Pharmacists have more drug, pharmacology training than MDs, but?

Question

but do you trust pharmacists more than MDs when it comes to which drug is best, dosage, side effects, kinetics, and why?

Answer 1

Doctors do call pharmacists when they have questions about drugs. They are particularly weak in kinetics. While I had an entire course about it, they have one lecture.
Some doctors don't like to contact pharmacists because of turf issues. However, most realize that both pharmacists and doctors have to same end goal and that is to treat the patient.

Answer 2

Yes, definitely. Gone are the days where drugs were simple enough that everything a physician needed to know could be slipped into one class in an MD or DO curriculum. We are evolving toward a future in which the physician will outline the patient's needs, and the pharmacist will then devise the physiological and chemical aspects of the patient's treatment to best suit his or her needs. Drugs are getting way too complicated to be cocktailed by anyone except a specialist. They are NOT just pill pushers at Walgreens anymore.

Answer 3

Yes, I do. Medical doctors are not specialists in drugs, but rather are specialists in disorders, and in diagnosing. Pharmacists are trained to know the dosage, side effects, etc. of various drugs, whereas physicians are not. They generally just look it up in the PDR (Physicians Desk Reference). Your pharmacist should also be able to tell you what drugs you are taking may interact with other drugs that are being prescribed.

Answer 4

Especially when it comes to antibiotics, clinical pharmacology specialists are worth their weight in gold, as they will also be familiar with drug sensitivities of organisms. Problem is if the doctor's not working in a big hospital, they usually don't do this; wasting a huge resource.

I've got a pharmacology/pharmaceutics friend on speed-dial, and I'm not afraid to use him ;-)