Life Pharmacy La Hood's

Warfarin is used by some people as a blood thinning medicine e.g. after a stroke. It is important that blood results are regularly checked. This service involves having a quick test (finger prick) in the pharmacy to work out the correct dose. This saves you a trip to your local laboratory and waiting for your blood test to be processed.

It is very important that you receive regular blood tests while you are taking clozapine and these will be organised through your prescribing healthcare professional. We will check your blood tests to make sure the appropriate dose of clozapine is dispensed for you.

View the Ministry of Health website for information about COVID-19 antiviral medicine and who is eligible. Paxlovid is the only provided antiviral in New Zealand.

To receive the medication please call and talk to the pharmacist first, either immediately after you test positive or develop symptoms, to see if the medicines are right for you.

View the Ministry of Health website for information about COVID-19 antiviral medicine and who is eligible. Paxlovid is the only provided antiviral in New Zealand.

You will need a prescription from your doctor or nurse to receive the medication.

Your pharmacists are trained to assess whether the ECP is appropriate for you. This is done in a confidential manner. The ECP works best if taken as soon as possible after unprotected intercourse but may be taken up to 72 hours after. There is usually a charge associated with receiving the ECP, although at some pharmacies the ECP may be provided fully funded for eligible people.

From July 1st 2024 funded medicine prescriptions will have a $5 charge (non-funded medicine prescriptions will have additional charges).

Prescriptions for fully funded medicines are free for people:

• aged 13 years or under
• aged 65 years and older
• of any age that have a community services card (CSC) and their dependent children (14-17 years old).
• that hold a Prescription Subsidy Card (PSC).

Immunisation is the safest and most effective way to provide protection for you and your tamariki’s health. For more information view the NZ immunisation schedule.

This pharmacy has been registered to dispense Maviret (glecaprevir and pibrentasvir) for the treatment of Hep C and to provide you with counselling to support your treatment. You will not have to pay any pharmacy charges for your Maviret.

This pharmacy has specially trained pharmacists who are able to prescribe sildenafil (also called Viagra®, Vedafil® and Silvasta®) for erectile dysfunction in men aged 35 – 70 years who meet specific assessment criteria.

This service is designed for people with long-term illnesses who may need support with their medicines. An assessment is used to identify the things that affect their ability to take medication as prescribed. Pharmacists work together with the patient to address each issue. The pharmacist is able to assist you with managing your medications and can coordinate your medications so that your prescription repeats happen all at the same time and therefore require only one trip to have your prescriptions refilled. They can also provide you with a reminder service (via text message, email or phone call) to let you know when your next supply of medications is ready for collection. If you are having difficulties managing your medicines (e.g. forgetting to take them), please ask your pharmacist whether this service is right for you.

If you require reports on your medicines or the cost of your medicines please ask a member of the pharmacy team.

Unwanted medicines are often dumped into the toilet, tipped down the sink or put out with the garbage, which starts a journey that can seriously harm the environment. Please return any expired or unwanted medicines, or needles/lancets and syringes to your pharmacy. In doing so, we can make our home a safer place, help safeguard our community and protect our environment. There is no charge for this service.

This pharmacy can repack your medicines into compliance packaging (blister packs or sachet rolls) that specifies when you should take them. These can be supplied as weekly or monthly packs depending on your needs. This type of packaging can help you to take your medicine at the right time. It can also make it easier to see if you have missed a dose or are running out. It is useful if you are travelling as it avoids having to take multiple containers.

Medicines Use Review Service enables community pharmacists to work with people who are on complex medicine regimens or have difficulty managing their medications. Our pharmacists are MUR accredited and can ensure that you have access to the medicines you need, and that you have the tools, information and understanding to enable you to take your medicines as prescribed by your doctor. MUR is intended to improve community health and reduce hospital admissions. The pharmacist will send a report to your doctor about what you discussed and perhaps make suggestions that will help you manage your medicines better.

This pharmacy is part of the needle exchange service and is happy to assist with the disposal of unwanted sharps in a safe, hygienic manner and provide clean needles for personal use.

Our specially trained pharmacists can supply selected oral contraceptives without a prescription under certain circumstances.

Up to six months’ supply of selected oral contraceptives can be sold to women who have previously been prescribed the same oral contraceptive within the last three years and who have not developed any risk factors.

There is a charge for both the medicine and the consultation when you receive this service.

Pharmacy staff are trained to provide a service to help people to stop smoking. This service includes advice and providing quit smoking support aids e.g. nicotine gum.

This pharmacy works alongside the DHB Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) programme. Pharmacy staff can administer methadone or Suboxone on a daily, or a takeaway basis, depending on what has been agreed.

This pharmacy has trained pharmacists who can supply the antibiotics nitrofurantoin or trimethoprim for urinary tract infections. These are available without a prescription to women between 16 and 65 years of age, who are not pregnant and do not have any other complicating factors. The pharmacist will complete a consultation to make sure the medicine is appropriate and refer you to the GP if required.