Community Pharmacy

A special issue of Pharmacy (ISSN 2226-4787).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2016) | Viewed by 30722

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, UK
Interests: public health; medicines optimisation; patient care; mobile health; pharmacy services; patient education; telehealth; patient experience; healthcare education
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gone are the days when the pharmacist could spend their whole day dispensing prescriptions in the back of the pharmacy with very little patient interaction. Pharmacists today deliver an abundance of services, and play a wide role in primary care, in relation to public health, medication adherence and optimisation, disease prevention, and patient education and counselling. This Special Issue seeks to identify the pharmacists and public perceptions about the advanced role of pharmacists. It also aspires to highlight the evidence and the impact of such a role and the services offered, and identify other services or good practices within community pharmacies and other primary care sectors. It also wants to establish the utilisation and impact of digital solutions in the role of pharmacists. The issue also aims to highlight the barriers/facilitators and challenges for the extended role of community pharmacists and the future vision for the role and how it fits with national and international health priorities. Finally, it aims to provide evidence for the role of pharmacists in research, public health, disease prevention, and long-term disease management.

Dr. Reem Kayyali
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • public health
  • health promotion,
  • community pharmacy
  • patients’ perceptions
  • pharmacy services
  • cost-effectiveness
  • evidence
  • digital solutions
  • mobilehealth
  • social media
  • disease prevention
  • adherence
  • long-term conditions
  • medicines optimisation
  • patients’ counselling

