Drug shortage management in Alabama hospital pharmacies

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Oliver W. Holmes III, Pharm.D. Candidate 2013

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify effective strategies used by Alabama hospitals to manage drug shortages. Moreover, this study aims to determine if there are any relationships among hospital size, utilization of a standard policy for drug shortage management and perceived usefulness of standard procedures for drug shortages.Methods: A paper survey was mailed to 129 hospital pharmacies in Alabama (per the Alabama Hospital Association directory. The survey consisted of 5 demographic questions, questions involving perception of current medication shortages, sources of information about shorted drugs, and frequency of discussion at P&T committee meetings. Most importantly, the survey contained questions about the use of a standard policy for handling drug shortages, the effectiveness of the policy if one is used, and an open-ended question asking the recipient to describe the policy being used.Results: A response rate of 55% was achieved as 71 surveys were completed and returned. Approximately 70% of the survey respondents described the current drug shortage issue as a top priority in their pharmacy department. The pharmacy distributor served as the primary source of information regarding drug shortages for 45% of the facilities. There is a direct relationship between size of hospital and likelihood of utilization of a standard policy or procedure for drug shortage management among the sample. The smaller facilities of the sample perceived their management strategies as effective more frequently than the larger hospitals.Conclusion: Common components of effective management strategies included extensive communication of shortage details and the ability to locate alternative products. The use of portable technology (e.g., Smart phones and tablets along with mobile applications may emerge as popular means for communicating drug product shortage news and updates within a facility or healthcare system.

ASHP national survey of pharmacy practice in hospital settings: Dispensing and administration--2014.

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Pedersen, Craig A; Schneider, Philip J; Scheckelhoff, Douglas J

2015-07-01

The results of the 2014 ASHP national survey of pharmacy practice in hospital settings that pertain to dispensing and administration are described. A stratified random sample of pharmacy directors at 1435 general and children's medical-surgical hospitals in the United States were surveyed by mail. In this national probability sample survey, the response rate was 29.7%. Ninety-seven percent of hospitals used automated dispensing cabinets in their medication distribution systems, 65.7% of which used individually secured lidded pockets as the predominant configuration. Overall, 44.8% of hospitals used some form of machine-readable coding to verify doses before dispensing in the pharmacy. Overall, 65% of hospital pharmacy departments reported having a cleanroom compliant with United States Pharmacopeia chapter 797. Pharmacists reviewed and approved all medication orders before the first dose was administered, either onsite or by remote order view, except in procedure areas and emergency situations, in 81.2% of hospitals. Adoption rates of electronic health information have rapidly increased, with the widespread use of electronic health records, computer prescriber order entry, barcodes, and smart pumps. Overall, 31.4% of hospitals had pharmacists practicing in ambulatory or primary care clinics. Transitions-of-care services offered by the pharmacy department have generally increased since 2012. Discharge prescription services increased from 11.8% of hospitals in 2012 to 21.5% in 2014. Approximately 15% of hospitals outsourced pharmacy management operations to a contract pharmacy services provider, an increase from 8% in 2011. Health-system pharmacists continue to have a positive impact on improving healthcare through programs that improve the efficiency, safety, and clinical outcomes of medication use in health systems. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Establishing pharmacy operations in a new hospital while transferring existing operations to new ownership.

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Crumb, Deborah J

2010-04-01

The process of moving pharmacy services and personnel from an existing hospital to a new hospital while maintaining patient care and operations at both facilities is described. The project management structure for the new hospital is described, including the establishment of a departmental coordination team (DCT) for the pharmacy. The purpose of the pharmacy DCT was to plan and coordinate new hospital move-in and pharmacy operations as well as the transition of the existing hospital to new ownership. The use of action item lists and project scorecards kept the project on schedule and on budget. The pharmacy DCT's action item list, which sorted items into four categories (facilities, equipment, operations, and staffing), was reviewed and updated at the weekly meeting of pharmacy leadership and served as the principal guiding document for the pharmacy DCT. Planning and implementation are described for the areas of operations and workflow, staffing, information technology, materials management, accreditation and licensure, and orientation and training. On the transition day, patients under care by physicians employed by the governing organization were transferred to the new facility while patients under care by community physicians remained at the existing facility under new ownership and new administration. Integral to the successful transition were early planning, the provision of adequate training for all employees, and collaboration among organizations, departments, and individuals. A well-coordinated plan resulted in the successful establishment of pharmacy practice in a new hospital and the transition of an operational pharmacy practice and facility to new ownership while maintaining quality patient care.

Labour Market Segmentation: An Investigation into the Dutch Hospitality Industry

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A. Bispo

2007-01-01

textabstractAlmost 42,000 establishments, over 310,000 employees and approximately 13 billion Euro annual turnover (including VAT). This, in a nutshell, captures the Dutch hospitality industry in 2005. The aim of this study is to examine the functioning of the labour market in the Dutch hospitality

A national survey of clinical pharmacy services in county hospitals in China.

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Yao, Dongning; Xi, Xiaoyu; Huang, Yuankai; Hu, Hao; Hu, Yuanjia; Wang, Yitao; Yao, Wenbing

2017-01-01

Clinical pharmacy is not only a medical science but also an elaborate public health care system firmly related to its subsystems of education, training, qualification authentication, scientific research, management, and human resources. China is a developing country with a tremendous need for improvements in the public health system, including the clinical pharmacy service system. The aim of this research was to evaluate the infrastructure and personnel qualities of clinical pharmacy services in China. Public county hospitals in China. A national survey of clinical pharmacists in county hospitals was conducted. It was sampled through a stratified sampling strategy. Responses were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The main outcome measures include the coverage of clinical pharmacy services, the overall staffing of clinical pharmacists, the software and hardware of clinical pharmacy services, the charge mode of clinical pharmacy services, and the educational background, professional training acquisition, practical experience, and entry path of clinical pharmacists. The overall coverage of clinical pharmacy services on both the department scale (median = 18.25%) and the patient scale (median = 15.38%) does not meet the 100% coverage that is required by the government. In 57.73% of the sample hospitals, the staffing does not meet the requirement, and the size of the clinical pharmacist group is smaller in larger hospitals. In addition, 23.4% of the sample hospitals do not have management rules for the clinical pharmacists, and 43.1% do not have rational drug use software, both of which are required by the government. In terms of fees, 89.9% of the sample hospitals do not charge for the services. With regard to education, 8.5% of respondents are with unqualified degree, and among respondents with qualified degree, 37.31% are unqualified in the major; 43% of respondents lack the clinical pharmacist training required by the government. Most

Net Income of Pharmacy Faculty Compared to Community and Hospital Pharmacists.

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Chisholm-Burns, Marie A; Gatwood, Justin; Spivey, Christina A; Dickey, Susan E

2016-09-25

Objective. To compare the net cumulative income of community pharmacists, hospital pharmacists, and full-time pharmacy faculty members (residency-trained or with a PhD after obtaining a PharmD) in pharmacy practice, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, and social and administrative sciences. Methods. Markov modeling was conducted to calculate net projected cumulative earnings of career paths by estimating the costs of education, including the costs of obtaining degrees and student loans. Results. The economic model spanned 49 years, from ages 18 to 67 years. Earning a PharmD and pursuing an academic career resulted in projected net cumulative lifetime earnings ranging from approximately $4.7 million to $6.3 million. A pharmacy practice faculty position following public pharmacy school and one year of residency resulted in higher net cumulative income than community pharmacy. Faculty members with postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) training also had higher net income than other faculty and hospital pharmacy career paths, given similar years of prepharmacy education and type of pharmacy school attended. Faculty members with either a PharmD or PhD in the pharmacology discipline may net as much as $5.9 million and outpace all other PhD graduates by at least $75 000 in lifetime earnings. Projected career earnings of postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) trained faculty and PharmD/PhD faculty members were lower than those of community pharmacists. Findings were more variable when comparing pharmacy faculty members and hospital pharmacists. Conclusion. With the exception of PGY1 trained academic pharmacists, faculty projected net cumulative incomes generally lagged behind community pharmacists, likely because of delayed entry into the job market as a result of advanced training/education. However, nonsalary benefits such as greater flexibility and autonomy may enhance the desirability of academic pharmacy as a career path.

Review of nuclear pharmacy practice in hospitals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawada, T.K.; Tubis, M.; Ebenkamp, T.; Wolf, W.

1982-01-01

An operational profile for nuclear pharmacy practice is presented, and the technical and professional role of nuclear pharmacists is reviewed. Key aspects of nuclear pharmacy practice in hospitals discussed are the basic facilities and equipment for the preparation, quality control, and distribution of radioactive drug products. Standards for receiving, storing, and processing radioactive material are described. The elements of a radiopharmaceutical quality assurance program, including the working procedures, documentation systems, data analysis, and specific control tests, are presented. Details of dose preparation and administration and systems of inventory control for radioactive products are outlined

Offering Clinical Pharmacy Clerkship in Hospital for Pharmacy Student: A Successful Cooperation between Medical and Pharmacy Schools

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Kaveh Eslami

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Pharmacy education has been changed in recent years. Pharmacy students need more practical and clinical skills which come from direct interaction with patients and other health care providers. To achieve this, students need more effective courses and clerkships. In this paper we describe our method to design and evaluate clinical pharmacy clerkship for the first time in Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS.Methods: To  determine  the  most  beneficial way  of  education  we  designed  a  pilot  study  in educational hospital of AJUMS. After analyzing the conclusions from pilot study, 40 fifth year pharmacy student divided in ten groups and each group had a six week rotation in three different wards under supervision of medical residents. Each student was asked to provide evaluations during six total weeks of three different rotation sites.Results and Discussion: Clinical pharmacy clerkship led to successfully improved clinical skills for students such as being familiar with different practice environments, direct communication whit patients and medical team and participation in direct patient care activities. All the students participate in the course could pass the final exam and 85% of students believed this would be a necessary education course in their clerkship programs. Although there were some problems but pharmacy students benefited from this course and it gives them advantages in clinical knowledge and professional communication skills.

Assessment of pharmacy information system performance in selected hospitals in isfahan city during 2011.

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Saqaeian Nejad Isfahani, Sakineh; Mirzaeian, Razieh; Habibi, Mahbobe

2013-01-01

In supporting a therapeutic approach and medication therapy management, pharmacy information system acts as one of the central pillars of information system. This ensures that medication therapy is being supported and evaluated with an optimal level of safety and quality similar to other treatments and services. This research aims to evaluate the performance of pharmacy information system in three types of teaching, private and social affiliated hospitals. The present study is an applied, descriptive and analytical study which was conducted on the pharmacy information system in use in the selected hospitals. The research population included all the users of pharmacy information systems in the selected hospitals. The research sample is the same as the research population. Researchers collected data using a self-designed checklist developed following the guidelines of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Australia pharmaceutical Society and Therapeutic guidelines of the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association. The checklist validity was assessed by research supervisors and pharmacy information system pharmacists and users. To collect data besides observation, the questionnaires were distributed among pharmacy information system pharmacists and users. Finally, the analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS software. Pharmacy information system was found to be semi-automated in 16 hospitals and automated in 3 ones. Regarding the standards in the guidelines issued by the Society of Pharmacists, the highest rank in observing the input standards belonged to the Social Services associated hospitals with a mean score of 32.75. While teaching hospitals gained the highest score both in processing standards with a mean score of 29.15 and output standards with a mean score of 43.95, and the private hospitals had the lowest mean scores of 23.32, 17.78, 24.25 in input, process and output standards respectively. Based on the findings, the studied

Refer-To-Pharmacy: Pharmacy for the Next Generation Now! A Short Communication for Pharmacy

OpenAIRE

Gray, Alistair

2015-01-01

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.

Current status, challenges and the way forward for clinical pharmacy service in Ethiopian public hospitals.

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Bilal, Arebu Issa; Tilahun, Zelalem; Gebretekle, Gebremedhin Beedemariam; Ayalneh, Belete; Hailemeskel, Bisrat; Engidawork, Ephrem

2017-05-19

Clinical pharmacy service has evolved steadily over the past few decades and is now contributing to the 'patient care journey' at all stages. It is improving the safety and effectiveness of medicines and has made a significant contribution to the avoidance of medication errors. In Ethiopia, clinical pharmacy service is in its initial phase, being started in July 2013. This study therefore aimed at assessing the status, challenges and way forward of clinical pharmacy service in the country. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in six regional states and one city- administration in September 2014. A total of 51 hospitals were included in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed for data collection. A total of 160 pharmacy graduates, and 51 pharmacy heads participated in the study. Internal Medicine and Pediatric wards were the major wards where the graduates provide clinical pharmacy service. Almost 94% of the new graduates were found to be involved in clinical pharmacy service, but 47% of them rated their service as poor. The overall satisfaction of the graduates was close to 36%. Thirteen hospitals discontinued and two hospitals not even initiated the service largely due to shortage of pharmacists and lack of management support. About 44% of the surveyed hospitals documented the clinical pharmacy service provided using either developed or adopted formats. Lack of awareness by the medical fraternity, high attrition rate, lack of support from the management as well as from the health care team, readiness of the graduates to deliver the service, and shortage of pharmacists were identified by the key informants as the major stumbling block to deliver clinical pharmacy service. Clinical pharmacy service is initiated in most of the surveyed hospitals and a large proportion of the graduates were involved in the service. Although there is a great enthusiasm to promote clinical pharmacy service in the surveyed hospitals, efforts made to

Refer-To-Pharmacy: Pharmacy for the Next Generation Now! A Short Communication for Pharmacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alistair Gray

2015-12-01

Full Text Available 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.

Experience with the Implementation of Clinical Pharmacy Services and Processes in a University Hospital in Belgium.

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Somers, Annemie; Claus, Barbara; Vandewoude, Koen; Petrovic, Mirko

2016-03-01

This article summarizes the experience with the development of clinical pharmacy services in the Ghent University Hospital in Belgium. Implementation of clinical pharmacy services in Belgian hospitals has not been evident because these activities were initially not structurally financed. The aim is to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the clinical pharmacy development process, and the milestones that enhanced the progress. Furthermore, the organisation of clinical pharmacy in the Ghent University Hospital is explained, including back- and front-office activities, seamless pharmaceutical care and medication safety improvement. Some working methods, procedures and tools are explained for different clinical pharmacy services. In particular, the clinical pharmacy projects for geriatric patients as well as the preparation of clinical pharmacy services for the accreditation process are explained. We also reflect on the organisation model and the future development of clinical pharmacy, taking into consideration facilitators and potential barriers.

The design and equipments of hospital pharmacies in Isfahan, Iran

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Ali Mohammad Sabzghabaee

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Nowadays pharmaceutical care departments located in hospitals are amongst the important pillars of the healthcare system. The aim of this study was to evaluate designing features and equipments of hospital drugstores affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this cross-sectional study a self-defined and validated questionnaire was used which included all the necessary and standard needed spaces and equipments of an ideal hospital pharmacy. The questionnaire was filled in by one of the researchers in all twelve hospital drugstores located in the teaching and non-teaching hospitals affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Data analysis was done using SPSS (version 14. Results: Results showed that 56% of drugstore space allocations were unsuitable. Used pharmaceutical equipments in 75% of surveyed hospitals were not according to the standards. Almost all of these pharmacies had rather an enough space for storage, but cold storages were not designed in 58% of them. In 66% of perused hospitals, pharmaceutical services disposal level was admissible. The structural engineering parameters like size and dimensions, available spaces, availability of structural planes, existence of air conditioning systems and brightness controllers, adequate stores for drugs and safe places for narcotics were observed in 55% of pharmacies. Conclusions: There are apparent out of standard space allocations and shortages of needed equipments for offering drug services in studied drugstores that may probably lead to a waste of time and money. These issues may reduce the efficiency and safety of pharmaceutical services and drug administration in hospitals.

Maximizing profitability in a hospital outpatient pharmacy.

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Jorgenson, J A; Kilarski, J W; Malatestinic, W N; Rudy, T A

1989-07-01

This paper describes the strategies employed to increase the profitability of an existing ambulatory pharmacy operated by the hospital. Methods to generate new revenue including implementation of a home parenteral therapy program, a home enteral therapy program, a durable medical equipment service, and home care disposable sales are described. Programs to maximize existing revenue sources such as increasing the capture rate on discharge prescriptions, increasing "walk-in" prescription traffic and increasing HMO prescription volumes are discussed. A method utilized to reduce drug expenditures is also presented. By minimizing expenses and increasing the revenues for the ambulatory pharmacy operation, net profit increased from +26,000 to over +140,000 in one year.

