For community pharmacist and Guild member Brad Butt, men’s health issues have been a career-defining focus. Brad shares how offering practical men’s health advice, point-of-care testing and sourcing specialist devices has made a real difference to his patients. This Men’s Health Week, it’s time to re-think the ‘she’ll be right’ mentality.
As a community pharmacist and founding member of Men’s Health Downunder, Brad Butt’s passion for enhancing and promoting men’s health shines through in his work.
From his Cooleman Court Pharmacy in Canberra, he has long offered specialised urological health for male patients and advocated for the importance of community pharmacy in helping men stay healthy.
“We know that men can be a little lazy with their health at times, but equally that they can put things off and think it’ll come good,” Brad says in this short film about Men’s Health Week.
“So it was really important for me to see if there was a way that I could help address that, and bring some awareness about what they might be going through and offer them a pathway to a solution if nothing else.”
In a pharmacy setting, that could mean point of care testing to bring results to patients quickly, sharing general information and resources for more support, or stocking and providing specialised medical and urological equipment like penis pumps and traction devices.
Brad also emphasises the importance of having strong relationships and networks across allied health so pharmacists can make confident, informed decisions if they need to refer patients to other professionals for advanced treatment.
“I think it’s important that we know who we’re referring them to,” says Brad. “We’ve got that rapport with another member of the allied healthcare team.
“If we can do that, we’ve got confidence in where we’re referring them and we know that they’re going to be well looked after.”
For this year’s Men’s Health Week (9-15 June), Brad led an online talk for the Australian Men’s Health Forum on how men can make the most of their local pharmacist through an “Ask Your Pharmacist” session. By offering guidance on what pharmacist can and can’t help with and even taking some audience questions, the session highlighted the value of community pharmacy as a place men can go for help whenever and wherever they need it.
“Community pharmacists are in a privileged position where we’re able to have private conversations with patients to check in on their progress and identify where additional support may be helpful,” says Butt. “All men should know that there is support out there for sensitive or ‘embarrassing’ issues – they're not alone. It all starts with a conversation.”
Learn more about Brad Butt’s work with Men’s Health Downunder at their website.