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

719 KiB  
Article
Refer-To-Pharmacy: Pharmacy for the Next Generation Now! A Short Communication for Pharmacy
by Alistair Gray
Pharmacy 2015, 3(4), 364-371; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy3040364 - 11 Dec 2015
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6045
Abstract
Refer-to-Pharmacy is the first fully integrated hospital to community pharmacy referral system. This article explains the importance of these referrals for patients and health economies to improve medicines optimisation, and how Refer-to-Pharmacy works in both hospital and community pharmacies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Community Pharmacy)
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Article
The Hidden Role of Community Pharmacy Technicians in Ensuring Patient Safety with the Use of E-Prescribing
by Olufunmilola K. Odukoya, Loren J. Schleiden and Michelle A. Chui
Pharmacy 2015, 3(4), 330-343; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy3040330 - 25 Nov 2015
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7530
Abstract
Objectives: It has been reported that supportive personnel, such as pharmacy technicians, are key participants in the use of health information technology. The purpose of this study was to describe how pharmacy technicians use e-prescribing and to explore the characteristics of technicians that [...] Read more.
Objectives: It has been reported that supportive personnel, such as pharmacy technicians, are key participants in the use of health information technology. The purpose of this study was to describe how pharmacy technicians use e-prescribing and to explore the characteristics of technicians that support pharmacists in ensuring patient safety. Methods: This was a qualitative study that used observations, interviews, and focus groups to understand the role of pharmacy technicians in e-prescribing. Fourteen pharmacy technicians and 13 pharmacists from five community pharmacies participated. Observations lasted about nine hours in each pharmacy. Follow-up interviews and two separate focus groups were later conducted. Observation field notes and audio recordings were transcribed and thematically analyzed. Results: Pharmacy technicians were primarily responsible for all steps leading up to pharmacist review of the e-prescription and dispensing of medications to the patient. Technician characteristics, including experience, certification status, and knowledge of appropriate medication use, were reported as important factors in supporting a pharmacist’s role in ensuring patient safety with the use of e-prescribing. Conclusion: Study findings indicate that pharmacy technicians have an important role in supporting pharmacists to prevent medication errors. Certain characteristics of pharmacy technicians were identified with the potential to improve the e-prescription medication dispensing process and decrease patient harm through the identification and resolution of errors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Community Pharmacy)
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579 KiB  
Article
Views of English Pharmacists on Providing Public Health Services
by Catherine Dewsbury, Ruth M Rodgers and Janet Krska
Pharmacy 2015, 3(4), 154-168; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy3040154 - 13 Oct 2015
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5385
Abstract
Locally-commissioned pharmacy public health services have developed in England over the last 20 years. Few studies have sought pharmacist views on commissioning and provision of public health services in general. This study sought views of community pharmacists (n = 778) in 16 [...] Read more.
Locally-commissioned pharmacy public health services have developed in England over the last 20 years. Few studies have sought pharmacist views on commissioning and provision of public health services in general. This study sought views of community pharmacists (n = 778) in 16 areas of England on services provided, decisions about services, support, promotion and future developments, using a postal questionnaire with two reminders. Response rate was 26.5% (206). Funded public health services provided most frequently were: emergency contraception (71%), smoking cessation (62%), and supervised drug consumption (58%). Blood pressure monitoring was provided by 61% and was considered to be one of the services pharmacists perceived as being most valued by customers, but was not National Health Services (NHS)-funded. Motivation for providing public health services was professional not financial, particularly from those working in independent pharmacies. Only 35% were personally involved in deciding which services to deliver, and fewer than 20% based decisions on local public health reports. Pharmacists had positive attitudes towards providing public health services, but mixed views on support for services and their promotion. Most thought services would increase in future, but were concerned about commissioning. Both national and local support is needed to ensure future commissioning of pharmacy public health services. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Community Pharmacy)
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Article
Does the Subject Content of the Pharmacy Degree Course Influence the Community Pharmacist’s Views on Competencies for Practice?
by Jeffrey Atkinson, Kristien De Paepe, Antonio Sánchez Pozo, Dimitrios Rekkas, Daisy Volmer, Jouni Hirvonen, Borut Bozic, Agnieska Skowron, Constantin Mircioiu, Annie Marcincal, Andries Koster, Keith Wilson, Chris Van Schravendijk and Jamie Wilkinson
Pharmacy 2015, 3(3), 137-153; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy3030137 - 1 Sep 2015
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5714
Abstract
Do community pharmacists coming from different educational backgrounds rank the importance of competences for practice differently—or is the way in which they see their profession more influenced by practice than university education? A survey was carried out on 68 competences for pharmacy practice [...] Read more.
Do community pharmacists coming from different educational backgrounds rank the importance of competences for practice differently—or is the way in which they see their profession more influenced by practice than university education? A survey was carried out on 68 competences for pharmacy practice in seven countries with different pharmacy education systems in terms of the relative importance of the subject areas chemical and medicinal sciences. Community pharmacists were asked to rank the competences in terms of relative importance for practice; competences were divided into personal and patient-care competences. The ranking was very similar in the seven countries suggesting that evaluation of competences for practice is based more on professional experience than on prior university education. There were some differences for instance in research-related competences and these may be influenced, by education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Community Pharmacy)
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Article
U.S. Pharmacist Opinions Regarding the Rescheduling of Hydrocodone Combination Products: A Pilot Study
by Jordan R. Covvey, Andrea R. Pfalzgraf and Peter P. Cohron
Pharmacy 2015, 3(3), 129-136; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy3030129 - 28 Aug 2015
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4349
Abstract
In October 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration in the U.S. reclassified hydrocodone combination products (HCPs) from Schedule III to Schedule II, initiating one of the most significant and controversial regulatory changes for opioids in recent national history. The aim of the present study [...] Read more.
In October 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration in the U.S. reclassified hydrocodone combination products (HCPs) from Schedule III to Schedule II, initiating one of the most significant and controversial regulatory changes for opioids in recent national history. The aim of the present study was to determine community pharmacist opinions on the effect of the rescheduling of HCPs on their personal practice. A web-based pilot survey was emailed to a convenience sample through online newsletters of professional pharmacy organizations in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia in April/May 2015. A total of 62 surveys were initiated, yielding 56 complete responses. More than 75% of respondents noted increases in their workload as a result of the rescheduling of HCPs. Opinions regarding the intended outcomes of rescheduling were only weakly positive, with only 37.5% of respondents believing it has increased safety and 44.6% of respondents believing it has lessened abuse/diversion. For overall attitudes regarding the rescheduling, respondents were split between positive (26.8%), neutral (26.8%) and negative (46.4%). These initial data suggest that pharmacists have encountered barriers in practice resulting from the rescheduling. Further expanded work is necessary to verify these results from the small sample, and to assess the intended effects of the rescheduling upon the safe and effective use of hydrocodone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Community Pharmacy)
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