Community pharmacy

The increase in medicine and drug consumption have resulted in identifying these emerging pollutants in all aquatic compartments, ranging from surface water and groundwater resources to the marine environment. Pharmaceuticals are an indispensable part of life today. A large number of pharmaceuticals are used in a daily basis in the treatment, prevention, cure or diagnosis of diseases or to otherwise enhance people's physical or mental well-being. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the attitude of citizens in Cyprus regarding the disposal of pharmaceuticals as well as to identify the main reasons why pharmaceutical wastes are produced...

BACKGROUND: Direct-acting antiviral therapy (DAAs) for hepatitis C infection (HCV) have a much smaller burden of treatment than interferon-based regimes, require less monitoring and are very effective. New pathways are required to increase access to treatment amongst people prescribed opioid substitution therapy (OST). METHODS: An exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial with mixed methods evaluation was undertaken to compare the uptake of dried blood spot testing (DBST) and treatment of people with genotype 1 HCV infection in a conventional service pathway versus a pharmacist-led pathway in a population receiving OST...

OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to determine the level and correlates of self-reported medication low adherence in the US general population. SETTING: A 30 min cross-sectional online survey was conducted with a national sample of adults. PARTICIPANTS: 9202 adults (aged 18+) who had filled at least three or more prescriptions at a community pharmacy in the past 12 months. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported medication adherence was measured with the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale...

INTRODUCTION: The main therapeutic intervention for sickle cell disease (SCD) is hydroxyurea (HU). The effect of HU is largely through dose-dependent induction of fetal hemoglobin (HbF). Poor HU adherence is common among adolescents. METHODS: Our 6-month, two-site pilot intervention trial, "HABIT," was led by culturally aligned community health workers (CHWs). CHWs performed support primarily through home visits, augmented by tailored text message reminders. Dyads of youth with SCD ages 10-18 years and a parent were enrolled...

In Zambia, more people living with HIV now have access to lifesaving antiretroviral therapy than ever before. However, progress in HIV treatment and care has not always resulted in lower mortality. Adherence remains a critical barrier to treatment success. The objective of this study was to examine the barriers and facilitators of antiretroviral therapy adherence, particularly the role of household economic status. The study included a cross-sectional sample of 101 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in two rural communities in eastern Zambia...

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: In order to improve public health, it is necessary to facilitate patients' easy access to affordable high-quality primary health care, and one enhanced approach to do so may be to provide primary healthcare services in the community pharmacy setting. Discrete choice experiments to evaluate patient demand for services in pharmacy are relatively limited and have been hampered by a focus on only a few service alternatives, most focusing on changes in more traditional pharmacy services...

OBJECTIVE: To describe experiences with development and implementation of a compensation plan for pharmacy services delivered by pharmacists in community pharmacies. SETTING: Community pharmacy practice in Alberta, Canada. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Pharmacists in Alberta have one of the most progressive scopes of practice in North America. They have authority to prescribe drugs independently, administer drugs by injection, access electronic health records, and order laboratory tests...

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to assess attitudes from Ohio pharmacists about contraceptive authority. Secondary objectives included determining pharmacists' perceptions of benefits, barriers, and preparedness for offering such services and examining attitudes about and experiences with other reproductive health topics to inform future research. METHODS: An anonymous 26-question Institutional Review Board-approved electronic survey was developed and distributed via Qualtrics to a random sample of 500 licensed pharmacists in Ohio...

Pharmacy practice-research became an important component in the pharmacy practice. However, limited studies were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa to understand the pharmacists' interest and attitude towards pharmacy practice-research. We aimed to assess the community pharmacists' interest and attitude towards pharmacy practice-research in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among community pharmacists in eight major cities in Ethiopia. A validated 25-item self-administered questionnaire covering interest and attitude related to pharmacy practice-research was distributed...

AIM: Rates of acute rheumatic fever in the Northland region are historically among the highest in New Zealand, impacting disproportionately on Māori children and youth. The primary aim of this study was to determine patient persistence to antibiotic treatment for group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis in patients presenting with sore throat to the Whangarei Hospital Emergency Department. Secondarily, this study sought to determine prescriber adherence to the national antibiotic guideline for sore throat management...