Policies on documentation and disciplinary action in hospital pharmacies after a medication error.

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Bauman, A N; Pedersen, C A; Schommer, J C; Griffith, N L

2001-06-15

Hospital pharmacies were surveyed about policies on medication error documentation and actions taken against pharmacists involved in an error. The survey was mailed to 500 randomly selected hospital pharmacy directors in the United States. Data were collected on the existence of medication error reporting policies, what types of errors were documented and how, and hospital demographics. The response rate was 28%. Virtually all of the hospitals had policies and procedures for medication error reporting. Most commonly, documentation of oral and written reprimand was placed in the personnel file of a pharmacist involved in an error. One sixth of respondents had no policy on documentation or disciplinary action in the event of an error. Approximately one fourth of respondents reported that suspension or termination had been used as a form of disciplinary action; legal action was rarely used. Many respondents said errors that caused harm (42%) or death (40%) to the patient were documented in the personnel file, but 34% of hospitals did not document errors in the personnel file regardless of error type. Nearly three fourths of respondents differentiated between errors caught and not caught before a medication leaves the pharmacy and between errors caught and not caught before administration to the patient. More emphasis is needed on documentation of medication errors in hospital pharmacies.

Medicine procurement in hospital pharmacies of Nepal: A qualitative study based on the Basel Statements

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Ranjit, Eurek

2018-01-01

Background Accessibility and affordability of evidence-based medicines are issues of global concern. For low-income countries like Nepal, it is crucial to have easy and reliable access to affordable, good-quality, evidence-based medicines, especially in the aftermath of natural or manmade disasters. Availability of affordable and evidence-based high quality medicines depends on the medicine procurement procedure, which makes it an important aspect of healthcare delivery. In this study, we aimed to investigate medicine procurement practices in hospital pharmacies of Nepal within the framework of International Pharmaceutical Federation [FIP] hospital pharmacy guidelines “the Basel Statements”. Method We conducted semi-structured interviews with hospital pharmacists or procurement officers in hospital pharmacies of four major regions in Nepal to explore procurement practices. Data were collected until saturation of themes, analysed using the framework approach, and organised around the statements within the procurement theme of the Basel Statements. Results Interviews conducted with 53 participants revealed that the procurement guidelines of the Basel Statements were adopted to a certain extent in hospital pharmacies of Nepal. It was found that the majority of hospital pharmacies in Nepal reported using an expensive direct-procurement model for purchasing medicines. Most had no formulary and procured medicines solely based on doctors’ prescriptions, which were heavily influenced by pharmaceutical companies’ marketing strategies. Whilst most procured only registered medicines, a minority reported purchasing unregistered medicines through unauthorised supply-chains. And although the majority of hospital pharmacies had some contingency plans for managing medicine shortages, a few had none. Conclusions Procurement guidelines of the Basel Statements were thus found to be partially adopted; however, there is room for improvement in current procurement practices in

Medicine procurement in hospital pharmacies of Nepal: A qualitative study based on the Basel Statements.

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Shrestha, Mina; Moles, Rebekah; Ranjit, Eurek; Chaar, Betty

2018-01-01

Accessibility and affordability of evidence-based medicines are issues of global concern. For low-income countries like Nepal, it is crucial to have easy and reliable access to affordable, good-quality, evidence-based medicines, especially in the aftermath of natural or manmade disasters. Availability of affordable and evidence-based high quality medicines depends on the medicine procurement procedure, which makes it an important aspect of healthcare delivery. In this study, we aimed to investigate medicine procurement practices in hospital pharmacies of Nepal within the framework of International Pharmaceutical Federation [FIP] hospital pharmacy guidelines "the Basel Statements". We conducted semi-structured interviews with hospital pharmacists or procurement officers in hospital pharmacies of four major regions in Nepal to explore procurement practices. Data were collected until saturation of themes, analysed using the framework approach, and organised around the statements within the procurement theme of the Basel Statements. Interviews conducted with 53 participants revealed that the procurement guidelines of the Basel Statements were adopted to a certain extent in hospital pharmacies of Nepal. It was found that the majority of hospital pharmacies in Nepal reported using an expensive direct-procurement model for purchasing medicines. Most had no formulary and procured medicines solely based on doctors' prescriptions, which were heavily influenced by pharmaceutical companies' marketing strategies. Whilst most procured only registered medicines, a minority reported purchasing unregistered medicines through unauthorised supply-chains. And although the majority of hospital pharmacies had some contingency plans for managing medicine shortages, a few had none. Procurement guidelines of the Basel Statements were thus found to be partially adopted; however, there is room for improvement in current procurement practices in hospital pharmacies of Nepal. Adoption and

Medicine procurement in hospital pharmacies of Nepal: A qualitative study based on the Basel Statements.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mina Shrestha

Full Text Available Accessibility and affordability of evidence-based medicines are issues of global concern. For low-income countries like Nepal, it is crucial to have easy and reliable access to affordable, good-quality, evidence-based medicines, especially in the aftermath of natural or manmade disasters. Availability of affordable and evidence-based high quality medicines depends on the medicine procurement procedure, which makes it an important aspect of healthcare delivery. In this study, we aimed to investigate medicine procurement practices in hospital pharmacies of Nepal within the framework of International Pharmaceutical Federation [FIP] hospital pharmacy guidelines "the Basel Statements".We conducted semi-structured interviews with hospital pharmacists or procurement officers in hospital pharmacies of four major regions in Nepal to explore procurement practices. Data were collected until saturation of themes, analysed using the framework approach, and organised around the statements within the procurement theme of the Basel Statements.Interviews conducted with 53 participants revealed that the procurement guidelines of the Basel Statements were adopted to a certain extent in hospital pharmacies of Nepal. It was found that the majority of hospital pharmacies in Nepal reported using an expensive direct-procurement model for purchasing medicines. Most had no formulary and procured medicines solely based on doctors' prescriptions, which were heavily influenced by pharmaceutical companies' marketing strategies. Whilst most procured only registered medicines, a minority reported purchasing unregistered medicines through unauthorised supply-chains. And although the majority of hospital pharmacies had some contingency plans for managing medicine shortages, a few had none.Procurement guidelines of the Basel Statements were thus found to be partially adopted; however, there is room for improvement in current procurement practices in hospital pharmacies of Nepal

Ethnic inequalities in patient safety in Dutch hospital care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rosse, F.

2015-01-01

This thesis shows the first results of Dutch studies on the relation between ethnicity and patient safety. We used mixed methods to identify patient safety outcomes and patient safety risks in a cohort study in 4 urban hospitals among 763 Dutch patients and 576 ethnic minority patients. In a record

Motivational theory applied to hospital pharmacy practice.

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Grace, M

1980-12-01

In recent years a great deal of attention has been paid to motivation and job satisfaction among hospital pharmacy practitioners. Institutional pharmacy managers should become more aware of ways in which they can motivate members of their staff. Specifically, Frederick Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory is discussed in reference to its origination, major tenets, and practical applications in institutional pharmacy practice settings. Principally, Herzberg's theory explains needs of workers in terms of extrinsic factors called "hygienes" and intrinsic factors called "motivators." The theory suggests that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not opposites but two separate dimensions. According to this theory, an employee will be motivated if the task allows for the following: 1)actual achievement, 2) recognition for achievement, 3) increased responsibility, 4) opportunity for growth (professionally), and 5) chance for advancement. It is concluded that some of these suggested applications can be useful to managers who are faced with low morale among the members of their staff.

Relative costs of anesthesiologist prepared, hospital pharmacy prepared and outsourced anesthesia drugs.

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Jelacic, Srdjan; Craddick, Karen; Nair, Bala G; Bounthavong, Mark; Yeung, Kai; Kusulos, Dolly; Knutson, Jennifer A; Somani, Shabir; Bowdle, Andrew

2017-02-01

Anesthesia drugs can be prepared by anesthesia providers, hospital pharmacies or outsourcing facilities. The decision whether to outsource all or some anesthesia drugs is challenging since the costs associated with different anesthesia drug preparation methods remain poorly described. The costs associated with preparation of 8 commonly used anesthesia drugs were analyzed using a budget impact analysis for 4 different syringe preparation strategies: (1) all drugs prepared by anesthesiologist, (2) drugs prepared by anesthesiologist and hospital pharmacy, (3) drugs prepared by anesthesiologist and outsourcing facility, and (4) all drugs prepared by outsourcing facility. A strategy combining anesthesiologist and hospital pharmacy prepared drugs was associated with the lowest estimated annual cost in the base-case budget impact analysis with an annual cost of $225 592, which was lower than other strategies by a margin of greater than $86 000. A combination of anesthesiologist and hospital pharmacy prepared drugs resulted in the lowest annual cost in the budget impact analysis. However, the cost of drugs prepared by an outsourcing facility maybe lower if the capital investment needed for the establishment and maintenance of the US Pharmacopeial Convention Chapter compliant facility is included in the budget impact analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hospital diversification: how to involve the pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, J E; Black, B L

1987-05-01

Participation by hospital pharmacy departments in planning and development of diversified services is described. Diversification requires market planning. Seven basic marketing steps are identification of mission, goals, and objectives; identification of growth strategies (market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification); market analysis of external factors (size, growth, and logistics; reimbursement and financial considerations; competition; regulatory issues; and legal issues); market analysis of internal factors (departmental organization and reporting lines, demographics of the institution, and costs and productivity associated with the new service); program development and design; implementation; and evaluation. Hospitals can diversify by expanding acute-care services through management contracts and mergers; developing new services to include long-term-care, ambulatory-care, occupational-health, and wellness programs; starting other health-care ventures, such as consulting, continuing medical education, and continuing education for nurses; and expanding into non-health-care businesses. Vertical diversification is finding new markets for existing services; horizontal diversification is development of new services for new markets. To diversify, an institution may need to change its corporate structure; it may form a family of corporations that includes a university, nonprofit hospitals, holding companies, for-profit corporations, joint ventures, and service organizations. Through diversification, institutions and pharmacy departments can create alternative sources of funding and offer more comprehensive services to patients.

Assessment of Pharmacy Information System Performance in Three Hospitals in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

El Mahalli, Azza; El-Khafif, Sahar H; Yamani, Wid

2016-01-01

The pharmacy information system is one of the central pillars of a hospital information system. This research evaluated a pharmacy information system according to six aspects of the medication process in three hospitals in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. System administrators were interviewed to determine availability of functionalities. Then, system users within the hospital were targeted to evaluate their level of usage of these functionalities. The study was cross-sectional. Two structured surveys were designed. The overall response rate of hospital users was 31.7 percent. In all three hospitals studied, the electronic health record is hybrid, implementation has been completed and the system is running, and the systems have computerized provider order entry and clinical decision support. Also, the pharmacy information systems are integrated with the electronic health record, and computerized provider order entry and almost all prescribing and transcription functionalities are available; however, drug dispensing is a mostly manual process. However, the study hospitals do not use barcode-assisted medication administration systems to verify patient identity and electronically check dose administration, and none of them have computerized adverse drug event monitoring that uses the electronic health record. The numbers of users who used different functionalities most or all of the time was generally low. The highest frequency of utilization was for patient administration records (56.8 percent), and the lowest was for linkage of the pharmacy information system to pharmacy stock (9.1 percent). Encouraging users to use different functionalities was highly recommended.

[A Questionnaire Survey on Cooperation between Community Pharmacies and Hospitals in Outpatient Chemotherapy-Comparison of Roles of Pharmacists in Community Pharmacy and Hospitals].

Science.gov (United States)

Ishibashi, Masaaki; Ishii, Masakazu; Nagano, Miku; Kiuchi, Yuji; Iwamoto, Sanju

2018-01-01

　Previous reports suggested that sharing outpatient information during chemotherapy is very important for managing pharmaceutical usage between community pharmacies and hospitals. We herein examined using a questionnaire survey whether pharmaceutical management for outpatient chemotherapy is desired by community and hospital pharmacists. The response rates were 44.3% (133/300) for pharmacists in community pharmacies and 53.7% (161/300) for pharmacists in hospitals. Prescriptions for outpatients during chemotherapy were issued at 88.2% of the hospitals. Currently, 28.9% of hospital pharmacists rarely provide pharmaceutical care, such as patient guidance and adverse effect monitoring, for outpatients receiving oral chemotherapy. Furthermore, whereas 93.7% of hospital pharmacists conducted prescription audits based on the chemotherapy regimen, audits were only performed by 14.8% of community pharmacists. Thus, outpatients, particularly those on oral regimens, were unable to receive safe pharmaceutical care during chemotherapy. Community pharmacists suggested that hospital pharmacists should use "medication notebooks" and disclose prescription information when providing clinical information to community pharmacists. They also suggested sending clinical information to hospital pharmacists by fax. On the other hand, hospital pharmacists suggested the use of "medication notebooks" and electronic medical records when providing clinical information to community pharmacists. In addition, they suggested for community pharmacists to use electronic medical records when providing clinical information to hospital pharmacists. As there may be differences in opinion between community and hospital pharmacists, mutual preliminary communication is important for successful outpatient chemotherapy.

Pharmacy Student Facilitation of Reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions in a Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Wentzell, Jason; Nguyen, Tiffany; Bui, Stephanie; MacDonald, Erika

2017-01-01

Health Canada relies on health professionals to voluntarily report adverse reactions to the Canada Vigilance Program. Current rates of reporting adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are inadequate to detect important safety issues. To assess the impact of pharmacy student facilitation of ADR reporting by pharmacists at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Canada. The intervention of interest, implemented at one campus of the hospital, was facilitation of ADR reporting by pharmacy students. The students received training on how to submit ADR reports and presented information sessions on the topic to hospital pharmacists; the pharmacists were then encouraged to report ADRs to a designated student for formal reporting. Frequency of reporting by pharmacists at the intervention campus was compared with reporting at a control campus of the same hospital. Data were collected prospectively over a 6-month pilot period, starting in April 2015. During the pilot period, 27 ADR reports were submitted at the intervention campus, and 3 reports at the control campus. All student participants strongly agreed that they would recommend that responsibility for submitting ADR reports to the Canada Vigilance Program remain with pharmacy students during future rotations. Availability of a pharmacy student to facilitate reporting of ADRs may increase the frequency of ADR reporting and could alleviate pharmacist workload; this activity is also a potentially valuable learning experience for students.

Quality indicators for the hospital transfusion chain : A national survey conducted in 100 dutch hospitals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zijlker-Jansen, Pauline Y.; Janssen, M. P.; van Tilborgh-de Jong, A. J W; Schipperus, M. R.; Wiersum-Osselton, J. C.

2015-01-01

Background: The 2011 Dutch Blood Transfusion Guideline for hospitals incorporates seven internal quality indicators for evaluation of the hospital transfusion chain. The indicators aim to measure guideline compliance as shown by the instatement of a hospital transfusion committee and transfusion

Evaluation of a survey tool to measure safety climate in Australian hospital pharmacy staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Walpola, Ramesh L; Chen, Timothy F; Fois, Romano A; Ashcroft, Darren M; Lalor, Daniel J

Safety climate evaluation is increasingly used by hospitals as part of quality improvement initiatives. Consequently, it is necessary to have validated tools to measure changes. To evaluate the construct validity and internal consistency of a survey tool to measure Australian hospital pharmacy patient safety climate. A 42 item cross-sectional survey was used to evaluate the patient safety climate of 607 Australian hospital pharmacy staff. Survey responses were initially mapped to the factor structure previously identified in European community pharmacy. However, as the data did not adequately fit the community pharmacy model, participants were randomly split into two groups with exploratory factor analysis performed on the first group (n = 302) and confirmatory factor analyses performed on the second group (n = 305). Following exploratory factor analysis (59.3% variance explained) and confirmatory factor analysis, a 6-factor model containing 28 items was obtained with satisfactory model fit (χ 2 (335) = 664.61 p  0.643) and model nesting between the groups (Δχ 2 (22) = 30.87, p = 0.10). Three factors (blame culture, organisational learning and working conditions) were similar to those identified in European community pharmacy and labelled identically. Three additional factors (preoccupation with improvement; comfort to question authority; and safety issues being swept under the carpet) highlight hierarchical issues present in hospital settings. This study has demonstrated the validity of a survey to evaluate patient safety climate of Australian hospital pharmacy staff. Importantly, this validated factor structure may be used to evaluate changes in safety climate over time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Utrecht Pharmacy Practice network for Education and Research: a network of community and hospital pharmacies in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Koster, Ellen S; Blom, Lyda; Philbert, Daphne; Rump, Willem; Bouvy, Marcel L

2014-08-01

Practice-based networks can serve as effective mechanisms for the development of the profession of pharmacists, on the one hand by supporting student internships and on the other hand by collection of research data and implementation of research outcomes among public health practice settings. This paper presents the characteristics and benefits of the Utrecht Pharmacy Practice network for Education and Research, a practice based research network affiliated with the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Utrecht University. Yearly, this network is used to realize approximately 600 student internships (in hospital and community pharmacies) and 20 research projects. To date, most research has been performed in community pharmacy and research questions frequently concerned prescribing behavior or adherence and subjects related to uptake of regulations in the pharmacy setting. Researchers gain access to different types of data from daily practice, pharmacists receive feedback on the functioning of their own pharmacy and students get in depth insight into pharmacy practice.

