Recommendations for the practice of pharmacy travel medicine

Recommendations for the practice of travel medicine

This section details out recommendations for the knowledge base of any clinician practicing travel medicine. In the UK, the principal resource for travel health professionals is the “Yellow Book” Health Information for Overseas Travel, Prevention of illness in Travellers from the UK. National Travel Health Network and Centre, London UK 2010. If you have not got a copy yet we strongly advise that you get one. Key areas which you will be expceted to know know include:

• Standard of Practice – infastructure and record keeping requirements, health and safety.
• Geographical issues – understand the relationship between geography / demographics and disease.
• Risk Assessment – performs comprehensive risk assessment, recognises limitations.
• Advising Patients – on both vaccines and malaria prophylaxis.
• Consent – understand issues about informed consent.
• Principles of Immunisation – ADRs, cold chain, childhood schedules.
• Injuries and Accidents – identifies key risk areas and advises accordingly – traffic, drowning etc.
• Gastrointestinal Infections – understand transmission and how to reduce possible exposure.
• Vector Avoidance – prevention is always better than cure, malaria prophylaxis is not infallible.
• Solar Damage – understand SPF, , UVA, UVB, medicines that cause photosensitivities.
• Issues associated with flying and scuba diving – pregnant women, DVT.
• Susceptible Patients – diabetics, VFRs, asthmatics, medicine management, medical tourism.