OBJECTIVE: Irrational use of antimicrobials is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance, exacerbated by dispensing antibiotics without a prescription. Our previous study suggested this was a problem in the Republic of Srpska despite legislation. Since then, a number of activities have been initiated. Consequently, the study aimed to ascertain whether these multiple initiatives had reduced this. METHODS: Patients visiting all community pharmacies in the Republic from October 2014 to July 2015 presenting with symptoms typical of an acute, viral, and mostly uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection, with results compared to the previous study...

BACKGROUND: Combinations of professional and commercial communication are typically very controversial, particularly in health care communication on the Internet. Websites of licensed community pharmacies on the other hand tend to raise remarkably little controversy, although they typically contain controversial combinations of clinical and commercial services previously unprecedented in professional health care communication. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to fill the void of knowledge about the combination of clinical and commercial services presented on the websites of licensed community pharmacies...

BACKGROUND: Dispensing errors are inevitable occurrences in community pharmacies across the world. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the community pharmacists' perception towards dispensing errors in the community pharmacies in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 47 community pharmacists selected through convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, and Pearson's Chi-square test of independence were conducted with P ≤ 0...

The goal of the initiative was to evaluate the impact of an innovative practice model on identification of unmet vaccination needs and vaccination rates. This was accomplished through a prospective, multisite, observational study in 8 community pharmacy practices with adults receiving an influenza vaccine with a documented vaccination forecast review from October 22, 2015 through March 22, 2016. When patients presented for influenza vaccinations, pharmacists utilized immunization information systems (IIS) data at the point of care to identify unmet vaccination needs, educate patients, and improve vaccination rates...

OBJECTIVES: To describe the first community pharmacy-based hepatitis C antibody (HCV-Ab) point-of-care (POC) screening program and its outcomes in California. SETTING: Community pharmacy. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Community pharmacists perform HCV-Ab POC testing, counsel patients about HCV transmission and prevention, and provide linkage to care. PRACTICE INNOVATION: Pharmacists implement an HCV-Ab POC screening program in collaboration with the local public health department...

Background Community pharmacists play an important role in supporting patients for optimal drug use. Objective To assess the effectiveness of monitoring in asthma patients with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on disease control. Setting Asthma patients using ICS were invited from two intervention (IG) and two control pharmacies (CG). Method Participating patients completed questionnaires at the study start and at 6-month follow-up, including the Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) questionnaire...

BACKGROUND: The appointment based model (ABM) is a innovative model of pharmacy practice that combines medication synchronization with scheduled monthly appointments to improve patient medication adherence and convenience. It is being implemented in many pharmacies across the United States. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to use the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to discuss the barriers and facilitators of ABM implementation in community pharmacies while identifying priorities for additional implementation research...

Objectives: Occupational exposure to antineoplastic agents occurs in various environments and is associated with increased cancer risk and adverse reproductive outcomes. National-level information describing the location and extent of occupational exposure to antineoplastic agents is unavailable in Canada and most other countries. CAREX Canada aimed to estimate the prevalence and relative levels of occupational exposures to antineoplastic agents across work setting, occupation, and sex...

BACKGROUND: Blood pressure (BP) readings are traditionally taken in a clinic setting, with treatment recommendations based on these measurements. The clinical interpretation of BP readings taken in community pharmacies is currently unclear. This study aimed to systematically review all literature comparing community pharmacy BP (CPBP) readings with ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), home BP monitoring and general practitioner clinic readings. METHOD: Studies were included if they compared CPBP with at least one other measurement modality used for the diagnosis or management of hypertension...

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that medication adherence is affected by the number of pharmacies a patient frequents. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to estimate the strength of association between the number of pharmacies a patient frequents and adherence to statins. METHODS: Using administrative data from the Nova Scotia Seniors' Pharmacare program, a retrospective cohort study was conducted among subjects aged 65 years and older first dispensed statin between 1998 and 2008...