Op weg naar een accreditatiesysteem van Nederlandse ziekenhuizen [Towards an accreditation system of Dutch hospitals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gennip, E.M.S.J. van; Linnebank, F.; Sillevis Smitt, P.A.E.; Geldof, C.A.

1999-01-01

The development of the Netherlands system for accreditation of hospitals started in 1989 in the Pilotproject Accreditation (PACE). This resulted in the establishment of the Netherlands Institute for Accreditation of Hospitals (NIAH) early 1999, by the Dutch Association of Hospitals, the Dutch

Using queuing theory and simulation model to optimize hospital pharmacy performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahadori, Mohammadkarim; Mohammadnejhad, Seyed Mohsen; Ravangard, Ramin; Teymourzadeh, Ehsan

2014-03-01

Hospital pharmacy is responsible for controlling and monitoring the medication use process and ensures the timely access to safe, effective and economical use of drugs and medicines for patients and hospital staff. This study aimed to optimize the management of studied outpatient pharmacy by developing suitable queuing theory and simulation technique. A descriptive-analytical study conducted in a military hospital in Iran, Tehran in 2013. A sample of 220 patients referred to the outpatient pharmacy of the hospital in two shifts, morning and evening, was selected to collect the necessary data to determine the arrival rate, service rate, and other data needed to calculate the patients flow and queuing network performance variables. After the initial analysis of collected data using the software SPSS 18, the pharmacy queuing network performance indicators were calculated for both shifts. Then, based on collected data and to provide appropriate solutions, the queuing system of current situation for both shifts was modeled and simulated using the software ARENA 12 and 4 scenarios were explored. Results showed that the queue characteristics of the studied pharmacy during the situation analysis were very undesirable in both morning and evening shifts. The average numbers of patients in the pharmacy were 19.21 and 14.66 in the morning and evening, respectively. The average times spent in the system by clients were 39 minutes in the morning and 35 minutes in the evening. The system utilization in the morning and evening were, respectively, 25% and 21%. The simulation results showed that reducing the staff in the morning from 2 to 1 in the receiving prescriptions stage didn't change the queue performance indicators. Increasing one staff in filling prescription drugs could cause a decrease of 10 persons in the average queue length and 18 minutes and 14 seconds in the average waiting time. On the other hand, simulation results showed that in the evening, decreasing the staff

[Medical microbiology laboratories in Dutch hospitals: essential for safe patient care].

Science.gov (United States)

Bonten, M J M

2008-12-06

The Netherlands Health Care Inspectorate investigated the quality of medical microbiology laboratories in Dutch hospitals. By and large the laboratories fulfilled the requirements for appropriate care, although some processes were unsatisfactory and some were insufficiently formalised. In the Netherlands, laboratories for medical microbiology are integrated within hospitals and medical microbiologists are responsible for the diagnostic processes as well as for co-treatment of patients, infection prevention and research. This integrated model contrasts to the more industrialised model in many other countries, where such laboratories are physically distinct from hospitals with a strong focus on diagnostics. The Inspectorate also concludes that the current position of medical microbiology in Dutch hospitals is necessary for patient safety and that outsourcing of these facilities is considered unacceptable.

Accreditation status of hospital pharmacies and their challenges of medication management: A case of south Iranian largest university.

Science.gov (United States)

Barati, Omid; Dorosti, Hesam; Talebzadeh, Alireza; Bastani, Peivand

2016-01-01

Considering the importance of accreditation for hospital pharmacies, this study was to determine the challenges of medication management in hospital pharmacies affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The study was a mix-method research conducted in two qualitative and quantitative phases during the years 2014-2015 in Shiraz, Iran. National Accreditation Standard checklist for hospitals was used for data collection in the first phase, and Delphi method was applied in three rounds to achieve the most challenges of medication management and the related solutions. Results indicated a medium status of accreditation for all three dimensions in the above hospital pharmacies (3.53, 42.15 and 7, respectively). Lack of clinical pharmacists, nonparticipation of the pharmacy director in annual budgeting, lack of access to patient information, discontinuity of pharmaceutical care for patients discharged, defects in pharmacy staff training, lack of legislation in support of pharmacists and lack of adequate access to physicians' prescriptions, shortages in reporting medication errors, and lack of evidence related to microbial contamination are the most challenges extracted from the second phase. It seems that the studied hospital pharmacies encounter numerous problems regarding accreditation, pharmaceutical care as well as appropriate medication management and supply chain. Attempts to solve these problems can play an important role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of pharmacies in Iran.

Accreditation status of hospital pharmacies and their challenges of medication management: A case of south Iranian largest university

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omid Barati

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Considering the importance of accreditation for hospital pharmacies, this study was to determine the challenges of medication management in hospital pharmacies affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The study was a mix-method research conducted in two qualitative and quantitative phases during the years 2014–2015 in Shiraz, Iran. National Accreditation Standard checklist for hospitals was used for data collection in the first phase, and Delphi method was applied in three rounds to achieve the most challenges of medication management and the related solutions. Results indicated a medium status of accreditation for all three dimensions in the above hospital pharmacies (3.53, 42.15 and 7, respectively. Lack of clinical pharmacists, nonparticipation of the pharmacy director in annual budgeting, lack of access to patient information, discontinuity of pharmaceutical care for patients discharged, defects in pharmacy staff training, lack of legislation in support of pharmacists and lack of adequate access to physicians' prescriptions, shortages in reporting medication errors, and lack of evidence related to microbial contamination are the most challenges extracted from the second phase. It seems that the studied hospital pharmacies encounter numerous problems regarding accreditation, pharmaceutical care as well as appropriate medication management and supply chain. Attempts to solve these problems can play an important role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of pharmacies in Iran.

Mapping the literature of hospital pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Ann; Helwig, Melissa; Neves, Karen

2016-04-01

This study describes the literature of hospital pharmacy and identifies the journals most commonly cited by authors in the field, the publication types most frequently cited, the age of citations, and the indexing access to core journals. The study also looks at differing citation practices between journals with a wide audience compared to a national journal with a focus on regional issues and trends in the field. Cited references from five discipline-specific source journals were collected and analyzed for publication type and age. Two sets were created for comparison. Bradford's Law of Scattering was applied to both sets to determine the most frequently cited journals. Three-quarters of all cited items were published within the last 10 years (71%), and journal articles were the most heavily cited publication type (n=65,760, 87%). Citation analysis revealed 26 journal titles in Zone 1, 177 journal titles in Zone 2, and the remaining were scattered across 3,886 titles. Analysis of a national journal revealed Zone 1 comprised 9 titles. Comparison of the 2 sets revealed that Zone 1 titles overlapped, with the exception of 2 titles that were geographically focused in the national title. Hospital pharmacy literature draws heavily from its own discipline-specific sources but equally from core general and specialty medical journals. Indexing of cited journals is complete in PubMed and EMBASE but lacking in International Pharmaceutical Abstracts. Gray literature is a significant information source in the field.

ASHP national survey of pharmacy practice in hospital settings: dispensing and administration--2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Craig A; Schneider, Philip J; Scheckelhoff, Douglas J

2012-05-01

Results of the 2011 ASHP national survey of pharmacy practice in hospital settings that pertain to dispensing and administration are presented. A stratified random sample of pharmacy directors at 1401 general and children's medical-surgical hospitals in the United States were surveyed by mail. In this national probability sample survey, the response rate was 40.1%. Decentralization of the medication-use system continues, with 40% of hospitals using a decentralized system and 58% of hospitals planning to use a decentralized model in the future. Automated dispensing cabinets were used by 89% of hospitals, robots were used by 11%, carousels were used in 18%, and machine-readable coding was used in 34% of hospitals to verify doses before dispensing. Overall, 65% of hospitals had a United States Pharmacopeia chapter 797 compliant cleanroom for compounding sterile preparations. Medication administration records (MARs) have become increasingly computerized, with 67% of hospitals using electronic MARs. Bar-code-assisted medication administration was used in 50% of hospitals, and 68% of hospitals had smart infusion pumps. Health information is becoming more electronic, with 67% of hospitals having partially or completely implemented an electronic health record and 34% of hospitals having computerized prescriber order entry. The use of these technologies has substantially increased over the past year. The average number of full-time equivalent staff per 100 occupied beds averaged 17.5 for pharmacists and 15.0 for technicians. Directors of pharmacy reported declining vacancy rates for pharmacists. Pharmacists continue to improve medication use at the dispensing and administration steps of the medication-use system. The adoption of new technology is changing the philosophy of medication distribution, and health information is rapidly becoming electronic.

Human resources management for a hospital pharmacy department.

Science.gov (United States)

Chase, P A

1989-06-01

The concepts of human resources management (HRM) are presented, and the application of HRM concepts to a hospital pharmacy department is described. Low salaries and poor working conditions had precipitated a mass exodus of pharmacists from a 650-bed, tertiary-care medical center. The newly hired director of pharmacy sought to rebuild the department by developing a three-stage HRM model consisting of needs forecasting, performance management, and advanced management systems. In the needs-forecasting stage, the strengths and weaknesses of departmental programs were determined through analysis of existing standards of practice, situational analysis, and financial analyses; the strengths and weaknesses of departmental employees were determined through the use of talent inventories, turnover analysis, analysis of time and leave records, reevaluation of the department's job classifications, performance and productivity evaluations, and productivity evaluations, and development of a philosophy of practice and mission statement. Needs and problems were addressed by examining each existing program and developing new policies and procedures, performance standards, quality assurance mechanisms, and productivity expectations. Personnel needs and problems were addressed by designing a system of differentiated career ladders, contracting with pharmacists for career moves, developing the skills of currently employed pharmacists, and implementing a succession planning model. The model has been in place for approximately three years and is beginning to yield the desired results. Application of HRM concepts to a hospital pharmacy department appears to have been successful in improving employee morale and in helping the department to meet goals of expanded and improved services.

Development of a supervisory skills course for hospital pharmacy workplaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Woloschuk, Donna M M; Raymond, Colette B

2010-07-01

Many Canadian hospital pharmacies are experiencing difficulties recruiting supervisory personnel. It was expected that, through a "learning-by-doing" course, pharmacy staff would learn to apply basic skills in the day-to-day supervision of pharmacy operations and human resources and to apply the principles of supervisory documentation. A supervisory skills course targeted to pharmacy staff members was developed and implemented by the pharmacy department of a large urban health region. The course was initially offered to practising pharmacy technicians. The course design emphasized a constructivist framework incorporating authentic learning and reflective practice during seminars, with experiential and self-directed learning in the workplace. Preceptors assisted learners to achieve the course goals. Learners and preceptors provided feedback about hours spent (as the course progressed) and about their satisfaction with the course itself (at the end of the course). Learners and preceptors completed a post-program evaluation 2 months after completing the course to help in the assessment of the transfer of learning (lasting impact) associated with the course. Overall performance in the course was assessed on a pass/fail basis. Eighteen pharmacy technicians were admitted to the program, but one withdrew because of a job change. All learners successfully completed the course. Two months after the course, learners and preceptors described enhanced organization, time management, leadership, communication, and conflict-resolution skills on the part of learners, as well as their increased confidence, maturity, and ability to supervise staff. Learners' evaluations revealed a broadened perspective of pharmacy. The preceptors valued the enhancement of learners' skills and their increased enthusiasm. At the time of writing, 6 of the participants had secured supervisory positions. Creating formal instruction that engages pharmacy staff to pursue management positions is challenging

Antibiotic control measures in Dutch secondary care hospitals.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schouten, J.A.; Hulscher, M.E.J.L.; Natsch, S.S.; Grol, R.P.T.M.; Meer, J.W.M. van der

2005-01-01

Control measures for the use of antibiotics are essential because of the potential harmful consequences of side effects. Various methods have been developed to help curb undesirable antibiotic prescription. We performed a survey in Dutch secondary care hospitals (response rate 73%) to make an

What hospitals need to know about guidelines : A mixed-method analysis of guideline implementation in Dutch hospitals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blume, L.H.K.; van Weert, N.J.H.W.; Busari, J.O.; Stoopendaal, A.M.V.; Delnoij, D.

2017-01-01

Rationale, aims and objectives This study provides insight into how Dutch hospitals ensure that guidelines are used in practice and identifies what key messages other hospitals can learn from existing practices. We examine current practices in handling compliance and, therefore, focus on hospitals

Using Queuing Theory and Simulation Model to Optimize Hospital Pharmacy Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Bahadori, Mohammadkarim; Mohammadnejhad, Seyed Mohsen; Ravangard, Ramin; Teymourzadeh, Ehsan

2014-01-01

Background: Hospital pharmacy is responsible for controlling and monitoring the medication use process and ensures the timely access to safe, effective and economical use of drugs and medicines for patients and hospital staff. Objectives: This study aimed to optimize the management of studied outpatient pharmacy by developing suitable queuing theory and simulation technique. Patients and Methods: A descriptive-analytical study conducted in a military hospital in Iran, Tehran in 2013. A sample of 220 patients referred to the outpatient pharmacy of the hospital in two shifts, morning and evening, was selected to collect the necessary data to determine the arrival rate, service rate, and other data needed to calculate the patients flow and queuing network performance variables. After the initial analysis of collected data using the software SPSS 18, the pharmacy queuing network performance indicators were calculated for both shifts. Then, based on collected data and to provide appropriate solutions, the queuing system of current situation for both shifts was modeled and simulated using the software ARENA 12 and 4 scenarios were explored. Results: Results showed that the queue characteristics of the studied pharmacy during the situation analysis were very undesirable in both morning and evening shifts. The average numbers of patients in the pharmacy were 19.21 and 14.66 in the morning and evening, respectively. The average times spent in the system by clients were 39 minutes in the morning and 35 minutes in the evening. The system utilization in the morning and evening were, respectively, 25% and 21%. The simulation results showed that reducing the staff in the morning from 2 to 1 in the receiving prescriptions stage didn't change the queue performance indicators. Increasing one staff in filling prescription drugs could cause a decrease of 10 persons in the average queue length and 18 minutes and 14 seconds in the average waiting time. On the other hand, simulation

[Current status of "hospital-clinic" and "hospital-pharmacy" cooperation for inhalation therapy -based on hospital surveys throughout Japan].

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshimura, Chie; Momose, Yasuyuki; Horie, Takeo; Komase, Yuko; Niimi, Akio; Dobashi, Kunio; Fujimoto, Keisaku; Tohda, Yuuji; Ohta, Ken; Adachi, Mitsuru

2014-02-01

The "zero death from asthma strategy" in the medical treatment for bronchial asthma has been promoted by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare from 2006, and it indicates that medical and non-medical specialists, as well as pharmacists, should cooperate, and strives to build cooperation which is suited the actual conditions of an area. It is also important for COPD. Although hospitals in some areas cooperate with clinics and pharmacies, the overall concept of cooperation appears to be absent in most Japanese hospitals. A questionnaire was administered in early March, 2012 to 477 allergology institutions, and was authorized by an educational establishment. Among 246 replies from the institutions, cooperation between hospitals and clinics was carried out by 98 institutions (39.8%) specializing in bronchial asthma, and in 64 institutions (37.2%) specializing in COPD. However, cooperation tools were used in only 37 of these institutions (15.0%). The ability to fill prescriptions outside the hospital was available in 209 institutions (85.0%). One-hundred and seventeen institutions (47.6%) replied that they have no tools for hospital-pharmacy cooperation. Direct indications were written in prescriptions by 82 institutions (33.3). In order to build inter-regional association and to equalize medical treatment, we suggest that developing tools and organization for cooperation between health professionals who treat patients with bronchial asthma and COPD is necessary.

