Pharmacy practice research priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic: Recommendations of a panel of experts convened by FIP Pharmacy Practice Research Special Interest Group

Across the globe, pharmacists on the frontline continue to fight COVID-19 and its continuously evolving physical, mental, and economic consequences armed by their knowledge, professionalism, and dedication. Their need for credible scientific evidence to inform their practice has never been more urgent. Despite the exponentially increasing number of publications since the start of the pandemic, questions remain unanswered, and more are created, than have been resolved by the increasing number of publications. A panel of leading journal editors was convened by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Pharmacy Practice Research Special Interest Group to discuss the current status of COVID-19 related research, provide their recommendations, and identify focal points for pharmacy practice, social pharmacy, and education research moving forward. Key priorities identified spanned a wide range of topics, reflecting the need for good quality research to inform practice and education. The panel insisted that a foundation in theory and use of rigorous methods should continue forming the basis of inquiry and its resultant papers, regardless of topic area. From assessing the clinical and cost effectiveness of COVID-19 therapies and vaccines to assessing different models of pharmaceutical services and education delivery, these priorities will ensure that our practice is informed by the best quality scientific evidence at this very challenging time

Cost-Utility Analysis of a Medication Review with Follow-Up Service for Older Adults with Polypharmacy in Community Pharmacies in Spain: The conSIGUE Program

© 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. Background: The concept of pharmaceutical care is operationalized through pharmaceutical professional services, which are patient-oriented to optimize their pharmacotherapy and to improve clinical outcomes. Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of a medication review with follow-up (MRF) service for older adults with polypharmacy in Spanish community pharmacies against the alternative of having their medication dispensed normally. Methods: The study was designed as a cluster randomized controlled trial, and was carried out over a time horizon of 6 months. The target population was older adults with polypharmacy, defined as individuals taking five or more medicines per day. The study was conducted in 178 community pharmacies in Spain. Cost-utility analysis adopted a health service perspective. Costs were in euros at 2014 prices and the effectiveness of the intervention was estimated as quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). In order to analyze the uncertainty of ICER results, we performed a non-parametric bootstrapping with 5000 replications. Results: A total of 1403 older adults, aged between 65 and 94 years, were enrolled in the study: 688 in the intervention group (IG) and 715 in the control group (CG). By the end of the follow-up, both groups had reduced the mean number of prescribed medications they took, although this reduction was greater in the IG (0.28 ± 1.25 drugs; p < 0.001) than in the CG (0.07 ± 0.95 drugs; p = 0.063). Older adults in the IG saw their quality of life improved by 0.0528 ± 0.20 (p < 0.001). In contrast, the CG experienced a slight reduction in their quality of life: 0.0022 ± 0.24 (p = 0.815). The mean total cost was €977.57 ± 1455.88 for the IG and €1173.44 ± 3671.65 for the CG. In order to estimate the ICER, we used the costs adjusted for baseline medications and QALYs adjusted for baseline utility score, resulting in a mean incremental total cost of −€250.51 ± 148.61 (95 % CI −541.79 to 40.76) and a mean incremental QALY of 0.0156 ± 0.004 (95 % CI 0.008–0.023). Regarding the results from the cost-utility analysis, the MRF service emerged as the dominant strategy. Conclusion: The MRF service is an effective intervention for optimizing prescribed medication and improving quality of life in older adults with polypharmacy in community pharmacies. The results from the cost-utility analysis suggest that the MRF service is cost effective

The 4 per 1000 initiative.

Soil organic matter is at the nexus of global challenges: food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, soil security. The 4 per 1000 initiative, launched at the Climate COP21 within the Lima-Paris Action Agenda proposes to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks to simultaneously address all these challenges. It directly addresses three sustainable development goals: SDG2 ?no hunger?, SDG13 ?Climate action?, and SDG15 ?Life on land? and indirectly concerns several others. The initiative targets agricultural soils in priority, which are often the most degraded soils and because of the high expected benefits in terms of soil fertility and hence of productivity. A range of agricultural practices are available that allow to increase SOC stocks while ensuring a resilient, productive and environmentally friendly agriculture, so that a large-scale deployment can be aimed at. Here, we review and discuss the main limits and criticisms addressed to the 4 per 1000 initiative

Improving the quality of publications in and advancing the paradigms of clinical and social pharmacy practice research: The Granada statements

Pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences embrace a series of different disciplines. Pharmacy practice has been defined as the scientific discipline that studies the different aspects of the practice of pharmacy and its impact on health care systems, medicine use, and patient care. Thus, pharmacy practice studies embrace both clinical pharmacy and social pharmacy elements. Like any other scientific discipline, clinical and social pharmacy practice disseminates research findings using scientific journals. Clinical pharmacy and social pharmacy journal editors have a role in promoting the discipline by enhancing the quality of the articles published. As has occurred in other health care areas (i.e., medicine and nursing), a group of clinical and social pharmacy practice journal editors gathered in Granada, Spain to discuss how journals could contribute to strengthening pharmacy practice as a discipline. The result of that meeting was compiled in these Granada Statements, which comprise 18 recommendations gathered into six topics: the appropriate use of terminology, impactful abstracts, the required peer reviews, journal scattering, more effective and wiser use of journal and article performance metrics, and authors selection of the most appropriate pharmacy practice journal to submit their work. (c) 2023 FIP

Improving the Quality of Publications in and Advancing the Paradigms of Clinical and Social Pharmacy Practice Research: The Granada Statements

Pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences embrace a series of different disciplines. Pharmacy practice has been defined as the scientific discipline that studies the different aspects of the practice of pharmacy and its impact on health care systems, medicine use, and patient care. Thus, pharmacy practice studies embrace both clinical pharmacy and social pharmacy elements. Like any other scientific discipline, clinical and social pharmacy practice disseminates research findings using scientific journals. Clinical pharmacy and social pharmacy journal editors have a role in promoting the discipline by enhancing the quality of the articles published. As has occurred in other health care areas (i.e., medicine and nursing), a group of clinical and social pharmacy practice journal editors gathered in Granada, Spain to discuss how journals could contribute to strengthening pharmacy practice as a discipline. The result of that meeting was compiled in these Granada Statements, which comprise 18 recommendations gathered into six topics: the appropriate use of terminology, impactful abstracts, the required peer reviews, journal scattering, more effective and wiser use of journal and article performance metrics, and authors selection of the most appropriate pharmacy practice journal to submit their work.</jats:p