interested in their health as they are. Employees feel a personal responsibility for the health of their customers, said owner, Ms Donna Pearman. "As pharmacists, our job is to make sure people take the right medicine for them at the right time,'' she said. And sometimes this means advising customers not to take anything at all. "For example when people come to us asking for diet products, we are not afraid to tell them they're not necessary. Instead we suggest exercising and eating right,'' she said. "A pharmacy should be a place where a person feels comfortable talking about their medical problems.'' The People's Pharmacy even makes a point of encouraging customers to ask questions about their medicine, even if it was bought elsewhere. Head pharmacist, Mrs. Antoinette Decouto spends as much of her time listening and advising, as she spends handing out prescriptions. "We try to make sure people get the product they need to help them,'' she said.

"Often people come in and ask for something they don't really need. So I try to assess the situation and advise them to see a doctor if necessary.'' Computerisation has meant the pharmacy can keep an accurate and up-to-date health profile of their customers and their medication. Sometimes pharmacists spot a customer's allergy to a prescribed medicine, which has been overlooked by his doctors, said Ms Pearman. She attributes this to Peoples' computerised dispensary system, the first of its kind on the Island.And if a customer loses his prescription, staff consult their computer records so doc tors do not have to call it in a second time. People's Pharmacy owners have also looked for ways to reduce the financial burden of medical costs on their customers. The pharmacy is one of the few on the Island affiliated with the Colonial Medical Prescription Plan. Customers insured with Colonial only pay 25 percent of the cost of their medicine -- the rest is billed to the insurance company. "We do whatever we can to ease the financial burden of prescription prices,'' said Ms Pearman adding that People's has been part of the scheme for over two years.

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