Mapping the literature of hospital pharmacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann Barrett, MLIS

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Objectives: This study describes the literature of hospital pharmacy and identifies the journals most commonly cited by authors in the field, the publication types most frequently cited, the age of citations, and the indexing access to core journals. The study also looks at differing citation practices between journals with a wide audience compared to a national journal with a focus on regional issues and trends in the field. Method: Cited references from five discipline-specific source journals were collected and analyzed for publication type and age. Two sets were created for comparison. Bradford’s Law of Scattering was applied to both sets to determine the most frequently cited journals. Results: Three-quarters of all cited items were published within the last 10 years (71%, and journal articles were the most heavily cited publication type (n¼65,760, 87%. Citation analysis revealed 26 journal titles in Zone 1, 177 journal titles in Zone 2, and the remaining were scattered across 3,886 titles. Analysis of a national journal revealed Zone 1 comprised 9 titles. Comparison of the 2 sets revealed that Zone 1 titles overlapped, with the exception of 2 titles that were geographically focused in the national title. Conclusion: Hospital pharmacy literature draws heavily from its own discipline-specific sources but equally from core general and specialty medical journals. Indexing of cited journals is complete in PubMed and EMBASE but lacking in International Pharmaceutical Abstracts. Gray literature is a significant information source in the field.

Survey of sterile admixture practices in canadian hospital pharmacies: part 1. Methods and results.

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Travis; Nishi, Cesilia; Checkowski, Ryan; Hall, Kevin W

2009-03-01

The 1996 Guidelines for Preparation of Sterile Products in Pharmacies of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) represent the current standard of practice for sterile compounding in Canada. However, these guidelines are practice recommendations, not enforceable standards. Previous surveys of sterile compounding practices have shown that actual practice deviates markedly from voluntary practice recommendations. In 2004, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) published its "General Chapter Pharmaceutical Compounding-Sterile Preparations", which set a more rigorous and enforceable standard for sterile compounding in the United States. To assess sterile compounding practices in Canadian hospital pharmacies and to compare them with current CSHP recommendations and USP chapter standards. An online survey, based on previous studies of sterile compounding practices, the CSHP guidelines, and the chapter standards, was created and distributed to 193 Canadian hospital pharmacies. A total of 133 pharmacies completed at least part of the survey, for a response rate of 68.9%. All respondents reported the preparation of sterile products. Various degrees of deviation from the practice recommendations were noted for virtually all areas of the CSHP guidelines and the USP standards. Low levels of compliance were most notable in the areas of facilities and equipment, process validation, and product testing. Availability in the central pharmacy of a clean room facility meeting or exceeding the criteria of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) class 8 is a requirement of the chapter standards, but more than 40% of responding pharmacies reported that they did not have such a facility. Higher levels of compliance were noted for policies and procedures, garbing requirements, aseptic technique, and handling of hazardous products. Part 1 of this series reports the survey methods and results relating to policies, personnel, raw materials, storage and handling

A Transaction Cost Analysis of Dutch Hospital Care Contracting between hospitals and health insurance companies in a deregulated environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.A. Brandenburg (Claudia)

2008-01-01

textabstractThe Dutch government has started a process of reformation in the Dutch healthcare. The goal of this reformation is cost efficient healthcare in the Netherlands. Hospitals and health insurance companies in the Netherlands experience changes in regulations and funding. They are expected

A test for monitoring under- and overtreatment in Dutch hospitals

OpenAIRE

Lenz, Oliver Urs; Oberski, Daniel L

2017-01-01

Over- and undertreatment harm patients and society and confound other healthcare quality measures. Despite a growing body of research covering specific conditions, we lack tools to systematically detect and measure over- and undertreatment in hospitals. We demonstrate a test used to monitor over- and undertreatment in Dutch hospitals, and illustrate its results applied to the aggregated administrative treatment data of 1,836,349 patients at 89 hospitals in 2013. We employ a random effects mod...

Adding Value by FM and CREM in Dutch hospitals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Voordt, D.J.M.; Prevosth, J.; van der Zwart, J.

2012-01-01

Purpose: To explore if and how Dutch hospital managers steer on adding value by well-considered Facility Management (FM) and Corporate Real Estate Management (CREM), which values are leading, and how adding value is being translated into concrete interventions. Methodology: In addition to a review

The merits of a robot : A Dutch experience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mobach, M.P.

2006-01-01

Purpose: To determine the merits of a robot at the community pharmacy in a quasi-experiment. Method: The applied methods for data-collection were barcode-time measurements, direct observations, time-interval studies, and tally at a Dutch community pharmacy. The topics consisted of workload, waiting

Public-private partnerships in the Canadian environment: options for hospital pharmacies.

Science.gov (United States)

Uddin, Z; Bear, R A

1997-01-01

This brief report explores the direction being pursued by hospitals interested in outsourcing non-core activities within the pharmacy department. Private sector logistics companies are looking to position themselves in the drug product supply chain to facilitate seamless transfers of drug products, ordering information and payments between drug manufacturers and hospitals. Opportunities for implementing consolidated purchasing, unit dosing, just-in-time inventory and electronic commerce systems are discussed.

Survey of sterile admixture practices in canadian hospital pharmacies: part 2. More results and discussion.

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Travis; Nishi, Cesilia; Checkowski, Ryan; Hall, Kevin W

2009-05-01

The 1996 Guidelines for Preparation of Sterile Products in Pharmacies of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) represent the current standard of practice for sterile compounding in Canada. However, these guidelines are practice recommendations, not enforceable standards. Previous surveys of sterile compounding practices have shown that actual practice deviates markedly from voluntary practice recommendations. In 2004, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) published its "General Chapter Pharmaceutical Compounding-Sterile Preparations", which set a more rigorous and enforceable standard for sterile compounding in the United States. To assess sterile compounding practices in Canadian hospital pharmacies and to compare them with current CSHP recommendations and USP chapter standards. An online survey, based on previous studies of sterile compounding practices, the CSHP guidelines, and the chapter standards, was created and distributed to 193 Canadian hospital pharmacies. A total of 133 pharmacies completed at least part of the survey, for a response rate of 68.9%. All respondents reported the preparation of sterile products. Various degrees of deviation from the practice recommendations were noted for virtually all areas of the CSHP guidelines and the USP standards. Low levels of compliance were most notable in the areas of facilities and equipment, process validation, and product testing. Availability in the central pharmacy of a clean room facility meeting or exceeding the criteria of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) class 8 is a requirement of the chapter standards, but more than 40% of responding pharmacies reported that they did not have such a facility. Higher levels of compliance were noted for policies and procedures, garbing requirements, aseptic technique, and handling of hazardous products. The survey methods for this study and results relating to policies, personnel, raw materials, storage and handling, facilities and

Assessment of surveys for the management of hospital clinical pharmacy services.

Science.gov (United States)

Čufar, Andreja; Mrhar, Aleš; Robnik-Šikonja, Marko

2015-06-01

Survey data sets are important sources of data, and their successful exploitation is of key importance for informed policy decision-making. We present how a survey analysis approach initially developed for customer satisfaction research in marketing can be adapted for an introduction of clinical pharmacy services into a hospital. We use a data mining analytical approach to extract relevant managerial consequences. We evaluate the importance of competences for users of a clinical pharmacy with the OrdEval algorithm and determine their nature according to the users' expectations. For this, we need substantially fewer questions than are required by the Kano approach. From 52 clinical pharmacy activities we were able to identify seven activities with a substantial negative impact (i.e., negative reinforcement) on the overall satisfaction of clinical pharmacy services, and two activities with a strong positive impact (upward reinforcement). Using analysis of individual feature values, we identified six performance, 10 excitement, and one basic clinical pharmacists' activity. We show how the OrdEval algorithm can exploit the information hidden in the ordering of class and attribute values, and their inherent correlation using a small sample of highly relevant respondents. The visualization of the outputs turns out highly useful in our clinical pharmacy research case study. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CONTINUING EDUCATION: VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN THE CONTEXT OF HOSPITAL PHARMACY AS A STRATEGY FOR INTEGRATION IN A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL SERGIPE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Adriano Santos Souza

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The current reality of hospitals increasingly require professionals qualified to assume roles that require high levels of technical and scientific knowledge. The supervised internship in hospital pharmacy aims to train future professionals with critical awareness and ability to understand the reality and act on it. This study consists of an report of the experience of students supervised III internship of the graduate course in Pharmacy, Federal University of Sergipe. Initially the students made visits in the fields of pharmacy, warehouse, intensive care unit (ICU, emergency care to make the diagnosis of both situational and physical aspects of the information relating to medicines by nursing professionals. Later lectures were held, they were directed to health professionals and administrative staff of the pharmacy. From the results we observed that implement continuing education was of great importance to the quality of pharmacy professionals / warehouse and nursing staff, in which participants were able to actively interact with pharmacists and interns. This interaction reflected in increased communication and more concrete understanding of the multidisciplinary team.

Improving medication information transfer between hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities, and long-term-care pharmacies for hospital discharge transitions of care: A targeted needs assessment using the Intervention Mapping framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerstenetzky, Luiza; Birschbach, Matthew J; Beach, Katherine F; Hager, David R; Kennelty, Korey A

2018-02-01

Patients transitioning from the hospital to a skilled nursing home (SNF) are susceptible to medication-related errors resulting from fragmented communication between facilities. Through continuous process improvement efforts at the hospital, a targeted needs assessment was performed to understand the extent of medication-related issues when patients transition from the hospital into a SNF, and the gaps between the hospital's discharge process, and the needs of the SNF and long-term care (LTC) pharmacy. We report on the development of a logic model that will be used to explore methods for minimizing patient care medication delays and errors while further improving handoff communication to SNF and LTC pharmacy staff. Applying the Intervention Mapping (IM) framework, a targeted needs assessment was performed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Using the hospital discharge medication list as reference, medication discrepancies in the SNF and LTC pharmacy lists were identified. SNF and LTC pharmacy staffs were also interviewed regarding the continuity of medication information post-discharge from the hospital. At least one medication discrepancy was discovered in 77.6% (n = 45/58) of SNF and 76.0% (n = 19/25) of LTC pharmacy medication lists. A total of 191 medication discrepancies were identified across all SNF and LTC pharmacy records. Of the 69 SNF staff interviewed, 20.3% (n = 14) reported patient care delays due to omitted documents during the hospital-to-SNF transition. During interviews, communication between the SNF/LTC pharmacy and the discharging hospital was described by facility staff as unidirectional with little opportunity for feedback on patient care concerns. The targeted needs assessment guided by the IM framework has lent to several planned process improvements initiatives to help reduce medication discrepancies during the hospital-to-SNF transition as well as improve communication between healthcare entities. Opening lines of

Adolescent alcohol intoxication in the dutch hospital Departments of Pediatrics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoof, J.J. van; Lely, N. van der; Pereira, R.R.; Dalen, W.E. van

2010-01-01

Objective This study was conducted to investigate the number and characteristics of adolescent alcohol intoxication cases in hospital Departments of Pediatrics. The study also analyzes drinking patterns and intoxication characteristics. Method: Data were collected using the Dutch Pediatric

Revision of the International Pharmaceutical Federation's Basel Statements on the future of hospital pharmacy: From Basel to Bangkok.

Science.gov (United States)

Vermeulen, Lee C; Moles, Rebekah J; Collins, Jack C; Gray, Andy; Sheikh, Abdul Latif; Surugue, Jacqueline; Moss, Robert J; Ivey, Marianne F; Stevenson, James G; Takeda, Yasuo; Ranjit, Eurek; Chaar, Betty; Penm, Jonathan

2016-07-15

The processes used to revise the 2008 Basel Statements on the future of hospital pharmacy are summarized, and the revised statements are presented. The process for revising the Basel Statements followed an approach similar to that used during their initial development. The Hospital Pharmacy Section (HPS) of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) revised the 2008 FIP Basel Statements in four phases, including a survey of hospital pharmacists worldwide, an internal review, online forums, and a face-to-face "World Café" workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. The global survey on the initial Basel Statements included input from 334 respondents from 62 countries. The majority of respondents agreed that most of the initial Basel Statements were acceptable as written and did not require revision. In total, 11 statements were judged by more than 10% of respondents as needing revision or deletion. The FIP HPS executive committee used the survey results to develop 69 initial revised draft statements. After an online discussion with the international hospital pharmacy community, including individuals from 28 countries representing all six World Health Organization regions, a final set of draft statements was prepared for the live discussion involving participants from 20 countries. The final 65 revised Basel Statements were voted on and accepted. Systematic revision of the FIP Basel Statements resulted in an updated reflection of aspirational goals for the future of hospital pharmacy practice. While this revision reflects the development of new goals for hospital pharmacy practice, the core principles of the Basel Statements remain an essential foundation for the discipline. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Costs and effects of MRSA control in Dutch hospitals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wassenberg, M.W.M.

2010-01-01

In the Netherlands the prevalence of MRSA among S. aureus bloodstream isolates was as low as 0.7% in 2008. This low prevalence is maintained by a nationwide MRSA policy (also called search and destroy), that has been employed in Dutch hospitals since 1984. In the last years we have witnessed major

Pharmacy Dashboard: An Innovative Process for Pharmacy Workload and Productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinney, Ashley; Bui, Quyen; Hodding, Jane; Le, Jennifer

2017-03-01

Background: Innovative approaches, including LEAN systems and dashboards, to enhance pharmacy production continue to evolve in a cost and safety conscious health care environment. Furthermore, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of these novel methods continues to be challenging for pharmacies. Objective: To describe a comprehensive, real-time pharmacy dashboard that incorporated LEAN methodologies and evaluate its utilization in an inpatient Central Intravenous Additives Services (CIVAS) pharmacy. Methods: Long Beach Memorial Hospital (462 adult beds) and Miller Children's and Women's Hospital of Long Beach (combined 324 beds) are tertiary not-for-profit, community-based hospitals that are served by one CIVAS pharmacy. Metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of CIVAS were developed and implemented on a dashboard in real-time from March 2013 to March 2014. Results: The metrics that were designed and implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of CIVAS were quality and value, financial resilience, and the department's people and culture. Using a dashboard that integrated these metrics, the accuracy of manufacturing defect-free products was ≥99.9%, indicating excellent quality and value of CIVAS. The metric for financial resilience demonstrated a cost savings of $78,000 annually within pharmacy by eliminating the outsourcing of products. People and value metrics on the dashboard focused on standard work, with an overall 94.6% compliance to the workflow. Conclusion: A unique dashboard that incorporated metrics to monitor 3 important areas was successfully implemented to improve the effectiveness of CIVAS pharmacy. These metrics helped pharmacy to monitor progress in real-time, allowing attainment of production goals and fostering continuous quality improvement through LEAN work.

Pharmacy Dashboard: An Innovative Process for Pharmacy Workload and Productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Bui, Quyen; Hodding, Jane; Le, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Background: Innovative approaches, including LEAN systems and dashboards, to enhance pharmacy production continue to evolve in a cost and safety conscious health care environment. Furthermore, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of these novel methods continues to be challenging for pharmacies. Objective: To describe a comprehensive, real-time pharmacy dashboard that incorporated LEAN methodologies and evaluate its utilization in an inpatient Central Intravenous Additives Services (CIVAS) pharmacy. Methods: Long Beach Memorial Hospital (462 adult beds) and Miller Children's and Women's Hospital of Long Beach (combined 324 beds) are tertiary not-for-profit, community-based hospitals that are served by one CIVAS pharmacy. Metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of CIVAS were developed and implemented on a dashboard in real-time from March 2013 to March 2014. Results: The metrics that were designed and implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of CIVAS were quality and value, financial resilience, and the department's people and culture. Using a dashboard that integrated these metrics, the accuracy of manufacturing defect-free products was ≥99.9%, indicating excellent quality and value of CIVAS. The metric for financial resilience demonstrated a cost savings of $78,000 annually within pharmacy by eliminating the outsourcing of products. People and value metrics on the dashboard focused on standard work, with an overall 94.6% compliance to the workflow. Conclusion: A unique dashboard that incorporated metrics to monitor 3 important areas was successfully implemented to improve the effectiveness of CIVAS pharmacy. These metrics helped pharmacy to monitor progress in real-time, allowing attainment of production goals and fostering continuous quality improvement through LEAN work. PMID:28439134

Adolescent alcohol intoxication in the dutch hospital departments of pediatrics: A 2-year comparison study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoof, J.J. van; Lely, N. van der; Bouthoorn, S.H.; Dalen, W.E. van; Pereira, R.R.

