Adios Costa Rica

While I enjoyed the fun times over the past 2 weeks, I also learned quite a bit about pharmacy in Costa Rica. I spent 2 days talking with a local pharmacist at Farmacia Namaste. Elizabeth filled me in on some interesting details. The pharmacist is the first stop for most people (vs. going to the doctor). There are not many items that you need prescriptions for. You need an Rx for antibiotics. You also need one the FIRST time you fill an anti-hypertensive, cholesterol agent, etc. My pharmacy didn't really have much for pain pills besides NSAIDS. And Elizabeth was shocked when I told her about the pain Rx abuse in the US. Also, the patients in CR treat the RPh very respectfully. They wait patiently and highly regard the pharmacist's time and advice. Schooling is different as well. After high school, you go right into the RPh path and it takes 5 years. All of pharmacy school costs about $18,000. Whew! It also seems that they spend more time on clinical rotations - maybe 1.5 years or so. A typical community pharmacist makes about $2500 per month. This is pretty good considering that some of the folks we gave education to in La Carpio make about $200 per month (not pharmacists). I am sure the students will have more to share about their experiences. I hope that pharmacy in the US will change in respect to some of the aspects listed above.