of Cincinnati's James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, told HuffPost that beyond discussing possible side effects, pharmacists can help optimize medication schedules and plans for patients.
“[Pharmacists] are aware of the detailed differences among medications and have a working knowledge of disease processes, which enables them to recommend ideal therapies based on patient-specific factors,” he said.
Hegener said that depending on which state you live in, your pharmacist may also be able to dispense certain medications without a doctor's visit.
Pharmacists nationwide can provide naloxone, the lifesaving medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, without a prescription.
“Currently, every state permits pharmacists to do this via various mechanisms,” Hegener said. “In most, all a patient or caregiver needs to do is ask a pharmacist for it.”
Featured photo at top of exterior of Kowalewski Hall. Photo/University of Cincinnati.
Related Stories
UC biologist talks about 'pearmageddon'
March 16, 2026
WLWT talks to UC biologist and Department Head Theresa Culley about invasive, nonnative Callery pear trees that are spreading across Ohio forests after they were introduced by landscapers more than 50 years ago.
Local media highlight completion of Blood Cancer Healing Center fourth and fifth floors
March 16, 2026
Local media including WLWT and the Cincinnati Business Courier highlighted the opening of research laboratories and the UC Osher Wellness Suite and Learning Kitchen at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center’s Blood Cancer Healing Center.
Trial results support weekly buprenorphine treatment of opioid use disorder during pregnancy
March 16, 2026
Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers led by the University of Cincinnati's John Winhusen published clinical trial results in JAMA Internal Medicine that found administering weekly injectable extended-release buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder during pregnancy led to higher rates of abstinence from illicit opioids than buprenorphine given daily under the tongue, one of the standard methods of treatment.