2011-01-01

Purpose: To monitor the prevalence of, and the circumstances leading to, adolescent alcohol intoxication admissions in Dutch hospital departments of pediatrics. Methods: Data were collected in 2007 and 2008, using the Dutch Pediatric Surveillance System, in which pediatricians received

[Clinical pharmacy: Evaluation of physician's satisfactions and expectations in a French regional hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, P; Lotito, A; Baysson, H; Pineau-Blondel, E; Berlioz, J

2017-03-01

The purpose of the study was to evaluate physician's satisfaction with the clinical pharmacy activities in a French regional hospital. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews carried out by a public health intern with physicians from 14 different departments of medicine and surgery. A specifically designed questionnaire was used for this study. This contained 18 closed-ended questions, 3 open-ended questions and 6 questions relating to the multidisciplinary analysis of prescriptions of elderly patients. The questionnaire was proposed to 78 physicians, of which 62 replied (participation rate of 79%). Thirty-seven percent were interns (23/62), 19% were assistants (12/62) and 44% were senior physicians (27/62). Clinical pharmacy satisfaction levels were generally very high. In regard to clinical skills, 87% of the physicians were satisfied with pharmacists' competencies and 91% by the pertinence of transmitted information. Ninety-five percent of the physicians were also satisfied by the logistical aspect and the relationship with pharmacists (reactivity, availability and communication). Analysis of the open-ended questions showed that physicians were in favour of the increased presence of clinical pharmacists on the wards. This study shows a high level of physician satisfaction in relation to the clinical pharmacy activities in our hospital, and should be viewed as a strong endorsement of the work of the clinical pharmacy. This study highlights some areas of improvement such as increase presence of the clinical pharmacists on the wards. In order to assess periodically our activity, this study must be repeated in the future. Copyright © 2016 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

How to plan workflow changes: a practical quality improvement tool used in an outpatient hospital pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilar, Christine; Chau, Connie; Giridharan, Neha; Huh, Youchin; Cooley, Janet; Warholak, Terri L

2013-06-01

A quality improvement tool is provided to improve pharmacy workflow with the goal of minimizing errors caused by workflow issues. This study involved workflow evaluation and reorganization, and staff opinions of these proposed changes. The study pharmacy was an outpatient pharmacy in the Tucson area. However, the quality improvement tool may be applied in all pharmacy settings, including but not limited to community, hospital, and independent pharmacies. This tool can help the user to identify potential workflow problem spots, such as high-traffic areas through the creation of current and proposed workflow diagrams. Creating a visual representation can help the user to identify problem spots and to propose changes to optimize workflow. It may also be helpful to assess employees' opinions of these changes. The workflow improvement tool can be used to assess where improvements are needed in a pharmacy's floor plan and workflow. Suggestions for improvements in the study pharmacy included increasing the number of verification points and decreasing high traffic areas in the workflow. The employees of the study pharmacy felt that the proposed changes displayed greater continuity, sufficiency, accessibility, and space within the pharmacy.

Attitude of fourth year Doctor of Pharmacy students towards pharmacy profession and their career preferences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salman Saad

2012-01-01

Conclusion: Fourth year students believed that pharmacy education and practice affect the health care system. Their favorite career areas were clinical pharmacy, industrial pharmacy, and hospital pharmacy. Personal interest was the most important factor involved in this selection. Most of them were interested in pharmacy-related research activities.

Implementation of a pharmacy automation system (robotics) to ensure medication safety at Norwalk hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Bepko, Robert J; Moore, John R; Coleman, John R

2009-01-01

This article reports an intervention to improve the quality and safety of hospital patient care by introducing the use of pharmacy robotics into the medication distribution process. Medication safety is vitally important. The integration of pharmacy robotics with computerized practitioner order entry and bedside medication bar coding produces a significant reduction in medication errors. The creation of a safe medication-from initial ordering to bedside administration-provides enormous benefits to patients, to health care providers, and to the organization as well.

The Faculties of Pharmacy Schools Should Make an Effort to Network with Community Pharmacies.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsushita, Ryo

2016-01-01

By law, medical faculties are mandated to have a designated partner hospital for the purposes of student practical training. In contrast, pharmacy faculties do not have such a legal requirement for student training in a community pharmacy setting. Nevertheless, there are several public and private universities that do have community pharmacies. However, there is no national university that has established both an educational hospital and a community pharmacy. When Kanazawa University (KU) established a graduate school with a clinical pharmacy course, the faculty of KU deemed it necessary to set up an independent community pharmacy for the purpose of practical training. Thus, in 2003, the Acanthus Pharmacy was set up as the first educational community pharmacy in Japan, managed by a nonprofit organization, with the permission of the Ishikawa Pharmaceutical Association and local community pharmacists. Since that time, Acanthus has managed a clinical pharmacy practice for students from both the undergraduate and graduate schools of KU. From 2006, the undergraduate pharmacy program was changed to a 6-year program, and the Acanthus Pharmacy has continued its roles in educating undergraduate pharmaceutical students, medical students, and as a site of early exposure for KU freshmen. From our experience, it is important to have a real clinical environment available to university pharmacy faculty and students, especially in training for community pharmacy practices.

Use of closed systems in the Hospital Pharmacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Forte Pérez-Minayo

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: In the setting of the increasing use of closed systems for reconstitution and preparation of these drugs, we intend to analyze the correct use of these systems in the Hospital Pharmacy, with the objective to minimize the risks of exposure not only for those professionals directly involved, but also for all the staff in the unit, taking also into account efficiency criteria. Method: Since some systems protect against aerosol formation but not from vapours, we decided to review which cytostatics should be prepared using an awl with an air inlet valve, in order to implement a new working procedure. We reviewed the formulations available in our hospital, with the following criteria: method of administration, excipients, and potential hazard for the staff handling them. We measured the diameters of the vials. We selected drugs with Level 1 Risk and also those including alcohol-based excipients, which could generate vapours. Outcomes: Out of the 66 reviewed formulations, we concluded that 11 drugs should be reconstituted with this type of awl: busulfan, cabazitaxel, carmustine, cyclophosphamide, eribulin, etoposide, fotemustine, melphalan, paclitaxel, temsirolimus and thiotepa; these represented an 18% of the total volume of formulations. Conclusions: The selection of healthcare products must be done at the Hospital Pharmacy, because the use of a system with an air valve inlet only for those drugs selected led to an outcome of savings and a more efficient use of materials. In our experience, we confirmed that the use of the needle could only be avoided when the awl could adapt to the different formulations of cytostatics, and this is only possible when different types of awls are available. Besides, connections were only really closed when a single awl was used for each vial. The change in working methodology when handling these drugs, as a result of this study, will allow us to start different studies about environmental contamination as a

Development of clinical pharmacy key performance indicators for hospital pharmacists using a modified Delphi approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Olavo; Gorman, Sean K; Slavik, Richard S; Semchuk, William M; Shalansky, Steve; Bussières, Jean-François; Doucette, Douglas; Bannerman, Heather; Lo, Jennifer; Shukla, Simone; Chan, Winnie W Y; Benninger, Natalie; MacKinnon, Neil J; Bell, Chaim M; Slobodan, Jeremy; Lyder, Catherine; Zed, Peter J; Toombs, Kent

2015-06-01

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable measures of quality. There are no published, systematically derived clinical pharmacy KPIs (cpKPIs). A group of hospital pharmacists aimed to develop national cpKPIs to advance clinical pharmacy practice and improve patient care. A cpKPI working group established a cpKPI definition, 8 evidence-derived cpKPI critical activity areas, 26 candidate cpKPIs, and 11 cpKPI ideal attributes in addition to 1 overall consensus criterion. Twenty-six clinical pharmacists and hospital pharmacy leaders participated in an internet-based 3-round modified Delphi survey. Panelists rated 26 candidate cpKPIs using 11 cpKPI ideal attributes and 1 overall consensus criterion on a 9-point Likert scale. A meeting was facilitated between rounds 2 and 3 to debate the merits and wording of candidate cpKPIs. Consensus was reached if 75% or more of panelists assigned a score of 7 to 9 on the consensus criterion during the third Delphi round. All panelists completed the 3 Delphi rounds, and 25/26 (96%) attended the meeting. Eight candidate cpKPIs met the consensus definition: (1) performing admission medication reconciliation (including best-possible medication history), (2) participating in interprofessional patient care rounds, (3) completing pharmaceutical care plans, (4) resolving drug therapy problems, (5) providing in-person disease and medication education to patients, (6) providing discharge patient medication education, (7) performing discharge medication reconciliation, and (8) providing bundled, proactive direct patient care activities. A Delphi panel of hospital pharmacists was successful in determining 8 consensus cpKPIs. Measurement and assessment of these cpKPIs will serve to advance clinical pharmacy practice and improve patient care. © The Author(s) 2015.

[Present Status and Problems of Management and Guidance for Visiting Pharmacy Service to In-home Patients by Hospital Pharmacists].

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Masumi; Kishita, Yoshie; Asada, Miyako; Otsuka, Megumi; Takeshita, Sachiko; Hama, Norihisa; Hayashi, Seigo; Ito, Tomoki; Nishio, Masayuki; Nakamura, Masaki

2018-03-01

We conducted a survey of the background of 41 patients who received management and guidance from an in-home visiting pharmacy service and of the contents of support by the pharmacist, using patients' medical records from May 2016 to March 2017. Support comprised delivery of medicine to alleviate a burden to caregiver, suggesting medication, adjusting remaining medicines, and providing support during hospitalization. Out of 285 visits, there were 32 visits for which a medical fee could not be claimed. The main reasons for this were delivery of medicine on the day of visiting medical care, management of prescribed medicine at home, and delivery of temporal medicines. We used SWOT analysis to examine the problems and to consider improvements. The results showed that the different method for calculating medical fees is disadvantage for the hospital pharmacy, compared with the health insurance pharmacy. On the other hand, an advantage for the hospital pharmacist is that he or she can refer to the patient's medical records and support them during hospitalization.

The State and Trends of Barcode, RFID, Biometric and Pharmacy Automation Technologies in US Hospitals

Science.gov (United States)

Uy, Raymonde Charles Y.; Kury, Fabricio P.; Fontelo, Paul A.

2015-01-01

The standard of safe medication practice requires strict observance of the five rights of medication administration: the right patient, drug, time, dose, and route. Despite adherence to these guidelines, medication errors remain a public health concern that has generated health policies and hospital processes that leverage automation and computerization to reduce these errors. Bar code, RFID, biometrics and pharmacy automation technologies have been demonstrated in literature to decrease the incidence of medication errors by minimizing human factors involved in the process. Despite evidence suggesting the effectivity of these technologies, adoption rates and trends vary across hospital systems. The objective of study is to examine the state and adoption trends of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) methods and pharmacy automation technologies in U.S. hospitals. A retrospective descriptive analysis of survey data from the HIMSS Analytics® Database was done, demonstrating an optimistic growth in the adoption of these patient safety solutions. PMID:26958264

The State and Trends of Barcode, RFID, Biometric and Pharmacy Automation Technologies in US Hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Uy, Raymonde Charles Y; Kury, Fabricio P; Fontelo, Paul A

2015-01-01

The standard of safe medication practice requires strict observance of the five rights of medication administration: the right patient, drug, time, dose, and route. Despite adherence to these guidelines, medication errors remain a public health concern that has generated health policies and hospital processes that leverage automation and computerization to reduce these errors. Bar code, RFID, biometrics and pharmacy automation technologies have been demonstrated in literature to decrease the incidence of medication errors by minimizing human factors involved in the process. Despite evidence suggesting the effectivity of these technologies, adoption rates and trends vary across hospital systems. The objective of study is to examine the state and adoption trends of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) methods and pharmacy automation technologies in U.S. hospitals. A retrospective descriptive analysis of survey data from the HIMSS Analytics® Database was done, demonstrating an optimistic growth in the adoption of these patient safety solutions.

Use of the International Pharmaceutical Federation's Basel Statements to Assess and Advance Hospital Pharmacy Practice: A Scoping Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Penm, Jonathan; Chaar, Betty; Moles, Rebekah J

2016-01-01

The Basel statements of the International Pharmaceutical Federation, which provide the first global, unified vision for the hospital pharmacy profession, have recently been revised. Originally released in 2008, the Basel statements have since been made available in 21 languages, and thus have the potential for great impact around the world. To conduct a scoping review to examine the extent and nature of research activity related to the Basel statements. Google Scholar, PubMed, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts were searched using the key term "Basel statements" for relevant research articles. From each included study, data were extracted on geographic location, study design, study outcomes, and use of the Basel statements. The search strategy generated 113 results. Further refinement resulted in 14 English-language articles that met the inclusion criteria. Four of these articles focused on adapting the Basel statements to European practice, an initiative of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists that led to development of the European statements of Hospital Pharmacy. Six studies focused on monitoring hospital pharmacy practice in Uganda, the Pacific island countries, and the Western Pacific Region. These studies provide valuable baseline data to measure and track the development of hospital pharmacy practices in their respective countries and regions. The remaining 4 studies used qualitative methods to explore the barriers to and facilitators of implementation of the Basel statements in South Africa, China, and Australia. The Basel statements have led to multiple initiatives around the world, involving more than 70 countries. The European and Western Pacific regions have been the most active. Current initiatives should be continued to ensure identification and resolution of issues related to sustaining their use over time.

A joint inventory policy under permissible delay in payment and stochastic demand (Case study: Pharmacy Department of Pariaman Hospital)

Science.gov (United States)

Jonrinaldi, Primadi, M. Yugo; Hadiguna, Rika Ampuh

2017-11-01

Inventory cannot be avoided by organizations. One of them is a hospital which has a functional unit to manage the drugs and other medical supplies such as disposable and laboratory material. The unit is called Pharmacy Department which is responsible to do all of pharmacy services in the hospital. The current problem in Pharmacy Department is that the level of drugs and medical supplies inventory is too high. Inventory is needed to keep the service level to customers but at the same time it increases the cost of holding the items, so there should be a policy to keep the inventory on an optimal condition. To solve such problem, this paper proposes an inventory policy in Pharmacy Department of Pariaman Hospital. The inventory policy is determined by using Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model under condition of permissible delay in payment for multiple products considering safety stock to anticipate stochastic demand. This policy is developed based on the actual condition of the system studied where suppliers provided a certain period to Pharmacy Department to complete the payment of the order. Based on implementation using software Lingo 13.0, total inventory cost of proposed policy of IDR 137,334,815.34 is 37.4% lower than the total inventory cost of current policy of IDR 219,511,519.45. Therefore, the proposed inventory policy is applicable to the system to minimize the total inventory cost.

Exploring improvements in patient logistics in Dutch hospitals with a survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Lent Wineke AM

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Research showed that promising approaches such as benchmarking, operations research, lean management and six sigma, could be adopted to improve patient logistics in healthcare. To our knowledge, little research has been conducted to obtain an overview on the use, combination and effects of approaches to improve patient logistics in hospitals. We therefore examined the approaches and tools used to improve patient logistics in Dutch hospitals, the reported effects of these approaches on performance, the applied support structure and the methods used to evaluate the effects. Methods A survey among experts on patient logistics in 94 Dutch hospitals. The survey data were analysed using cross tables. Results Forty-eight percent of all hospitals participated. Ninety-eight percent reported to have used multiple approaches, 39% of them used five or more approaches. Care pathways were the preferred approach by 43% of the hospitals, followed by business process re-engineering and lean six sigma (both 13%. Flowcharts were the most commonly used tool, they were used on a regular basis by 94% of the hospitals. Less than 10% of the hospitals used data envelopment analysis and critical path analysis on a regular basis. Most hospitals (68% relied on external support for process analyses and education on patient logistics, only 24% had permanent internal training programs on patient logistics. Approximately 50% of the hospitals that evaluated the effects of approaches on efficiency, throughput times and financial results, reported that they had accomplished their goals. Goal accomplishment in general hospitals ranged from 63% to 67%, in academic teaching hospitals from 0% to 50%, and in teaching hospitals from 25% to 44%. More than 86% performed an evaluation, 53% performed a post-intervention measurement. Conclusions Patient logistics appeared to be a rather new subject as most hospitals had not selected a single approach, they relied on

Exploring improvements in patient logistics in Dutch hospitals with a survey

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Research showed that promising approaches such as benchmarking, operations research, lean management and six sigma, could be adopted to improve patient logistics in healthcare. To our knowledge, little research has been conducted to obtain an overview on the use, combination and effects of approaches to improve patient logistics in hospitals. We therefore examined the approaches and tools used to improve patient logistics in Dutch hospitals, the reported effects of these approaches on performance, the applied support structure and the methods used to evaluate the effects. Methods A survey among experts on patient logistics in 94 Dutch hospitals. The survey data were analysed using cross tables. Results Forty-eight percent of all hospitals participated. Ninety-eight percent reported to have used multiple approaches, 39% of them used five or more approaches. Care pathways were the preferred approach by 43% of the hospitals, followed by business process re-engineering and lean six sigma (both 13%). Flowcharts were the most commonly used tool, they were used on a regular basis by 94% of the hospitals. Less than 10% of the hospitals used data envelopment analysis and critical path analysis on a regular basis. Most hospitals (68%) relied on external support for process analyses and education on patient logistics, only 24% had permanent internal training programs on patient logistics. Approximately 50% of the hospitals that evaluated the effects of approaches on efficiency, throughput times and financial results, reported that they had accomplished their goals. Goal accomplishment in general hospitals ranged from 63% to 67%, in academic teaching hospitals from 0% to 50%, and in teaching hospitals from 25% to 44%. More than 86% performed an evaluation, 53% performed a post-intervention measurement. Conclusions Patient logistics appeared to be a rather new subject as most hospitals had not selected a single approach, they relied on external support and they did

Exploring improvements in patient logistics in Dutch hospitals with a survey.

