Prospects for development of pharmacy in Poland until the year 2030 : the document of the national section of pharmaceutical care of the Polish Pharmaceutical Society

Modern society expects pharmacists to be more involved in monitoring and supervising pharmacotherapy. International documents clearly define pharmacists as guardians of the safety and effectiveness of pharmacotherapy, not coincidentally putting safety matters first. With regard to this issue, the National Section of Pharmaceutical Care of the Polish Pharmaceutical Society hereby presents its own proposal for the development of modern pharmaceutical practice in Poland. The purpose of the proposed actions is to increase the involvement of pharmacists from generally accessible pharmacies in ensuring the safety and effectiveness of pharmacotherapy applied outside of hospitals and improving health indicators within society over the next ten to twenty years

Assess the quality of pharmaceutical services provided in public pharmacies using results of audits carried out by the Pharmaceutical Inspection. Part 1. General analysis.

Assess the quality of pharmaceutical services provided in public pharmacies using results of audits carried out by the Pharmaceutical Inspection. Part 1. General analysis. In Poland, quality supervision and marketing of medicinal products is the task of the State Pharmaceutical Inspection. The main goal of its activities include securing social interests in terms of health and life safety of people using medications purchased, among others in pharmacies. The manuscript proposes a new solution to assess the quality of pharmaceutical services provided in public pharmacies using results of audits carried out by the Pharmaceutical Inspection. Research material consists of data obtained from the Voivodeship Pharmaceutical Inspectorates (WIF) regarding the number of carried out inspections and detected irregularities between January 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. The research was conducted in 2016, among all 16 Voivodeship Inspectorates. At the request to provide essential information, 12 WIF responded positively, data from the remaining inspectorates was obtained from public information made available on their websites. In 2015, 3988 audits of public pharmacies were carried out. At that time, 13,469 public pharmacies operated in Poland and 134 inspectors were employed. On average one inspector carried out 2.5 audits monthly, which means that a single pharmacy was inspected once in 3.5 years (these calculations do not refer to other entities supervised by this office). The number of inspectors to entities and imposed tasks is insufficient, translating into the frequency of pharmacy’s inspections. This frequency can have a direct impact on the quality of provided services, as each inspection is aimed at eliminating mistakes. A hypothesis can be drawn that the less frequently an entity is audited, especially an entity where irregularities are noted, the easier it is to repeat and consolidate those irregularities to everyday practice. This in turn can lead to providing low quality pharmaceutical services.W Polsce nadzór nad jakością i obrotem produktami leczniczymi sprawuje Państwowa Inspekcja Farmaceutyczna. Podstawowym celem jej działań jest zabezpieczenie interesu społecznego w zakresie bezpieczeństwa zdrowia i życia ludzi stosujących leki nabywane m.in. w aptekach. W pracy zaproponowano nowe rozwiązanie możliwości oceny jakości usług farmaceutycznych świadczonych w aptekach ogólnodostępnych z wykorzystaniem kontroli prowadzonych przez Inspekcję Farmaceutyczną. Materiał badawczy stanowią dane otrzymane z wojewódzkich inspektoratów farmaceutycznych dotyczące: liczby przeprowadzonych kontroli oraz wykrytych nieprawidłowości w okresie od 1 stycznia 2015r. do 30 czerwca 2016r. Badanie przeprowadzono w 2016 r. wśród wszystkich 16 wojewódzkich inspektoratów. W 2015r. zrealizowano 3988 kontroli aptek ogólnodostępnych. W tym czasie w Polsce funkcjonowało 13 469 aptek ogólnodostępnych a zatrudnionych było 134 inspektorów. Miesięcznie jeden inspektor średnio przeprowadził 2,5 kontrole aptek, co prognozuje częstotliwość kontroli pojedynczej apteki średnio co ok. 3,5 roku. Wyliczenia częstotliwości kontroli aptek ogólnodostępnych przypadające na jednego inspektora nie odnoszą się do innych placówek nadzorowanych przez ten urząd. Liczba inspektorów w stosunku do liczby podmiotów gospodarczych oraz zadań jakie narzuca na inspekcję ustawodawstwo, jest niewystarczająca, co przekłada się na częstotliwość kontroli każdej apteki. Częstotliwość kontroli może mieć bezpośredni wpływ na jakość usług świadczonych przez apteki, gdyż każda kontrola ma za zadanie eliminować popełniane błędy. Można wysunąć hipotezę, że im rzadziej kontrolowany jest podmiot, w którym stwierdzono nieprawidłowości w jego funkcjonowaniu, tym łatwiej może dochodzić do utrwalenie działań nieprawidłowych i braku możliwości usunięcia ich z codziennej praktyki aptekarskiej. Utrwalenie nieprawidłowości może prowadzić do świadczenia usług farmaceutycznych o niskiej jakości

