Know your rights: You can insist on a private space when visiting a pharmacy

702’s Relebogile Mabotja speaks with consumer journalist Wendy Knowler.

Listen below:

Your health and the medication you need can be a very personal and private matter.

While some people may not care who knows what they take, others may want to keep this as private as possible.

For this reason, it is mandatory for pharmacies to create semi-private spaces, which is why there are little screens at dispensary counters.

However, these screens may not give you the privacy you want, as your prescription may still be read out loud.

If you want complete privacy instead, all registered pharmacies are required to have a fully private room, and customers can request that all their interactions are done there.

All you need to do is ask if you can be seen in a private area.

“Some pharmacies have 2-3, but they must have at least one where you can leave that counter and go into a private room where no one can hear what you say to the pharmacist, and nobody can hear what the pharmacist says to you.”

- Wendy Knowler, Consumer Journalist 

Knowler says this can be helpful in situations where someone may be too afraid to ask for what they need, for example a morning after pill, because they don’t want others to find out.

Pharmacist can also prescribe certain schedule 3 and 4 medicines – including birth controls – which a person may want to get privately.

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Private spaces can also help if you want to discuss the other medication you are on with the pharmacist, as some medications cannot be taken together.

“You might want to have a little private chat and not discuss your entire drug regimen in front of everyone else.”

- Wendy Knowler, Consumer Journalist  

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