Preconception Pharmaceutical Care and Rare Diseases

Marc Dooms

doi:10.36648/2380-7245.5.1.194

Abstract

Preconception Pharmaceutical Care & Rare Diseases

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how both individual family physicians and pharmacists, as well as larger primary care organisations can contribute to the implementation of preconception care delivery i.e. to establish the service, to reach the target population and to add sustainably and effectively to the primary goals of preconception care i.e. to modify the risks to the health of future children and more specifically with respect to rare diseases. This paper comprises a short introduction into the contents of preconception care and a structured debate in which implementation options are will be explored such as; seizing opportunities in daily practice, integration in contraception counselling and/or sexual and reproductive health programmes; selection of and outreach to, high risk subgroups defined for example by genetic predisposition, social economic deprivation, chronic diseases etc. The readers are expected to understand options to improve preconception pharmaceutical care applicable in their own healthcare system.

Community pharmacists are in a privileged position to implement pharmaceutical care to prevent rare diseases wherever possible by dispensing safe medicines and advising healthy life-style and genetic counselling before conception as well as occasionally referring to the possibility of assisted reproductive technology.