Somatotropin Penetration Testing from Formulations Applied Topically to the Skin

Growth hormone (somatotropin—STH) deficiency therapy requires daily injections of recombinant human growth hormone. The FDA approved treatment with STH with one dose per week for the first time in 2021. However, injectable drug application is accompanied by numerous inconveniences. Therefore, an attempt was made to formulate a less invasive STH formulation for topical application to the skin. A substrate was prepared based on a polymer, methylcellulose (MC), into which STH was introduced at a concentration of 1 mg/g. Simultaneously, formulations were made with STH, to which albumin (ALB) was added at different concentrations: 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.5%. A test of the degree of STH permeation was carried out, as well as the effect of ALB on STH permeation parameters. Selected rheological properties of the formulations obtained were investigated. A test of STH permeation in simulated in vivo conditions through porcine skin indicated a relatively good bioavailability of over 80% and confirmed the effectiveness of MC as a carrier for growth hormone. ALB prolonged the STH penetration rate and increased the penetration degree of STH to 93%. The hydrogels obtained were found to be typical shear-thinning, thixotropic fluids

Influence of Technological Parameters on the Size of Benzocaine Particles in Ointments Formulated on Selected Bases

Compounding formulations, including semi-solid medication forms, must meet criteria related to specific stability and quality, during a period of their use. In suspension-type ointments, one of the criteria for assessment of their correct manufacturing is particle size, which in the compounding preparation cannot exceed 90 µm. An appropriate level of particle disintegration can be achieved via a selection of technological parameters and qualitatively compatible excipients. In this study, benzocaine ointments were prepared using a levigation process. The time of its application on the particle size of API in suspension ointments was evaluated. In parallel, the effect of mixing parameters and the co-solvent used on the precipitation of active substance crystals in emulsion ointments during the storage of these formulations for 28 days was investigated. Forty suspension and emulsion ointments were prepared using selected ointment bases: Pentravan®, Lekobaza, Lekobaza LUX, Eucerin Ointment I, Nourivan™ Antiox, Fitalite™, containing 2% benzocaine. Based on the results of the stability test, four formulations were selected to study the release kinetics of benzocaine in vitro. These formulations were characterized by the rate of release consistent with the Higuchi model, and the fastest rate of release occurred from the Eucerin-based emulsion ointment

Real world data supporting identification of the pharmacist’s role in obesity and overweight treatment in Poland – a preliminary report

Introduction. Obesity is a significant health and economic problem, both for the patient and the health care system. An essential element in the prevention and treatment of each disease is the engagement of all groups of healthcare professionals. In our study, we performed an analysis of the real world data, obtained from a survey of the medical and socioeconomic problems associated with overweight and obesity. We aimed to identify the pharmacist’s role in the management of overweight and obese patients, including their individualized education in an outpatient setting. Material and methods. The study material consisted of responses obtained from a specially designed questionnaire. Our findings indicate that the study patients had easy access to a pharmacist’s professional knowledge, relevant to comprehensive treatment of obesity. In addition, our data indicates a lack of patient knowledge of a healthy lifestyle and an inability to implement such knowledge in practice. Results. The community pharmacist should actively provide support to patients with obesity (including the primary obesity and those who want to lose excessive body mass for health-related and also for aesthetic reasons) and the management of their weight. The results of our study should be considered as an introduction to further research to facilitate the understanding of problems and expectations of patients and to prepare pharmacists to perform pharmaceutical care (PC) in this regard. Conclusion. One of the potential options to protect society against the obesity epidemic is an education about the risks inherent to obesity and promotion of a healthy lifestyle