Consumer perception of the community pharmacist and community pharmacy services in Malta

Objectives: We aimed to determine the perception of Maltese consumers of the community pharmacist and of the services offered from community pharmacies. Method: A self-administered questionnaire was developed and psychometrically evaluated. Fifty community pharmacies were chosen by stratified random sampling and the questionnaire was distributed to 500 consumers, 10 from each pharmacy, selected by convenience sampling. Descriptive statistics were undertaken. Key findings: The majority of the consumers were very or fairly satisfied with various pharmacist characteristics, such as pharmacist efficiency when dealing with requests (95%), provision of instructions on how to take medications (94%), pharmacist discretion (91%), professional pharmacist–consumer relationship (90%), provision of explanations on how medications work (86%) and pharmacist knowledge and ability to answer questions (81%). They were least satisfied with the privacy in the pharmacy (69%). Consumers were in favour of the evolution of pharmacist professional services, namely the community pharmacist liaising with primary and secondary care-based physicians (91%), provision of diagnostic testing (87%) and extended opening hours (83%). Conclusions: Maltese consumers have a positive overall perception of community pharmacists and of the services offered from community pharmacies. They were in favour of the development of extended professional services.peer-reviewe

Pengembangan Pendidikan Profesi Apoteker Untuk Mendukung Eksistensi Apoteker Di Apotek

Aphothec is a place for pharmacy services especially for pharmacist who dedicates his competency in the community.  The policy  no pharmacist no service is a strategicpolicy that has to be supported by all members of Indonesian Pharmacist Association.This policy can only be accomplished if pharmacists produced are equipped with com-petencies that are needed to run an apothec and also supported with adequate motiva-tion. Transformation of senior pharmacist that has been socially established will not give significant impact. To produce competent pharmacist, transformation in educa-tion process especially for pharmacist in the apothec is needed. Transformation must be based on the need of competency and supporting resources. Only with adequate supporting resources, the education process will yield output that match with thedemand of formulated competency. As professional practician, new pharmacist has to be able to demonstrate his competency in the apothec. This competency can only be gained through experiences in handling similar activities in the job field. In thisscheme, professional pharmacy student has to work in the relevant job field for certain period followed by certification test conducted by certified professional pharmacy edu-cation provider. Only participants that pass the certification test are eligible to hold apothecary (pharmacist) degree and to run an apothec. The education provider can be university by involving certified pharmacist as examiner. This scheme is developedbased on the study on the professional pharmacy education scheme implemented in various countries

Validation instruments for health promotion in the community pharmacy setting

The developments during the past fifty years have resulted in a complete shift in the role of the community pharmacist from that of mainly compounding of medicines to becoming an advisor on health-related issues (Schaefer, 1998). This shift resulted in highlighting the intervention of the pharmacist as the initial contact point for the provision of primary health care. An initiative undertaken in the United Kingdom in 1995, 'Pharmacy in a New Age', identified health promotion as one of the areas that community pharmacists should focus more on (Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, 1996). In this day and age of cost containment. evidence-based practice is required to confirm the provision of professional services, including the provision of health promotion (Rupp, 1997). This prompted the development of the Validation Method for Community Pharmacy, which is a process carried out to confirm the effectiveness of the pharmacist in the community setting (Azzopardi, 2000).peer-reviewe

Controversy and consensus on a clinical pharmacist in primary care in the Netherlands

Background Controversy about the introduction of a non-dispensing pharmacist in primary care practice hampers implementation. Objective The aim of this study is to systematically map the debate on this new role for pharmacists amongst all stakeholders to uncover and understand the controversy and consensus. Setting: Primary health care in the Netherlands. Method Q methodology. 163 participants rank-ordered statements on issues concerning the integration of a non-dispensing pharmacist in primary care practice. Main outcome measure: Stakeholder perspectives on the role of the non-dispensing pharmacist and pharmaceutical care in primary care. Results This study identified the consensus on various features of the non-dispensing pharmacist role as well as the financial, organisational and collaborative aspects of integrating a non-dispensing pharmacist in primary care practice. Q factor analysis revealed four perspectives: “the independent community pharmacist”, “the independent clinical pharmacist”, “the dependent clinical pharmacist” and “the medication therapy management specialist”. These four perspectives show controversies to do with the level of professional independency of the non-dispensing pharmacist and the level of innovation of task performance. Conclusion Despite the fact that introducing new professional roles in healthcare can lead to controversy, the results of this Q study show the potential of a non-dispensing pharmacist as a pharmaceutical care provider and the willingness for interprofessional collaboration. The results from the POINT intervention study in the Netherlands will be an important next step in resolving current controversies

Controversy and consensus on a clinical pharmacist in primary care in the Netherlands

Background Controversy about the introduction of a non-dispensing pharmacist in primary care practice hampers implementation. Objective The aim of this study is to systematically map the debate on this new role for pharmacists amongst all stakeholders to uncover and understand the controversy and consensus. Setting: Primary health care in the Netherlands. Method Q methodology. 163 participants rank-ordered statements on issues concerning the integration of a non-dispensing pharmacist in primary care practice. Main outcome measure: Stakeholder perspectives on the role of the non-dispensing pharmacist and pharmaceutical care in primary care. Results This study identified the consensus on various features of the non-dispensing pharmacist role as well as the financial, organisational and collaborative aspects of integrating a non-dispensing pharmacist in primary care practice. Q factor analysis revealed four perspectives: "the independent community pharmacist", "the independent clinical pharmacist", "the dependent clinical pharmacist" and "the medication therapy management specialist". These four perspectives show controversies to do with the level of professional independency of the non-dispensing pharmacist and the level of innovation of task performance. Conclusion Despite the fact that introducing new professional roles in healthcare can lead to controversy, the results of this Q study show the potential of a non-dispensing pharmacist as a pharmaceutical care provider and the willingness for interprofessional collaboration. The results from the POINT intervention study in the Netherlands will be an important next step in resolving current controversies

