Misuse of Competencies in Pharmacy Curriculum: The Spain Case Study

Pharmacy curriculum must prepare students with the necessary competencies to respond to society health-related needs. This study aims to analyze the allocation of competencies that pharmacists should acquire during their education in the courses constituting pharmacy curricula in Spain. The 22 Spanish universities offering pharmacy degrees teach 1261 courses, of which 942 are mandatory courses. Syllabi of 881 courses were available on the internet and were analyzed. A total of 560 could be objectively associated with the following areas of knowledge: 23.8% with chemistry, 6.8% with physics and mathematics, 16.4% with biology, 13.0% with pharmaceutical technology, 29.6% with medicine and pharmacology, 10.2% with legislation and social pharmacy and 0.2% with internships (not taught during the internship period). Competency allocation patterns are very different across universities. Conclusion: The results show that Spanish colleges of pharmacy do not appropriately use the official Spanish competency framework. Competencies and courses are mismatched in pairing basic sciences to practice competencies

Community pharmacy and primary health care - Types of integration and their applicability: A narrative review

BACKGROUND: There is an urgent need for health care systems to be more efficient and efficacious. An approach to integrate public and private provider organizations such as community pharmacies and public primary health care (PHC) merits consideration. The objective of this review was to identify the types of integration in health care settings and discuss their applicability to the potential integration of community pharmacy and PHC. METHODS: A narrative review using Medline, Scopus and SciELO databases was performed in which terms related to health were combined with terms related to integration. Levels and Types of integration: 14 types of integration were identified (two in breadth, seven as enablers and five in system levels). A model was created which classifies and assigns the types of integration to the different levels of the health system and to the breadth, intensity, and enablers of the integration process. Due to the nature of community pharmacy and PHC system, a horizontal integration at the micro level, supported by meso and macro levels policy, is suggested. The different elements of intensity and enablers can significantly influence the process. CONCLUSION: The application of principles, concepts and types of integration suggest that it might be feasible and practical to integrate community pharmacies and PHC. However, the conflictive historical context would need to be overcome with appropriate policy and incentives.This research was funded by the University of the Basque Country (US20/08) and Cinfa laboratories for the PhD scholarship

Barreras para la implantación de servicios cognitivos en la farmacia comunitaria española

Objetivo: Identificar y analizar los elementos que dificultan la diseminación, la implantación y la sostenibilidad de distintos servicios cognitivos orientados a los pacientes en la farmacia comunitaria española. Diseño: Estudio cualitativo en el que se han utilizado entrevistas semiestructuradas, con el fin de realizar un análisis descriptivo. Métodos: Se eligieron dos conjuntos de expertos relacionados con la farmacia comunitaria española. El primero estaba compuesto de 15 farmacéuticos comunitarios que se habían destacado por sus actividades profesionales y el segundo, por 18 estrategas de la farmacia. Resultados: La falta de orientación clínica de la formación universitaria, la falta de actitud ante el cambio y la incertidumbre sobre su futuro profesional se identificaron como barreras del farmacéutico individual. Para la farmacia como empresa, se identificaron como barreras la falta de pago por los servicios, la ausencia de mensajes claros y el reducido volumen de la farmacia española. En la categoría profesión farmacéutica, el actual sistema de remuneración, la falta de formación universitaria clínica y la falta de liderazgo de las instituciones representantes fueron las barreras encontradas. En cuanto a los otros colectivos, se encontró que la falta de apoyo real de las administraciones sanitarias, el desconocimiento de los médicos de los objetivos de los servicios cognitivos farmacéuticos, y la falta de demanda de estos servicios por los pacientes fueron las barreras identificadas. Conclusiones: Se han encontrado 12 barreras que se han agrupado en 6 categorías. Estas barreras coinciden con las comunicadas en otros países.Objective: To identify and assess barriers for dissemination, implementation, and sustainability of different cognitive services in Spanish community pharmacies. Design: Qualitative study through semistructured interviews followed by a descriptive analysis. Method: Two groups of experts related to Spanish community pharmacy were chosen. One with 15 community pharmacists with a relevant professional activity, while the other group (n=18) was related to pharmacy strategists. Results: The lack of university clinical oriented learning, lack of pharmacists’ attitude towards change and some uncertainty over their professional future were identified as barriers at the pharmacists’ level. In relation to pharmacy as an organization the lack of clear messages by their leaders and the small volume of Spanish pharmacies were identified as barriers. In the category of pharmacy profession, the current reimbursement system, the lack of university clinical education, and the lack of leadership by current representative organizations were the barriers found. The lack of real involvement by health authorities, the lack of knowledge about the objectives of pharmacy cognitive services, and the lack of demand of these services by patients where also identified as barriers. Conclusions: Finally, 12 barriers were identified and grouped into 6 categories. These barriers fit in with the barriers identified in other countries

Tradução e validação para o português do Medication Regimen Complexity Index

FUNDAMENTO: A complexidade da farmacoterapia consiste de múltiplas características do regime prescrito, incluindo o número de diferentes medicações no esquema, o número de unidades de dosagem por dose, o número total de doses por dia e os cuidados na administração dos medicamentos. O Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI) é um instrumento específico, validado e utilizado para medir a complexidade da farmacoterapia, desenvolvido originalmente em língua inglesa. OBJETIVO: Tradução transcultural e validação desse instrumento para o português do Brasil. MÉTODOS: Foi desenvolvido um estudo transversal envolvendo 95 pacientes com diabete do tipo 2 utilizando múltiplas medicações. O processo de validação teve início pela tradução, retrotradução e pré-teste do instrumento, gerando uma versão adaptada chamada Índice de Complexidade da Farmacoterapia (ICFT). Em seguida foram analisados parâmetros psicométricos, incluindo validade convergente, validade divergente, confiabilidade entre avaliadores e teste-reteste. RESULTADOS: A complexidade da farmacoterapia medida pelo ICFT obteve média de 15,7 pontos (desvio padrão = 8,36). O ICFT mostrou correlação significativa com o número de medicamentos em uso (r = 0,86; p < 0,001) e a idade dos pacientes (r = 0,28; p = 0,005). A confiabilidade entre avaliadores obteve correlação intraclasse igual a 0,99 (p < 0,001) e a confiabilidade teste-reteste obteve correlação de 0,997 (p < 0,001). CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados demonstraram que o ICFT apresenta bom desempenho de validade e confiabilidade, podendo ser utilizado como ferramenta útil na prática clínica e em pesquisas envolvendo análise da complexidade da terapia