Patients need greater awareness of how to take their medicines correctly with regard to their safety and efficacy. This was the message that consultant pharmacist Jennifer Bell put across in a fascinating lecture as part of Beit Fisher's Midweek programme.

Jennifer discussed how medicines work, and why the same medicine can affect different people in different ways. She advised that over-the-counter medicines and some foods can interact with prescribed medicines. One well-known interaction is between grapefruit juice and the statin group of drugs, such as simvastatin (Simovil) and atorvastatin (Lipitor), which are prescribed to lower cholesterol. There are also lesser known interactions between foods and medicines which can affect the absorption and efficiency of some drugs, causing unwanted side-effects. Jennifer stressed the importance of getting advice from a consultant pharmacist or other suitably qualified professional in order get the greatest benefit from medications and prevent unnecessary side effects and expense.

The lecture was well attended and following Jennifer’s address she answered many questions from the audience.

Jennifer is a pharmacist and holds a M.Sc. in Pharmacology from the School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. She runs the pharmaceutical services of a geriatric hospital in Tel Aviv and also works as a consultant pharmacist giving private advice to individuals regarding their medications in their homes or at her office.
Jennifer can be contacted by e-mail or phone 052-434 1284.