Science.gov (United States)

van Lent, Wineke A M; Sanders, E Marloes; van Harten, Wim H

2012-08-01

Research showed that promising approaches such as benchmarking, operations research, lean management and six sigma, could be adopted to improve patient logistics in healthcare. To our knowledge, little research has been conducted to obtain an overview on the use, combination and effects of approaches to improve patient logistics in hospitals. We therefore examined the approaches and tools used to improve patient logistics in Dutch hospitals, the reported effects of these approaches on performance, the applied support structure and the methods used to evaluate the effects. A survey among experts on patient logistics in 94 Dutch hospitals. The survey data were analysed using cross tables. Forty-eight percent of all hospitals participated. Ninety-eight percent reported to have used multiple approaches, 39% of them used five or more approaches. Care pathways were the preferred approach by 43% of the hospitals, followed by business process re-engineering and lean six sigma (both 13%). Flowcharts were the most commonly used tool, they were used on a regular basis by 94% of the hospitals. Less than 10% of the hospitals used data envelopment analysis and critical path analysis on a regular basis. Most hospitals (68%) relied on external support for process analyses and education on patient logistics, only 24% had permanent internal training programs on patient logistics. Approximately 50% of the hospitals that evaluated the effects of approaches on efficiency, throughput times and financial results, reported that they had accomplished their goals. Goal accomplishment in general hospitals ranged from 63% to 67%, in academic teaching hospitals from 0% to 50%, and in teaching hospitals from 25% to 44%. More than 86% performed an evaluation, 53% performed a post-intervention measurement. Patient logistics appeared to be a rather new subject as most hospitals had not selected a single approach, they relied on external support and they did not have permanent training programs

The impact of automation on workload and dispensing errors in a hospital pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

James, K Lynette; Barlow, Dave; Bithell, Anne; Hiom, Sarah; Lord, Sue; Pollard, Mike; Roberts, Dave; Way, Cheryl; Whittlesea, Cate

2013-04-01

To determine the effect of installing an original-pack automated dispensing system (ADS) on dispensary workload and prevented dispensing incidents in a hospital pharmacy. Data on dispensary workload and prevented dispensing incidents, defined as dispensing errors detected and reported before medication had left the pharmacy, were collected over 6 weeks at a National Health Service hospital in Wales before and after the installation of an ADS. Workload was measured by non-participant observation using the event recording technique. Prevented dispensing incidents were self-reported by pharmacy staff on standardised forms. Median workloads (measured as items dispensed/person/hour) were compared using Mann-Whitney U tests and rate of prevented dispensing incidents were compared using Chi-square test. Spearman's rank correlation was used to examine the association between workload and prevented dispensing incidents. A P value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Median dispensary workload was significantly lower pre-automation (9.20 items/person/h) compared to post-automation (13.17 items/person/h, P automation (0.28%) than pre-automation (0.64%, P automation (ρ = 0.23, P automation improves dispensing efficiency and reduces the rate of prevented dispensing incidents. It is proposed that prevented dispensing incidents frequently occurred during periods of high workload due to involuntary automaticity. Prevented dispensing incidents occurring after a busy period were attributed to staff experiencing fatigue after-effects. © 2012 The Authors. IJPP © 2012 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

[A pilot study of the professional ethical thinking of Quebec hospital pharmacists and pharmacy students].

Science.gov (United States)

Guérin, A; Bussières, J-F

2017-01-01

The main objective was to assess the position of Quebec pharmaceutical community about pharmaceutical ethics statements. The second objective was to compare the level of agreement of pharmacy students and hospitals pharmacists. Survey conducted one day given in 2012 and 2013 for students in 2013 and from 29/08/2014 to 02/09/2014 for pharmacists. A questionnaire of eight themes and 43 statements was developed: training and education (5 questions), clinical research (7) advertising and marketing (5) evaluation (5) dispensing medication (4), pharmaceutical care (9) economic aspect (6) and code of ethics (2). A Likert scale with four choices was used to measure the level of agreement. The primary outcome was the difference between the level of agreement of pharmacy students and hospital pharmacists. The Chi 2  test was used. A total of 347 students and 398 pharmacists responded to the survey. There was a statistically significant difference regarding the level of agreement with 28 statements on 43. The differences focused on eight themes of the questionnaire, or training and education (3/5 significantly different questions), clinical research (2/7), advertising and marketing (2/5), Evaluation (4/5) dispensing medication (4/4), pharmaceutical care (5/9), economic aspect (6/6) and ethics (2/2). This study shows that there is a difference between pharmacists and pharmacy students about pharmaceutical ethics statements. Copyright © 2016 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Reducing wait time in a hospital pharmacy to promote customer service.

Science.gov (United States)

Slowiak, Julie M; Huitema, Bradley E; Dickinson, Alyce M

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 2 different interventions on wait times at a hospital outpatient pharmacy: (1) giving feedback to employees about customer satisfaction with wait times and (2) giving a combined intervention package that included giving more specific feedback about actual wait times and goal setting for wait time reduction in addition to the customer satisfaction feedback. The relationship between customer satisfaction ratings and wait times was examined to determine whether wait times affected customer service satisfaction. Participants were 10 employees (4 pharmacists and 6 technicians) of an outpatient pharmacy. Wait times and customer satisfaction ratings were collected for "waiting customers." An ABCBA' within-subjects design was used to assess the effects of the interventions on both wait time and customer satisfaction, where A was the baseline (no feedback and no goal setting); B was the customer satisfaction feedback; C was the customer satisfaction feedback, the wait time feedback, and the goal setting for wait time reduction; and A' was a follow-up condition that was similar to the original baseline condition. Wait times were reduced by approximately 20%, and there was concomitant increased shift in levels of customer satisfaction, as indicated by the correlation between these variables (r = -0.57 and P customer's wait time. Data from this study may provide useful preliminary benchmarking data for standard pharmacy wait times.

[Process management in the hospital pharmacy for the improvement of the patient safety].

Science.gov (United States)

Govindarajan, R; Perelló-Juncá, A; Parès-Marimòn, R M; Serrais-Benavente, J; Ferrandez-Martí, D; Sala-Robinat, R; Camacho-Calvente, A; Campabanal-Prats, C; Solà-Anderiu, I; Sanchez-Caparrós, S; Gonzalez-Estrada, J; Martinez-Olalla, P; Colomer-Palomo, J; Perez-Mañosas, R; Rodríguez-Gallego, D

2013-01-01

To define a process management model for a hospital pharmacy in order to measure, analyse and make continuous improvements in patient safety and healthcare quality. In order to implement process management, Igualada Hospital was divided into different processes, one of which was the Hospital Pharmacy. A multidisciplinary management team was given responsibility for each process. For each sub-process one person was identified to be responsible, and a working group was formed under his/her leadership. With the help of each working group, a risk analysis using failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) was performed, and the corresponding improvement actions were implemented. Sub-process indicators were also identified, and different process management mechanisms were introduced. The first risk analysis with FMEA produced more than thirty preventive actions to improve patient safety. Later, the weekly analysis of errors, as well as the monthly analysis of key process indicators, permitted us to monitor process results and, as each sub-process manager participated in these meetings, also to assume accountability and responsibility, thus consolidating the culture of excellence. The introduction of different process management mechanisms, with the participation of people responsible for each sub-process, introduces a participative management tool for the continuous improvement of patient safety and healthcare quality. Copyright © 2012 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Pharmacy sales data versus ward stock accounting for the surveillance of broad-spectrum antibiotic use in hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Haug, Jon B; Myhr, Randi; Reikvam, Asmund

2011-12-13

Antibiotic consumption in hospitals is commonly measured using the accumulated amount of drugs delivered from the pharmacy to ward held stocks. The reliability of this method, particularly the impact of the length of the registration periods, has not been evaluated and such evaluation was aim of the study. During 26 weeks, we performed a weekly ward stock count of use of broad-spectrum antibiotics--that is second- and third-generation cephalosporins, carbapenems, and quinolones--in five hospital wards and compared the data with corresponding pharmacy sales figures during the same period. Defined daily doses (DDDs) for antibiotics were used as measurement units (WHO ATC/DDD classification). Consumption figures obtained with the two methods for different registration intervals were compared by use of intraclass correlation analysis and Bland-Altman statistics. Broad-spectrum antibiotics accounted for a quarter to one-fifth of all systemic antibiotics (ATC group J01) used in the hospital and varied between wards, from 12.8 DDDs per 100 bed days in a urological ward to 24.5 DDDs in a pulmonary diseases ward. For the entire study period of 26 weeks, the pharmacy and ward defined daily doses figures for all broad-spectrum antibiotics differed only by 0.2%; however, for single wards deviations varied from -4.3% to 6.9%. The intraclass correlation coefficient, pharmacy versus ward data, increased from 0.78 to 0.94 for parenteral broad-spectrum antibiotics with increasing registration periods (1-4 weeks), whereas the corresponding figures for oral broad-spectrum antibiotics (ciprofloxacin) were from 0.46 to 0.74. For all broad-spectrum antibiotics and for parenteral antibiotics, limits of agreement between the two methods showed, according to Bland-Altman statistics, a deviation of ± 5% or less from average mean DDDs at 3- and 4-weeks registration intervals. Corresponding deviation for oral antibiotics was ± 21% at a 4-weeks interval. There is a need for caution in

Drug utilization study from a government sponsored pharmacy in a tertiary care teaching hospital of rural West Bengal: A cross-sectional study

OpenAIRE

Tanmoy Gangopadhyay; Ananya Mandal; Sonai Mandal; Bishan Basu; Tamoghna Maiti; Abhijit Das; Soumitra Mandal; Sekhar Mandal

2016-01-01

Context: Newly started government sponsored pharmacies providing discounts have been available to the public at the medical college hospitals in West Bengal. Aims: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the drug prescribing trends from the prescriptions at such a pharmacy at a tertiary care hospital. Methods: The study was a prospective cross-sectional study that spanned for a period of 1-month from 1 to 31 August 2015. Prescriptions were reviewed and analyzed using the World Health Org...

Level of Digitization in Dutch Hospitals and the Lengths of Stay of Patients with Colorectal Cancer.

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van Poelgeest, Rube; van Groningen, Julia T; Daniels, John H; Roes, Kit C; Wiggers, Theo; Wouters, Michel W; Schrijvers, Guus

2017-05-01

A substantial amount of research has been published on the association between the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) and quality outcomes in U.S. hospitals, while limited research has focused on the Western European experience. The purpose of this study is to explore the association between the use of EMR technologies in Dutch hospitals and length of stay after colorectal cancer surgery. Two data sets were leveraged for this study; the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM SM ) and the Dutch surgical colorectal audit (DSCA). The HIMSS Analytics EMRAM score was used to define a Dutch hospital's electronic medical records (EMR) capabilities while the DSCA was used to profile colorectal surgery quality outcomes (specifically total length of stay (LOS) in the hospital and the LOS in ICU). A total of 73 hospitals with a valid EMRAM score and associated DSCA patients (n = 30.358) during the study period (2012-2014) were included in the comparative set. A multivariate regression method was used to test differences adjusted for case mix, year of surgery, surgical technique and for complications, as well as stratifying for academic affiliated hospitals and general hospitals. A significant negative association was observed to exist between the total LOS (relative median LOS 0,974, CI 95% 0.959-0,989) of patients treated in advanced EMR hospitals (high EMRAM score cohort) versus patients treated at less advanced EMR care settings, once the data was adjusted for the case mix, year of surgery and type of surgery (laparoscopy or laparotomy). Adjusting for complications in a subgroup of general hospitals (n = 39) yielded essentially the same results (relative median LOS 0,934, CI 95% 0,915-0,954). No consistent significant associations were found with respect to LOS on the ICU. The findings of this study suggest advanced EMR capabilities support a healthcare provider's efforts to achieve desired quality outcomes and efficiency in Western

Demand-driven care and hospital choice. Dutch health policy toward demand-driven care: results from a survey into hospital choice.

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Lako, Christiaan J; Rosenau, Pauline

2009-03-01

In the Netherlands, current policy opinion emphasizes demand-driven health care. Central to this model is the view, advocated by some Dutch health policy makers, that patients should be encouraged to be aware of and make use of health quality and health outcomes information in making personal health care provider choices. The success of the new health care system in the Netherlands is premised on this being the case. After a literature review and description of the new Dutch health care system, the adequacy of this demand-driven health policy is tested. The data from a July 2005, self-administered questionnaire survey of 409 patients (response rate of 94%) as to how they choose a hospital are presented. Results indicate that most patients did not choose by actively employing available quality and outcome information. They were, rather, referred by their general practitioner. Hospital choice is highly related to the importance a patient attaches to his or her physician's opinion about a hospital. Some patients indicated that their hospital choice was affected by the reputation of the hospital, by the distance they lived from the hospital, etc. but physician's advice was, by far, the most important factor. Policy consequences are important; the assumptions underlying the demand-driven model of patient health provider choice are inadequate to explain the pattern of observed responses. An alternative, more adequate model is required, one that takes into account the patient's confidence in physician referral and advice.

Pharmacy Automation in Navy Medicine: A Study of Naval Medical Center San Diego

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-01

Whittlesea, C. (2013). The impact of automation on workload and dispensing errors in a hospital pharmacy . International Journal of Pharmacy Practice , 21...Welsh NHS hospitals. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice , 16, 175–188. Lin, A. C., Huang, Y.-C., Punches, G., & Chen, Y. (2007). Effect of a...expectations of outpatient pharmacy services in a teaching hospital. International Journal of Pharmacy Medicine , 5(3), 128–132. 79 INITIAL

Hospital Audit as a Useful Tool in the Process of Introducing Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD into Hospital Pharmacy Settings—A Pilot Study

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Urszula Religioni

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Recently, the European Union has introduced the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD. Additionally, in early 2016, a Delegated Act (DA related to the FMD was published. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of external audits in the context of implementing new regulations provided by the FMD in the secondary care environment. Methods: The external, in-person workflow audits were performed by an authentication company in three Polish hospital pharmacies. Each audit consisted of a combination of supervision (non-participant observation, secondary data analysis, and expert interviews with the use of an independently designed authorial Diagnostic Questionnaire. The questionnaire included information about hospital drug distribution procedures, data concerning drug usage, IT systems, medication order systems, the processes of medication dispensing, and the preparation and administration of hazardous drugs. Data analysis included a thorough examination of hospital documentation in regard to drug management. All data were subjected to qualitative analysis, with the aim of generating meaningful information through inductive inference. Results: Only one dispensing location in the Polish hospitals studied has the potential to be a primary authentication area. In the audited hospitals, an Automated Drug Dispensing System and unit dose were not identified during the study. Hospital wards contained an enclosed place within the department dedicated to drug storage under the direct supervision of senior nursing staff. An electronic order system was not available. In the largest center, unused medications are re-dispensed to different hospital departments, or may be sold to various institutions. Additionally, in one hospital pharmacy, pharmacists prepared parenteral nutrition and chemotherapeutic drugs for patients admitted to the hospital. Conclusions: External audits might prove beneficial in the course of introducing new

European pharmacy students' experience with virtual patient technology.

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Cavaco, Afonso Miguel; Madeira, Filipe

2012-08-10

To describe how virtual patients are being used to simulate real-life clinical scenarios in undergraduate pharmacy education in Europe. One hundred ninety-four participants at the 2011 Congress of the European Pharmaceutical Students Association (EPSA) completed an exploratory cross-sectional survey instrument. Of the 46 universities and 23 countries represented at the EPSA Congress, only 12 students from 6 universities in 6 different countries reported having experience with virtual patient technology. The students were satisfied with the virtual patient technology and considered it more useful as a teaching and learning tool than an assessment tool. Respondents who had not used virtual patient technology expressed support regarding its potential benefits in pharmacy education. French and Dutch students were significantly less interested in virtual patient technology than were their counterparts from other European countries. The limited use of virtual patients in pharmacy education in Europe suggests the need for initiatives to increase the use of virtual patient technology and the benefits of computer-assisted learning in pharmacy education.

