Introduction to Eczane Erdem

The top here is Erdem's Pharamcy. This is where I am every day. I like the perimeter lighting.

In the bottom picture that's Erdem on the right. He's a fun guy and pretty much always looks confident like this. The guy on the left is one of the University students, intern, if you will. He's with us now after taking a little time off for family reasons or something.



Between now and after work I want to attempt to get us current.

I will now tell of my introduction to Eczane Erdem, where I am working up until now.

Eczane Erdem is like saying "Joe's Pharmacy". Erdem is the owner. He is 32 and has been here for 4 years. First off, in Turkey everyone owns their own pharmacy; you have to. Erdem tells me recently there was a movement to change this but failed, so this policy continues.

With that, of course, there are no chains. In fact when I was at Rebul the day before I was talking with a pharmacist there and it took me a minute and some creative descriptions to explain the concept of a chain and how a person or corporation can own multiple pharmacies.

What we call clinical/hospital pharmacist are for all purposes non-existent.

The only other real option they have is working in industry - things like sales and product development. And from the discussions I have had it's kind of like, well, boring is the simplest way to put it.

Erdem is very-well spoken. His English is quite good and eager to share information with me.

To clarify some more on prescription vs. non-prescription...

Most items you can get without prescription - everything from cialis to citalopram to PPI's, neuro/psych med's, diltiazem, and all the topical steriods. The reasons for this I mentioned some in the previous post. It's more cost effective for patients to go to the pharmacist than to the doctor. They're been doing this ever since they know. It is simply the culture and thing to do. The patients, he tells me, view the pharmacy as a place to go for treatments.

I ask about more about requiring prescriptions.

Something I find very interesting if not ironic, Erdem tells me to the effect, the public doesn't trust, or vest enough authority in them as it were, to be requiring prescriptions. Therefore the socio-political forces are not enough to make any laws to require prescriptions.

He agrees there are med's that should require prescriptions but in everyday practice this is simply overlooked.

There are no pharmacy "technicians" per se. Certainly not as careers. This is another thing that Erdem says they would like to change but it still will take time, policy, and incentives to make a reality.

Basically what we would think of a technician is like an apprenticeship. They serve their time throughout school, just like in U.S. So help is like an intern/technician I guess you can say. I do not believe they are paid. I will have to ask him about that.

The help are 2 guys plus also a younger girl who does a lot of the register stuff. I'm not even sure if she's in school. 1 of the guys took some time off and is coming back now to catch up with his studies. He speaks good enough broken English.

Tea is a very common thing around here, I quickly learn. They take a lot of pride in their tea. Over the course of my day here we have at least 4 glasses, probably 5. Interestingly a lot of the small businesses in the area, including Erdem, have a "housekeeper" of sorts, close by to take care of various maintenance stuff, repairs, waste removal, restrooms, and they even serve tea. This type of 'service' if you will comes with what Erdem pays to rent his business.

Another thing about the tea, he told me, again because it is so woven into the culture, elderly women would be drinking it in the morning after taking their iron med's. There ended up a lot of cases of worsening anemia. Take the tea away (or space it out) and it stopped.

Have to go. Hoping to have us up-to-date soon!