Working at large retail pharmacies like Rite Aid and Walgreens never gave pharmacist Karmen Darbinyan the opportunity to connect with her patients.
Now, with her new pharmacy at 10970 Sherman Way in Burbank, Darbinyan said she is able to provide more one-on-one customer service.
“I’m able to get the whole picture, versus when they just go to the doctor,” Darbinyan said.
“They just get their physical and their drugs, and now, here you go, just take it.”
In counseling her patients, Darbinyan talks about their diet, medications and lifestyle changes. For patients, Darbinyan said, this enhances compliance.
“But if I tell you this is important, this is an antibiotic, you have to finish it or it’ll increase resistance in your body, and I give you this lecture, in about seven to 10 days, you’re like, I have to finish this because I remember,” Darbinyan said.
She also tries to explain to her customers what each medication does and its side effects without using medical jargon.
“They come in with their concerns, and I ask as [many] questions as I can,” said Darbinyan, who works with doctors when necessary to provide the best health care possible, acting as a liaison who is part of a triangle made up of patient, doctor and pharmacist.
“I’ve kind of been taught to probe, rather than just answering yes or no questions.”
For Darbinyan, honesty is her No. 1 priority.
And while she said people may have heard that before, she feels that the health-care field has turned into a business, and “not necessarily a profession.”
Darbinyan went to pharmacy school in Las Vegas, and is licensed to practice in Nevada and California. Having her own pharmacy has been a dream since her earliest days in pharmacy school. Her career choice stems from a fascination she had since she was a kid with how medications work in the body.
Her first career choice was to become a pediatrician, she said. But life steered her in the direction of pharmaceuticals. The economy has not fazed Darbinyan in opening a new business, but she said she does keep it in mind.
“I feel like I can use my knowledge of what I’ve learned in pharmacy school,” Darbinyan said.
“I can use it on a day-to-day basis, versus at the larger chains, it was more like ‘Just get it out.’ It was more quantity, not necessarily quality.”
