PATIENT'S COUNSELLING AND MANAGEMENT OF ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS AND DRUG INTERACTIONS IN THE COMMUNITY PHARMACY (original) (raw)

Contribution of Slovenian community pharmacist counseling to patients' knowledge about their prescription medicines: a cross-sectional study

Croatian medical journal, 2015

Aim. To assess patients' knowledge about prescription medicines they are taking and their view on how much community pharmacist counseling contributed to their knowledge. Methods. An observational study was designed to obtain information about patients' knowledge, their view on pharmacist counseling, and physicians'/pharmacists' provision of information. This study used a specifically designed questionnaire, which served as an interview guide. 400 patients picking up a prescription medicine were structurally interviewed upon leaving one of the 20 randomly chosen Slovenian pharmacies. The interviews took place in November and December 2013. Results. Patients were familiar with general information about the medicines and their application (93%-100% of patients). Knowledge about considerations (16% of patients) and adverse effects (20% of patients) was limited. Factors associated with patient knowledge were physicians'/pharmacists' adequate provision of informat...

Qualitative and quantitative research of medication review and drug-related problems in Hungarian community pharmacies: a pilot study

BMC Health Services Research

Background: Pharmaceutical care is the pharmacist's contribution to the care of individuals to optimize medicines use and improve health outcomes. The primary tool of pharmaceutical care is medication review. Defining and classifying Drug-Related Problems (DRPs) is an essential pillar of the medication review. Our objectives were to perform a pilot of medication review in Hungarian community pharmacies, a DRP classification was applied for the first time. Also, our goal was the qualitative and quantitative description of the discovered DRPs, and of the interventions for their solution in order to prove the safety relevance of the service and to map out the competence limits of GPs and community pharmacists to drug therapy. Methods: The project took place in Hungarian community pharmacies. The study was performed with patients taking vitamin K antagonist (VKA) and/or ACE inhibitor and NSAID simultaneously (ACEI-NSAID). 61 pharmacists and 606 patients participated in the project. Pharmacists reviewed the medication for 3 months and the classification of DRPs was performed (category of DRP1-DRP6). Patient data were statistically analyzed. Results: Patients consumed on average 7.9 ± 3.1 medications and other products. 571 DRPs were detected in 540 patients, averaging 1.06 DRPs per patient (SD = 1.07). The highest frequency category was DRP5 (non-quantitative safety problem; 51.0%). The most common root cause was an interaction (42.0%) and non-adherence (19.4%.). The most commonly used intervention was education (25.4%) and medication replacement by the pharmacist (20.1%). The changing of the frequency and dosage in any direction were negligible. Conclusions: Patients are struggling with many DRPs that can be assessed and categorized by this system and which remain unrecognizable without pharmacists. Further projects need to be developed to assist in the development of physician-pharmacist cooperation and the widespread dissemination of pharmaceutical care.

What does self-medication counseling in Bulgarian community pharmacies look like – a field study

Фармация, 2020

The aim of the study is to identify the current practices of self-medication in Bulgaria, estimate the extent patients are influenced by information about the safety of OTC products and pharmacists' role and behavior in the process. An anonymous, questionnaire-based, descriptive study was carried out among 280 pharmacists. The majority of the patients (92.6%) ask for pharmacists' advice before buying OTC products. Most often patients need OTC drugs for mild conditions (80.7%), to save time (63.9%), and because they are unable to consult a physician (61.9%). The medium duration of consultation for an OTC product is between 5 and 10 minutes. The main barriers hindering the process are unwillingness from the patient (72.5%), lack of time (27.5%), and lack of confidentiality (26.6%). OTC medicines are considered safer than prescription-only medicines by pharmacists. Pharmacists could substantially contribute to rational self-medication and alleviate the burden on healthcare systems.

Patient-provider communication about medication use at the community pharmacy counter

The International journal of pharmacy practice, 2015

The objectives of this study were to, first, describe the information exchanged between pharmacy staff and patients about prescribed medication at the community pharmacy counter, and second, to investigate to what extent this met professional medication counselling guidelines. Pharmaceutical encounters were videotaped in four community pharmacies in the Netherlands. Patients were included if they collected a prescription for their own use. An observation protocol, including the MEDICODE checklist, was used to analyse the video recordings. A distinction was made between first and repeat prescriptions. One hundred fifty-three encounters were videotaped. When dispensing first prescriptions, pharmacy staff provided most information on instructions how to use the medication (83.3%), form of the medication (71.4%) and treatment duration (42.9%). Topics for repeat prescriptions (such as the effects of the medication and the incidence of observed adverse effects) were rarely discussed. Phar...