'I'm Just the Sunday Boy!': Exploring the Role Uncertainty in 'Becoming' a pharmacist

This thesis explores the notion of professionalism in pharmacy from a pharmacy education viewpoint, specifically the process of becoming a ‘professional’ as experienced by pharmacy students as they undertake the educational programme required for registration as a pharmacist. Registration as a pharmacist is commonly understood as an end-point in becoming a professional, portraying the educational programme as an acquisitional endeavour where upon completion, an individual has become a professional. Such understandings are problematic as they disguise the complex, uncertain and individual journeys that students experience as they undertake an educational programme that portrays becoming a professional as a static, linear process rather than an on-going negotiation and emergence of professional selves. This study adopts a social constructionist framework to explore the experiences of pharmacy students at one Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the United Kingdom. Rejecting positivistic notions of control, prediction and generalisability this study uses an interpretive approach to the generation and analysis of interview data to gain understandings of the individual and local experiences of pharmacy students at this particular HEI. Interviews were conducted with nineteen students who prepared a repertory grid to describe their own constructions of an ‘ideal’ pharmacist and the grids were used as a catalyst for discussion in individual participant interviews. Using the repertory grid approach afforded an insight into pharmacy students’ experiences of ‘becoming’ a pharmacist, revealing themes and patterns emerging from analysis of student narratives. Drawing on Actor Network Theory (ANT) as a theoretical lens to explore these themes and patterns from a socio-material perspective, the micro-interactions and exchanges that emerged from these networks exposed the innumerable realisations of ‘becoming’ a pharmacist. Tracing some of these networks in this thesis revealed a number of powerful actors in these micro-interactions and exchanges. When considered individually these actors appear inconsequential, however, collectively these micro-interactions and exchanges reveal the highly individualised, complex and uncertain experience of ‘becoming’ a pharmacist. In coming together these non-human and human actors emerge as a driving force in the emergence of student identities as a pharmacist. This study makes an original contribution to pharmacy education by revealing the uncertainty that pharmacy students experience in ‘becoming’ a pharmacist. It identifies that this experience is highly individualised and personal to each student and argues for embracing uncertainty as a helpful and essential experience of ‘becoming’ a pharmacist

PHARMACY, PHARMACIST, AND SOCIAL PHARMACY

In order to express more clearly about the role of pharmacist in the health care, a general review of the sources of the pharmacy (pharmacist) has been carried out. Considering the facts and several survey results, Pharmacy/Pharmacist is a typical profession capabler to develop wider in a health care system and that provides more beneficial for community along with the advancement of Social Pharmacy.Key words: Profession, Professional, changing context of Pharmacy, Professionalization

Adjudication of new community pharmacies: comparison of ranking criteria

This article studies the differences between the models of candidate classification for the adjudication of new pharmacies in the different Spanish self-governing regions. The objective of this study is to analyze the profile of the selected professional. Generally, the ranking takes into account the professional activity as pharmacist, the pre-graduate formation as well as the postgraduate, with different weights. Some of the 15 autonomies include as merits the cooficial languages, an optional written test and special situations as unemployment. In general, the criteria try to find out the best profile of pharmacist based on the professional experience and the postgraduate formation

Validating tools for the monitoring of community pharmacy services

Aim: To develop and validate tools with which to monitor the standards of professional services normally provided by community pharmacists and which measure the impact of their intervention on patient care.Design: Five tools based on a quantitative measurement system were established and their validity evaluated by psychometric testing.Subjects and settings: A group of 10 community pharmacies from 184 pharmacies in Malta were selected by stratified random sampling.Outcome measures: Applicability and practicality of the tools to be used by the direct method of observation in community pharmacies, face and content validity, inter-rater reliability.Results: Raters said that they did not find difficulty documenting activities of any pharmacist using the tools. The level of agreement among the panel members examining the tools for face and content validity (review of measuring insistent to ensure that it measures what it is intended to measure) was high (Kendall coefficient of concordance 0.80) were high for all five tools.Conclusions: The five tools are user-friendly, valid and reliable, and can be used by community pharmacists to confirm the needs of their professional service and its impact on patient care.peer-reviewe

How Do Pharmacists Construct, Facilitate and Consolidate Their Professional Identity?

The pharmacy profession has, and continues to experience change regarding roles and responsibilities. The supply of medicines still remains a central function but patient facing, clinical roles are now becoming more common place where pharmacists use their knowledge to maximise patient use of medicines. This transitional state from supplier of medicine to medicine advisor raises questions over the professional identity of pharmacists. This literature-informed commentary highlights current understanding of how identity is formed and reinforced.We propose the profession needs to be clearer in articulating what pharmacy does and advocate the need for strong branding that the profession, public and other healthcare practitioners understand