STARZ-DRP: A STRUCTURED FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS TO COUNSEL SELF-CARE CUSTOMERS

Objective: Aim of this study is to take a look at the community pharmacists' (CPs) self-rating confidence of advocating self-care customers using before and after attending a STARZ-DRP training workshop.Methods: CPs (n=231) in the state of Penang had been invited via e-mail to engage in a STARZ-DRP training workshop. CPs had been trained to assess individual features and analyse the facts and figures before formulating a triage action plan. A self-administered questionnaire to evaluate CPs' self-confidence to performing self-care counselling had been handed out before and after the workshop.Results: Twenty CPs (8.7%) had responded to the invitation via e-mail. It was noted that CPs' self-rating confidence to performing self-care counselling making use of STARZ-DRP as a framework were improved in all domains reflected in the questionnaire. Among significant improvements (p<0.05) noted were making triage decision, consistently assessing individual features, and identifying actual or potential origins of the medical problem.Conclusion: CPs' self-confidence to performing self-care counselling making use of STARZ-DRP as a framework to advocate self-care customers is enhanced after turning up at the training workshop. It reflects the future use of STARZ-DRP as a potential framework to help out CPs to formulate a triage action plan for self-care customers

Generic Medicines: the big picture

Outline: * BACKGROUND & INTRODUCTION * HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURE * ROLE OF GENERIC- MEDICINES IN HEALTH - CARE SYSTEM * GLOBAL SCENARIO * MALAYSIAN SCENARI

ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL EXTENDED SERVICES PERFORMED BY MALAYSIAN COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS, PERCEPTIONS AND BARRIERS TOWARDS IT'S PERFORMANCE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Objective: Aims of this review were to identify actual or potential extended services performed in community pharmacy settings, perceptions among community pharmacists (CPs), general practitioners (GPs), consumers and policymakers of these extended services and barriers towards its performance.Methods: A literature review was conducted, using Google Scholar and PubMed as a searching engine.Results: Identifying eight quality full texts to review which fulfil the inclusion searching criteria, revealing a wide range of actual or potential extended services performed by CPs such as counselling on asthma, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, diabetes, smoking cessation and self-medication. GPs' perceptions towards these extended services were varied, not or in favour of CPs to perform some actual or potential extended services. Customers were in favour of CPs to perform these actual or potential extended services whereas CPs indicated a few barriers towards the performance of these actual or potential extended services.Conclusion: As a conclusion, CPs in Malaysia were in the right position to perform the actual or potential extended services, collaborating with GPs to promote better medication use and enhance patients' quality of life. Some barriers towards these extended services must be intervened in order to enhance the quality of the services

STARZ-DRP AS A TRIAGING TOOL FOR COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS: PERSPECTIVES AND EXPECTATIONS OF STAKEHOLDERS

Objective:  To investigate perspectives and expectations of stakeholders of community pharmacists' (CPs) roles and the use of STARZ-DRP as a structured and systematic framework to help CPs to extend their role to make an accurate triage decision in community pharmacy settings.Methods: Individuals who were in high positions in the Ministry of Health (MOH), pharmacy, medical and consumer associations and individuals who were a private medical practitioner and retail pharmacist were invited via mail to participate in the face to face interview. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim to identify themes as many as possible.Results: Eight stakeholders had responded to the invitation. Mean (± standard deviation) age (years) of stakeholders was 56.50 ± 11.82. Five themes were noted which were: (i) CPs are focusing more on business-oriented, (ii) CPs should perform patient-oriented services, (iii) responsibilities to triage customers, (iv) a systematic approach for triaging activities, (v) STARZ-DRP as a systematic approach to making triage decision.Conclusion: CPs are paying particular attention on business-oriented than patient-oriented services. All stakeholders point out that CPs should intensify their current practice and all of them have the same opinion that CPs should take the responsibilities to make an accurate triage decision for self-care customers. Almost all stakeholders agree that STARZ-DRP is an ideal framework to help CPs to make an accurate triage decision in community pharmacy settings.Â

STARZ-DRP: Improving Efficiency of Patient Care in Community Pharmacies

Customers are always becoming the center of interest among the physicians, dentists, and pharmacists in the healthcare system. However, they are always having favorable feeling with the community pharmacists (CPs) as the first spot to seek advice. For that reason, it is essential to determine the character, behavior, and habit of customers toward the CPs and their extended pharmacy services. In addition, it is critical to determine the possible factors, which might have an effect on their characters, behaviors, and habits. The outcome of the analysis might help the CPs to understand the scenario in a particular way. Afterward, a structured and systematic approach known as “STARZ-DRP” is instigated as a basic skill to ensure whether each pharmacist has the self-confidence and self-competence to interact with the customers. The entire course of action shall empower the strength of personality among the CPs in the healthcare system

Community Pharmacy Marketing in the New Era: A Global Picture of Extended Community Pharmacy Services

The community pharmacists (CPs) are legally responsible to hand out a wide range of ready-made prescription medications to patients. Additionally, CPs are also involving in advocating customers who determine to self-medicate. Interestingly, it is also noted that CPs in developed countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada have performed more than these services. What are the extended community pharmacy services available? What are the barriers and perceptions of these extended services? It is rationale to explore such issues globally since it might have potential to give some possible course of action to CPs to incorporate more values to the contemporary services

The role of pharmacists in developing countries: The current scenario in the United Arab Emirates

AbstractPharmacy practice has passed several rounds of advancements over the past few years. It had changed the traditional positioning criteria of pharmacists as business people into patient-centered healthcare professionals. This worldwide shift is increasingly accumulating pressure on UAE pharmacists to turn up into better level of service providing accompanied with higher demand of inter-personal skills and intellectual capabilities. This can be accomplished through stressing the significance of continuing pharmacy education in basic sciences as well as social and administrative pharmacy techniques and its collaboration in elevating the quality of pharmacy practice in the UAE