Primary Care Provider Counseling Practices about Adverse Drug Reactions and Interactions in Croatia

Journal of Clinical Medicine

Background: Prescribing medications is one of the most common medical decisions that is made by primary care providers (PCPs). In the Republic of Croatia, PCPs hold a key position in prescribing and evaluating the medications that are provided for patients. Accordingly, providing advice for patients regarding the potential adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and drug-drug interactions (DDIs) is frequently the responsibility of the PCPs. The aim of the current study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and counseling practices of PCPs regarding drug interactions and adverse effects. Methods: After enrolling 195 PCPs that were selected at random, a survey was conducted while using an anonymous questionnaire that was created based on previously published studies, adjusted in a way that includes the most commonly prescribed medications in Croatia. Results: Of the 10 questions on knowledge about DDIs and ADRs, the median number of correct responses by PCPs was 5 (interquartile range 4 to 7)...

A survey of pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes and barriers in pharmaceutical care concept in Poland

BMC Medical Education, 2021

Background The major goals of pharmaceutical care (PC) are to improve the patient’s quality of life and ensure safety of pharmacotherapy. Inclusion of a pharmacist in the multidisciplinary team caring for the patient and integration of state-of-the-art pharmaceutical services with medical care and nursing are some of the most important challenges that the health care system in Poland is facing. Objectives To evaluate the pharmacists attitudes towards practice in, and knowledge of PC in Poland and to identify the barriers in PC provision. Methods The study was designed as a multicenter study, conducted among Polish pharmacists. Random sampling technique was employed to select the study group. Face-to-face questionnaire method was used to interview the pharmacists, upon obtaining their prior verbal consent to participate in the study. The study was conducted between January 2017 and September 2019. Results Only 15% of the pharmacists have ever attended a training on PC. 72% believed P...

Role of a Pharmacist in the Safe Self-medication -A Questionnaire-based Survey

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 2021

Aims: This study aimed to investigate whether the place of the survey makes a significant impact on the responses regarding the process of self-medication, as well as the present pharmacists' engagement in this process in the Sarajevo Canton. Study Design: An anonymous questionnaire-based survey. Place and Duration of Study: One public pharmacy and various public places in the Sarajevo Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for five months, February-June 2019. Methodology: A total of 312 respondents was included. The first group (165 respondents) was surveyed in the pharmacy after buying an over-the-counter (OTC) drug, and the second group (147 respondents) was surveyed outside the pharmacy. Results: Pharmacists instructed 65% of respondents (72.73% in the first group and 57.14% in the second group) on how to take the purchased OTC drug and checked whether 55% of respondents (70.91% in the first group and 38.1% in the second group) bought an appropriate drug for their health problem. Only 25% of respondents (36.36% in the first group and 12.24% in the second group) was informed about the adverse effects, whereas 29% of respondents (41.

The practice of OTC counseling by community pharmacists in Parana, Brazil

Pharmacy Practice, 2015

Background: In order to provide appropriate advice to the patient at the time of dispensing and over-the-counter (OTC) medication counseling, community pharmacists need access to current and reliable information about medicines. Brazilian pharmacists have assumed new functions such as prescribing medication, in a dependent model, based in protocols. Objective: To examine the practice of community pharmacists in a Brazilian State, focusing on OTC recommendation. Method: A cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists in a state of Brazil was conducted from October 2013 to January 2014, with data collection through a pre-piloted self-administered anonymous survey via Survey Monkey® platform. Following ethical approval, the online instrument was sent to 8,885 pharmacists registered in Parana State, Brazil, focusing on professionals working in community pharmacies. The questionnaire assessed the community pharmacy setting, the search for information, the knowledge of the evidencebased practice, the important factors to consider when recommending an OTC medicine, and the pharmacist prescribing. Responses were imported into SPSS® (version 22.0) for analysis. Nonparametric tests were used to assess the association between responses and demographic information with a significance level less than 5% (p<0.05). Results: Of the pharmacists, 97.4% dispensed medications and counseled patients for a median of six hours per day. Product's efficacy (97%) and adverse effects (62.3%) were the most important factors taken into account when counseling a nonprescription medicine. Few pharmacists knew the meaning of terms related to evidence-based health. Most respondents agreed that pharmacists have the necessary training to prescribe. Conclusion: Over-the-counter medication counseling is a daily practice among Brazilian pharmacists. Learning needs exist for community pharmacists in relation to evidence-based practice. Thus, sources of information with good evidence could be used daily by community pharmacists, especially as regards nonprescription medication counseling.

Community pharmacist counselling practices in the Bisha health directorate, Saudi Arabia –simulated patient visits

BMC Health Services Research, 2020

Background Many organizations have suggested a minimum standard regarding pharmaceutical counselling for patients, which includes information about the name of the drug, the description the drug, the indication for use, how to use it, the method of treatment, precautions, adverse reactions, and any contraindications. Correspondingly, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that pharmacists spend at least 3 min with each patient to provide counselling. This study aimed to evaluate the counselling practices of community pharmacists for both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription-only medicines in the Bisha Health Directorate, Saudi Arabia. Method This was a cross-sectional study designed to evaluate simulated patient visits to observe real counselling practices of community pharmacies in the Bisha area; 73 pharmacies were visited. Two scenarios were used in this study. The first scenario was for a prescription-only medicine, and the second scenario was for an OTC medicine...