Stock management in hospital pharmacy using chance-constrained model predictive control.

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Jurado, I; Maestre, J M; Velarde, P; Ocampo-Martinez, C; Fernández, I; Tejera, B Isla; Prado, J R Del

2016-05-01

One of the most important problems in the pharmacy department of a hospital is stock management. The clinical need for drugs must be satisfied with limited work labor while minimizing the use of economic resources. The complexity of the problem resides in the random nature of the drug demand and the multiple constraints that must be taken into account in every decision. In this article, chance-constrained model predictive control is proposed to deal with this problem. The flexibility of model predictive control allows taking into account explicitly the different objectives and constraints involved in the problem while the use of chance constraints provides a trade-off between conservativeness and efficiency. The solution proposed is assessed to study its implementation in two Spanish hospitals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Barriers to Providing Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs in the Hospital Setting

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Matthew J Gibson

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The primary objective of the study is to identify the barriers to providing Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs in the hospital setting. Methods: Potential barriers to IPPEs were identified via literature review and interviews with current IPPE preceptors from various institutions. Based on this information, an electronic survey was developed and distributed to IPPE preceptors in order to assess student, preceptor, logistical and college or school of pharmacy related barriers that potentially exist for providing IPPE in the hospital setting. Results: Sixty-eight of the 287 eligible survey respondents (24% completed the electronic survey. Seventy-six percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that available time was a barrier to precepting IPPE students even though a majority of respondents reported spending a third or more of their day with an IPPE student when on rotation. Seventy-three percent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that all preceptors have consistent performance expectations for students, while just 46% agreed or strongly agreed that they had adequate training to precept IPPEs. Sixty-five percent of respondents agreed that IPPE students have the ability to be a participant in patient care and 70% of preceptors believe that IPPE students should be involved in patient care. Conclusions: Conducting IPPEs in the institutional setting comes with challenges. Based on the results of this study, experiential directors and colleges/schools of pharmacy could make a positive impact on the quality and consistency of IPPEs by setting student expectations and training preceptors on appropriate and consistent expectations for students.   Type: Original Research

Pharmacy sales data versus ward stock accounting for the surveillance of broad-spectrum antibiotic use in hospitals

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Antibiotic consumption in hospitals is commonly measured using the accumulated amount of drugs delivered from the pharmacy to ward held stocks. The reliability of this method, particularly the impact of the length of the registration periods, has not been evaluated and such evaluation was aim of the study. Methods During 26 weeks, we performed a weekly ward stock count of use of broad-spectrum antibiotics - that is second- and third-generation cephalosporins, carbapenems, and quinolones - in five hospital wards and compared the data with corresponding pharmacy sales figures during the same period. Defined daily doses (DDDs) for antibiotics were used as measurement units (WHO ATC/DDD classification). Consumption figures obtained with the two methods for different registration intervals were compared by use of intraclass correlation analysis and Bland-Altman statistics. Results Broad-spectrum antibiotics accounted for a quarter to one-fifth of all systemic antibiotics (ATC group J01) used in the hospital and varied between wards, from 12.8 DDDs per 100 bed days in a urological ward to 24.5 DDDs in a pulmonary diseases ward. For the entire study period of 26 weeks, the pharmacy and ward defined daily doses figures for all broad-spectrum antibiotics differed only by 0.2%; however, for single wards deviations varied from -4.3% to 6.9%. The intraclass correlation coefficient, pharmacy versus ward data, increased from 0.78 to 0.94 for parenteral broad-spectrum antibiotics with increasing registration periods (1-4 weeks), whereas the corresponding figures for oral broad-spectrum antibiotics (ciprofloxacin) were from 0.46 to 0.74. For all broad-spectrum antibiotics and for parenteral antibiotics, limits of agreement between the two methods showed, according to Bland-Altman statistics, a deviation of ± 5% or less from average mean DDDs at 3- and 4-weeks registration intervals. Corresponding deviation for oral antibiotics was ± 21% at a 4-weeks interval

Competition in the Dutch hospital sector : an analysis of health care volume and cost

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krabbe-Alkemade, Y. J F M; Groot, T. L C M; Lindeboom, M.

2017-01-01

This paper evaluates the impact of market competition on health care volume and cost. At the start of 2005, the financing system of Dutch hospitals started to be gradually changed from a closed-end budgeting system to a non-regulated price competitive prospective reimbursement system. The gradual

Occurrence of yeast bloodstream infections between 1987 and 1995 in five Dutch university hospitals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A. Voss (Andreas); J.A.J.W. Kluytmans (Jan); J.G. Koeleman; L. Spanjaard (Lodewijk); C.M.J.E. Vandenbroucke-Grauls (Christina); H.A. Verbrugh (Henri); M.C. Vos (Margreet); A.Y.L. Weersink (A. Y L); J.A.A. Hoogkamp-Korstanje (J. A A); J.F. Meis

1996-01-01

textabstractThe aim of this study was to identify retrospectively trends in fungal bloodstream infections in The Netherlands in the period from 1987 to 1995. Results of over 395,000 blood cultures from five Dutch university hospitals were evaluated. Overall, there were more than 12 million patient

Enhanced clinical pharmacy service targeting tools: risk-predictive algorithms.

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El Hajji, Feras W D; Scullin, Claire; Scott, Michael G; McElnay, James C

2015-04-01

This study aimed to determine the value of using a mix of clinical pharmacy data and routine hospital admission spell data in the development of predictive algorithms. Exploration of risk factors in hospitalized patients, together with the targeting strategies devised, will enable the prioritization of clinical pharmacy services to optimize patient outcomes. Predictive algorithms were developed using a number of detailed steps using a 75% sample of integrated medicines management (IMM) patients, and validated using the remaining 25%. IMM patients receive targeted clinical pharmacy input throughout their hospital stay. The algorithms were applied to the validation sample, and predicted risk probability was generated for each patient from the coefficients. Risk threshold for the algorithms were determined by identifying the cut-off points of risk scores at which the algorithm would have the highest discriminative performance. Clinical pharmacy staffing levels were obtained from the pharmacy department staffing database. Numbers of previous emergency admissions and admission medicines together with age-adjusted co-morbidity and diuretic receipt formed a 12-month post-discharge and/or readmission risk algorithm. Age-adjusted co-morbidity proved to be the best index to predict mortality. Increased numbers of clinical pharmacy staff at ward level was correlated with a reduction in risk-adjusted mortality index (RAMI). Algorithms created were valid in predicting risk of in-hospital and post-discharge mortality and risk of hospital readmission 3, 6 and 12 months post-discharge. The provision of ward-based clinical pharmacy services is a key component to reducing RAMI and enabling the full benefits of pharmacy input to patient care to be realized. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Supply medicinal products improvement in outpatient care in a hospital pharmacy service].

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Santiago Pérez, A; Peña Pedrosa, J A; Alguacil Pau, A I; Pérez Morales, A; Molina Muñoz, P; Benítez Giménez, M T

Pharmaceutical care to outpatients is currently one of the main occupations of hospital pharmacy services (PEX). There are several questionnaires to measure the satisfaction of the PEX of a pharmacy service, and the results of these questionnaires can generate improvement actions that result in satisfaction. To verify if a satisfaction questionnaire for outpatients is valid for the generation of improvements in the care provided, and if after its implementation, the same questionnaire is able to detect changes in satisfaction. Prospective study of a single center carried out in a tertiary hospital in 2015 and 2016. A questionnaire previously validated with 16 Likert-type items was used. Demographic and classification data were collected. A descriptive analysis was performed and the internal consistency was calculated using the Cronbach's α value. A total of 258 questionnaires were collected in 2015 and 493 in 2016. There were no differences in the baseline characteristics of the patients and users of the service. The items with the lowest satisfaction scores in 2015 (comfort of the waiting room, dispensing privacy, drug pick-up time and medication pick-up time) guided the improvement actions to be implemented. In 2016 there was an improvement in the waiting time until collection in 12.3% (p = 0.002); in the comfort of the waiting room 4.9% (p = 0.304); business hours for medication collection, 10.7% (p = 0.013); and in the confidentiality of the dispensation 4% (p = 0.292). The remaining scores fluctuated minimally, with no statistical significance at all. A 5.1% improvement in overall satisfaction was found (p improve the care received in an outpatient unit of a pharmacy service. This same questionnaire is a tool to monitor the changes implemented to improve the care received. Copyright © 2018 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Pharmacy education in France.

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Bourdon, Olivier; Ekeland, Catherine; Brion, Françoise

2008-12-15

In France, to practice as a pharmacist, one needs a "diplome d'état de Docteur en Pharmacie" This degree is awarded after 6 or 9 years of pharmacy studies, depending on the option chosen by the student. The degree is offered only at universities and is recognized in France as well as throughout the European Union. Each university in France is divided into faculties called Unité de Formation et de Recherche (UFR). There are 24 faculties of pharmacy or UFRs de pharmacie. A national committee develops a pharmacy education program at the national level and each faculty adapts this program according to its specific features and means (eg, faculty, buildings). The number of students accepted in the second year is determined each year by a Government decree (numerus clausus). Successive placements, totalling 62 weeks, progressively familiarize the student with professional practice, and enable him/her to acquire the required competencies, such as drug monitoring and educating and counselling patients. Challenges facing community pharmacies in the next 10 years are patient education, home health care, and orthopaedics; in hospital pharmacies, empowering pharmacists to supervise and validate all prescriptions; and finally, research in pharmacy practice.

Preventing ventriculostomy-related infections with antibiotic-impregnated drains in hospitals : a two-centre Dutch study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verberk, J. D M; Berkelbach vd Sprenkel, J. W; Arts, M. P.; Dennesen, P. J W; Bonten, M. J M; van Mourik, M. S M

2016-01-01

This observational cohort study assessed the effect of the introduction of antibiotic-impregnated external ventricular drains (AI-EVDs), as opposed to plain silicone EVDs, on the occurrence of ventriculostomy-related infections (VRIs) in two Dutch hospitals, with no other changes to their clinical

Governance and performance: the performance of Dutch hospitals explained by governance characteristics.

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Blank, Jos L T; van Hulst, Bart Laurents

2011-10-01

This paper describes the efficiency of Dutch hospitals using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method with bootstrapping. In particular, the analysis focuses on accounting for cost inefficiency measures on the part of hospital corporate governance. We use bootstrap techniques, as introduced by Simar and Wilson (J. Econom. 136(1):31-64, 2007), in order to obtain more efficient estimates of the effects of governance on the efficiency. The results show that part of the cost efficiency can be explained with governance. In particular we find that a higher remuneration of the board as well as a higher remuneration of the supervisory board does not implicate better performance.

Competition and quality indicators in the health care sector: empirical evidence from the Dutch hospital sector.

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Croes, R R; Krabbe-Alkemade, Y J F M; Mikkers, M C

2018-01-01

There is much debate about the effect of competition in healthcare and especially the effect of competition on the quality of healthcare, although empirical evidence on this subject is mixed. The Netherlands provides an interesting case in this debate. The Dutch system could be characterized as a system involving managed competition and mandatory healthcare insurance. Information about the quality of care provided by hospitals has been publicly available since 2008. In this paper, we evaluate the relationship between quality scores for three diagnosis groups and the market power indicators of hospitals. We estimate the impact of competition on quality in an environment of liberalized pricing. For this research, we used unique price and production data relating to three diagnosis groups (cataract, adenoid and tonsils, bladder tumor) produced by Dutch hospitals in the period 2008-2011. We also used the quality indicators relating to these diagnosis groups. We reveal a negative relationship between market share and quality score for two of the three diagnosis groups studied, meaning that hospitals in competitive markets have better quality scores than those in concentrated markets. We therefore conclude that more competition is associated with higher quality scores.

Experience with a Drug Screening Program at a School of Pharmacy

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Cates, Marshall E.; Hogue, Michael D.

2012-01-01

Substance use and abuse among pharmacy students is a concern of pharmacy schools, boards of pharmacy, and training sites alike. Pharmacy students must complete approximately 30% of their academic coursework in experiential settings such as community pharmacies, hospitals, and other health systems as part of any accredited pharmacy school's…

Stability investigation of total parenteral nutrition admixture prepared in a hospital pharmacy

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Mirković Dušica

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. In the cases when nutrition of patients can not be orally nor enterally performed, parenteral nutrition is a method of the therapy that provides more successful and rapid recovery. In that way, hospitalization can be significantly shorter, healing costs reduced and mortality minimized. Total parenteral nutrition (TPN admixtures are the most complex systems which contain amino acids, carbohydrates, lipid emulsion, macroelectrolytes (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, SO42-, PO43-, oligoelements, hydro- and liposoluble vitamines, heparin, insulin and water. Concerning the mentioned complexity, special attention should be payed to physicochemical and microbiological stability of a mixture, because of interactions among components, that can be very hard to analyze. The aim of this study was to investigate the problem of stability of TPN admixtures prepared in a hospital pharmacy. Methods. Admixture TPN was aseptically prepared in laminar air - flow environment on the basis of the specified order in supplementing components and additives to basic solutions. Solutions were kept in sterile multicompartment ethylene-vinyl-acetate bags. After preparation and slow homogenization, TPN admixtures were submitted to physicochemical and microbiological stability analyses in various period of time. The assessment of physical stability of TPN admixture was done on the basis of visual inspection, determination of pH value and measuring of particle size. The investigation of sterility and pyrogenic test were performed according to Ph. Yug. V regulations. Results. Physico-chemical and microbiological analyses were applied and no significant changes in visual sense, pH value and droplet size stability of the TPN admixture were observed during the period of 60 hours. The lipid droplets were smaller in size than 5 μm, that is the most common pharmacopoeia requirement. Conclusion. The results of our study confirmed that a TPN admixture prepared in a hospital

Measuring innovation in a 'low-tech' service industry: the case of the Dutch hospitality industry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

den Hertog, P.; Gallouj, F.; Segers, J.

2011-01-01

This article presents the findings of a survey among 613 firms in the Dutch hospitality industry adopting a demarcation perspective. The paper illustrates that innovation in this service industry is much higher and more varied than regularly reported. It further indicates that innovation activities

Projeto Diagnóstico da Farmácia Hospitalar no Brasil: uma proposta de hierarquização dos serviços The Hospital Pharmacy Survey in Brazil: a proposal for hierarchical organization of hospital pharmaceutical services

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Ana Márcia Messeder

2007-04-01

Full Text Available O presente trabalho tem como objetivo desenvolver uma abordagem capaz de hierarquizar hospitais de acordo com o desempenho dos seus serviços de farmácia hospitalar frente a indicadores de estrutura e processo. A abordagem empregada considera questões a respeito da influência do contexto hospitalar sobre o desempenho dos serviços e a interdependência das atividades. Foram construídos algoritmos de atividades para diferentes níveis de complexidade hospitalar, considerando pontuações diferenciais de acordo com a necessidade de realização da atividade pelo serviço no nível de complexidade em que o hospital se insere. Foram atribuídos pesos diferenciados para componentes, no intuito de indicar que alguns componentes influenciam mais o desempenho do serviço. A aplicação da abordagem aos serviços de farmácia hospitalar analisados permitiu determinar os hospitais que apresentam melhor e pior desempenho dos serviços. Utilizando-se categorias de desempenho bom, regular e insuficiente, nenhum dos serviços de farmácia hospitalar, independentemente do nível de complexidade hospitalar, integra a categoria de bom, e mais de 50% dos serviços integram a categoria de insuficiente.This paper discusses the development of a methodological approach to classify hospital pharmacies according to their performance, measured by structure and process indicators. The method considers the influence exerted on performance by the level of care in the hospital and the interdependence among pharmaceutical activities. Algorithms for assessing performance of hospital pharmacies were constructed for each level of care. Different weights were used for core activities in the pharmacy and other specific activities, according to the level of care in the hospital where the respective service was provided. This methodology allowed classifying hospital pharmacies from best to worst, based on performance. Independently of level of care in the hospital, no hospital

Medication supply chain management through implementation of a hospital pharmacy computerized inventory program in Haiti.

