Pharmacy Daily | Probiotics “no coke ‘n’ fries”

COMPANION selling probiotics with prescription medicines is "no coke 'n' fries" add-on, but a strong evidence-based health intervention that pharmacists can provide to support their patients, according to former Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President, Kos Sclavos.

Speaking at an industry media lunch hosted by Metagenics, Sclavos said pharmacy owners needed to ensure their staff were equipped to "speak with confidence" about the use of specific probiotic strains with different prescription medications.

Sclavos described the $172 million probiotic sector as a "clean category" for pharmacy, offering rapid growth, and opportunities for the profession to boost health outcomes, while also showing strong dollar-share and growth.

However, he said pharmacists needed to understand the value and potential of probiotics, both in terms of patient benefit and financially for their businesses, to get the most out of the category.

"I run the two biggest congresses in pharmacy and we spend a lot of money getting speakers who are going to talk about strains of microbiome and strains of probiotics, and what's the right product to use, but there's still a massive education piece [to be done]," he said.

Sclavos noted the frequent use of probiotics in southern European countries, where "the pharmacist naturally gets a probiotic and puts it on the counter", when patients come in for a prescription antibiotic.

"They think gut flora is important and they've understood it for centuries," he said.

"The evidence is so strong for probiotics."

Sclavos also urged pharmacists to consider dual-locating probiotic stocks, so they can have them close-by when dispensing prescriptions and can easily recommend a suitable product without having to leave the dispensary.