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Holm, Michelle R; Rudis, Maria I; Wilson, John W

2015-01-01

In the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, St. Luke Hospital was built to help manage the mass casualties and subsequent cholera epidemic. A major problem faced by the hospital system was the lack of an available and sustainable supply of medications. Long-term viability of the hospital system depended largely on developing an uninterrupted medication supply chain. We hypothesized that the implementation of a new Pharmacy Computerized Inventory Program (PCIP) would optimize medication availability and decrease medication shortages. We conducted the research by examining how medications were being utilized and distributed before and after the implementation of PCIP. We measured the number of documented medication transactions in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 as well as user logins to determine if a computerized inventory system would be beneficial in providing a sustainable, long-term solution to their medication management needs. The PCIP incorporated drug ordering, filling the drug requests, distribution, and dispensing of the medications in multiple settings; inventory of currently shelved medications; and graphic reporting of 'real-time' medication usage. During the PCIP initiation and establishment periods, the number of medication transactions increased from 219.6 to 359.5 (p=0.055), respectively, and the mean logins per day increased from 24.3 to 31.5, psupply as well as track usage for future medication needs. The pharmacy and nursing staff found the PCIP to be efficient and a significant improvement in their medication utilization. An efficient, customizable, and cost-sensitive PCIP can improve drug inventory management in a simplified and sustainable manner within a resource-constrained hospital.

Statistics in the pharmacy literature.

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Lee, Charlene M; Soin, Herpreet K; Einarson, Thomas R

2004-09-01

Research in statistical methods is essential for maintenance of high quality of the published literature. To update previous reports of the types and frequencies of statistical terms and procedures in research studies of selected professional pharmacy journals. We obtained all research articles published in 2001 in 6 journals: American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, Formulary, Hospital Pharmacy, and Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association. Two independent reviewers identified and recorded descriptive and inferential statistical terms/procedures found in the methods, results, and discussion sections of each article. Results were determined by tallying the total number of times, as well as the percentage, that each statistical term or procedure appeared in the articles. One hundred forty-four articles were included. Ninety-eight percent employed descriptive statistics; of these, 28% used only descriptive statistics. The most common descriptive statistical terms were percentage (90%), mean (74%), standard deviation (58%), and range (46%). Sixty-nine percent of the articles used inferential statistics, the most frequent being chi(2) (33%), Student's t-test (26%), Pearson's correlation coefficient r (18%), ANOVA (14%), and logistic regression (11%). Statistical terms and procedures were found in nearly all of the research articles published in pharmacy journals. Thus, pharmacy education should aim to provide current and future pharmacists with an understanding of the common statistical terms and procedures identified to facilitate the appropriate appraisal and consequential utilization of the information available in research articles.

Pharmacy Students’ Knowledge and Attitude toward Registration Trials and Clinical Research: A Survey in a Japanese University Hospital

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Natsuko Ise

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Clinical research plays a fundamental role in establishing new treatments. Clinical research coordinators are considered essential in clinical research, and medical professionals such as pharmacists often take on this role. Pharmacy students can be considered future candidates for this task. We used questionnaires to survey the knowledge of and attitudes toward registration trials and clinical research of pharmacy students at Tokushima University Hospital. All pharmacy students (103 to whom questionnaires were sent responded. Almost all respondents were aware of registration trials and clinical research. More than 90% were aware of the existence of clinical research coordinators, and about half (48.6% understood their role. In clinical research terminology, most respondents were aware of informed consent and related issues, but fewer than 20% were aware of more practical things. In total, 29.1% and 40.8% of the respondents were willing to carry out and coordinate research. These findings suggest that pharmacy students have basic knowledge of clinical research and that many students are willing to carry out and coordinate clinical research. More practical exposure to clinical research may help to strengthen their future contribution. Further studies may help to determine how to provide education on registration trials and clinical research to pharmacy students.

Protocollering is essentieel : Behandeling van paracetamolintoxicatie in Nederland

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Roon, E.N.; Van Den Bemt, P.M.L.A.; Van Zantvoort, C.A.; Touw, D.J.

2000-01-01

Paracetamol poisoning occurs frequently in the Netherlands. In order to study the way in which paracetamol poisonings are being treated in Dutch hospitals, a survey was sent to all Dutch hospital pharmacies, in which they were asked to sent their current protocol for the treatment of paracetamol

Evaluation Management of Drugs and Relations with Quality of Outpatient Pharmacy Services in One of Hospital Pontianak City

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Enggy Erwansani

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Nowadays government policy which embodies the National Social Security System (SJSN where the presence of this system that every Indonesian people entitled to social security to be able to meet the basic needs of living. This study aims to describe the pharmaceutical drug outpatient management Hospital X Pontianak City and analyze the relationship management with the quality of pharmaceutical care medicine outpatient Hospital X Pontianak. This medication management including planning, organizing, directing, and monitoring. This study uses a quantitative approach which is an observational analytic research using cross sectional study with a sample of outpatient pharmacy customer research in Hospital X Pontianak. Collecting data using questionnaires from 100 customers outpatient with consecutive sampling method. The results using Pearson Correlation analysis showed the drug management relationship with the quality of outpatient pharmacy services which means the value of aspects planning (r=0.626; p<0,001, organizing (r=0.409; p<0,001, directing (r=0.359; p<0,001, and controlling (r=0.426; p<0,001 with R2 multiple 66.80%. The description of pharmaceutical drug management in outpatient Hospital X produce an average value 96.90% so as to be in very good category, there by proving the existence of a strong relationship between the four functions of management of the quality of pharmaceutical care medicine outpatient Hospital X.

KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS AND ITS VACCINE AMONG PHARMACY STUDENTS OF TERTIARY TEACHING UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN SOUTH INDIA

OpenAIRE

Raghupathi Mahitha; T. S. Arunprasath

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND Cervical cancer in women can be effectively prevented by HPV vaccine. Healthcare professionals including pharmacists have a role in creating awareness about this vaccine to public. In this context, it was decided to study awareness level about HPV among pharmacy students. The aim of the study is to study the knowledge and attitude towards human papilloma virus and it’s vaccine among pharmacy students of tertiary teaching university hospital in South India. MATERIA...

Effect of lean process improvement techniques on a university hospital inpatient pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hintzen, Barbara L; Knoer, Scott J; Van Dyke, Christie J; Milavitz, Brian S

2009-11-15

The effect of lean process improvement on an inpatient university hospital pharmacy was evaluated. The University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC), Fairview, implemented lean techniques in its inpatient pharmacy to improve workflow, reduce waste, and achieve substantial cost savings. The sterile products area (SPA) and the inventory area were prospectively identified as locations for improvement due to their potential to realize cost savings. Process-improvement goals for the SPA included the reduction of missing doses, errors, and patient-specific waste by 30%, 50%, and 30%, respectively, and the reallocation of two technician full-time equivalents (FTEs). Reductions in pharmaceutical inventory and returns due to outdating were also anticipated. Work-flow in the SPA was improved through the creation of accountability, standard work, and movement toward one-piece flow. Increasing the number of i.v. batches decreased pharmaceutical waste by 40%. Through SPA environment improvements and enhanced workload sharing, two FTE technicians from the SPA were redistributed within the department. SPA waste reduction yielded an annual saving of $275,500. Quality and safety were also improved, as measured by reductions in missing doses, expired products, and production errors. In the inventory area, visual control was improved through the use of a double-bin system, the number of outdated drugs decreased by 20%, and medication inventory was reduced by $50,000. Lean methodology was successfully implemented in the SPA and inventory area at the UMMC, Fairview, inpatient pharmacy. Benefits of this process included an estimated annual cost saving of $289,256 due to waste reduction, improvements in workflow, and decreased staffing requirements.

Construct validation of an instrument to measure patient satisfaction with pharmacy services in Nigerian hospitals.

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Afolabi, M O; Afolabi, E R I; Faleye, B A

2012-12-01

Patient satisfaction is a multidimensional construct that reflects the type and quality of service provided by healthcare providers, how well it is delivered, and the extent to which the expectations and needs of patients are met. As a performance measure, patient satisfaction has been defined as the personal evaluation of health care services and providers. To develop a patient satisfaction scale, that could be used to assess the quality of pharmacy services provided in Nigerian hospitals and to determine the construct validity of the scale with a view to identifying the factors that may be considered relevant to the target users. The questionnaire was a 35-item inventory titled "Patient Satisfaction Survey (PSS)". This study was carried out in three university teaching hospitals located in Southwestern Nigeria. The patient satisfaction survey instrument (PSS) was administered on 506 clinic outpatients who patronised the hospital pharmacies. Participation in the study was voluntary with appropriate informed consent. Ethical approval was obtained for this study from the Medical and Ethics Committee of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC). Patients with post secondary education were in the majority with a frequency of 224 (44.3%) subjects. This was followed by a frequency of 116 (22.9%) for those with secondary education. Eighty-seven (17.2%) of those included in the main study had primary education 64 (12.7%) did not receive any formal education. Fifteen (3%) out of the 506 sampled did not indicate their level of education. This study developed a scale to measure patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services in selected Nigerian university teaching hospitals. The final 25 item scale presents significant and stable coefficients of correlation and yielded six derived dimensions of patient satisfaction.

Medication supply chain management through implementation of a hospital pharmacy computerized inventory program in Haiti

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Michelle R. Holm

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: In the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, St. Luke Hospital was built to help manage the mass casualties and subsequent cholera epidemic. A major problem faced by the hospital system was the lack of an available and sustainable supply of medications. Long-term viability of the hospital system depended largely on developing an uninterrupted medication supply chain. Objective: We hypothesized that the implementation of a new Pharmacy Computerized Inventory Program (PCIP would optimize medication availability and decrease medication shortages. Design: We conducted the research by examining how medications were being utilized and distributed before and after the implementation of PCIP. We measured the number of documented medication transactions in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 as well as user logins to determine if a computerized inventory system would be beneficial in providing a sustainable, long-term solution to their medication management needs. Results: The PCIP incorporated drug ordering, filling the drug requests, distribution, and dispensing of the medications in multiple settings; inventory of currently shelved medications; and graphic reporting of ‘real-time’ medication usage. During the PCIP initiation and establishment periods, the number of medication transactions increased from 219.6 to 359.5 (p=0.055, respectively, and the mean logins per day increased from 24.3 to 31.5, p<0.0001, respectively. The PCIP allows the hospital staff to identify and order medications with a critically low supply as well as track usage for future medication needs. The pharmacy and nursing staff found the PCIP to be efficient and a significant improvement in their medication utilization. Conclusions: An efficient, customizable, and cost-sensitive PCIP can improve drug inventory management in a simplified and sustainable manner within a resource-constrained hospital.

Patient dose surveys for radiological examinations in Dutch hospitals between 1993 and 2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spoelstra, F.M.; Geleijns, J.; Broerse, J.J.; Teeuwisse, W.M.; Zweers, D.

2001-01-01

Our inventory studies on radiation dose to patients in Dutch hospitals are reviewed and compared with current European guidelines on patient dose and reference dose values of the NRPB. Between the years 1993 and 2000 doses were measured and effective dose was assessed at 14 hospitals for paediatric radiography, at 18 hospitals for PA chest radiography, at 10 respectively 9 hospitals for barium meal and barium enema examinations and at 18 hospitals for CT scans of the brain, chest (including high resolution CT of the chest), abdomen and lumbar spine in The Netherlands. Effective doses varied from 1 μSv (AP chest radiograph premature) to 26 mSv (CT abdomen scan). Doses were in general well below the reference dose values, with the exception of CT where the dose length product often exceeded reference levels. Interhospital variations were considerable, the largest range was observed for PA chest examinations, i.e.a ratio of 27 between maximum and minimum effective dose. (author)

Implementing ward based clinical pharmacy services in an Ethiopian University Hospital

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Mekonnen AB

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Clinical pharmacy practice has developed internationally to expand the role of a pharmacist well beyond the traditional roles of compounding, dispensing and supplying drugs to roles more directly in caring for patients. Studies on the activities of the clinical pharmacist in an inpatient ward in resource constrained settings are scarce, however.Objective: To assess ward based clinical pharmacy services in an internal medicine ward of Jimma University Specialized Hospital. Methods: The study was carried out in the internal medicine ward from March to April, 2011 at Jimma University Specialized Hospital. The study design was a prospective observational study where pharmaceutical care services provided by clinical pharmacists for inpatients were documented over a period of two months. Interventions like optimization of rational drug use and physician acceptance of these recommendations were documented. Clinical significance of interventions was evaluated by an independent team (1 internist, 1 clinical pharmacologist using a standardized method for categorizing drug related problems (DRPs. Results: A total of 149 drug related interventions conducted for 48 patients were documented; among which 133(89.3% were clinical pharmacists initiated interventions and 16(10.7% interventions were initiated by other health care professionals. The most frequent DRPs underlying interventions were unnecessary drug therapy, 36(24.2%; needs additional drug therapy, 34(22.8% and noncompliance, 29(19.5%. The most frequent intervention type was change of dosage/instruction for use, 23(15.4%. Acceptance rate by physicians was 68.4%. Among the interventions that were rated as clinically significant, 46(48.9% and 25(26.6% had major and moderate clinical importance respectively. Conclusion: Involving trained clinical pharmacists in the healthcare team leads to clinically relevant and well accepted optimization of medicine use in a resource limited settings. This

Development of a pharmacy resident rotation to expand decentralized clinical pharmacy services.

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Hill, John D; Williams, Jonathan P; Barnes, Julie F; Greenlee, Katie M; Cardiology, Bcps-Aq; Leonard, Mandy C

2017-07-15

The development of a pharmacy resident rotation to expand decentralized clinical pharmacy services is described. In an effort to align with the initiatives proposed within the ASHP Practice Advancement Initiative, the department of pharmacy at Cleveland Clinic, a 1,400-bed academic, tertiary acute care medical center in Cleveland, Ohio, established a goal to provide decentralized clinical pharmacy services for 100% of patient care units within the hospital. Patient care units that previously had no decentralized pharmacy services were evaluated to identify opportunities for expansion. Metrics analyzed included number of medication orders verified per hour, number of pharmacy dosing consultations, and number of patient discharge counseling sessions. A pilot study was conducted to assess the feasibility of this service and potential resident learning opportunities. A learning experience description was drafted, and feedback was solicited regarding the development of educational components utilized throughout the rotation. Pharmacists who were providing services to similar patient populations were identified to serve as preceptors. Staff pharmacists were deployed to previously uncovered patient care units, with pharmacy residents providing decentralized services on previously covered areas. A rotating preceptor schedule was developed based on geographic proximity and clinical expertise. An initial postimplementation assessment of this resident-driven service revealed that pharmacy residents provided a comparable level of pharmacy services to that of staff pharmacists. Feedback collected from nurses, physicians, and pharmacy staff also supported residents' ability to operate sufficiently in this role to optimize patient care. A learning experience developed for pharmacy residents in a large medical center enabled the expansion of decentralized clinical services without requiring additional pharmacist full-time equivalents. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of

Was Pharmacy Their Preferred Choice? Assessing Pharmacy Students’ Motivation to Study Pharmacy, Attitudes and Future Career Intentions in Sierra Leone

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Peter Bai James

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Background: There is a dearth of skilled pharmaceutical workforce in the African region, and this is partly due to a limited number of prospective students entering the profession. An understanding of the factors that influence the choice of pharmacy as a career is needed to attract highly motivated and skilled individuals into the profession. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess pharmacy students’ motivation to study pharmacy, their attitude and future career intentions in Sierra Leone. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of undergraduate pharmacy students enrolled at the College of Medicine, and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone (COMAHS – USL was carried out between May and June 2015. Descriptive statistics, as well as chi-square and Fisher exact two-tailed tests were used to analyze the data. Results: Close to a quarter (24.3% of pharmacy students surveyed chose pharmacy as their preferred major. The choice of pharmacy as a preferred major was common among first-year students, (p=0.001, those who were married (p<0.001 and have had pharmacy practice experience (p<0.001. Motivation for choosing pharmacy was assessed based on three domains (education, personal and career-related factors.Students cited a subject teacher at school ̸ College (66.7% as the most education-related influence, while friends and family members (61.1% was the major personal-related factor. Also, students considered the desire for self-employment in a healthcare related job (27.8%, and excellent career opportunities (27.8% as the major career-related factors that influenced their choice of pharmacy as a preferred major. Medicine was the first choice of study among the majority (95% of students that chose pharmacy as a second choice when seeking admission into the university. Pharmacy students demonstrated a positive attitude toward the profession, and considered drug manufacturing (47.3% and hospital pharmacy (43

Motivating pharmacy employees.

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White, S J; Generali, J A

1984-07-01

Concepts from theories of motivation are used to suggest methods for improving the motivational environment of hospital pharmacy departments. Motivation--the state of being stimulated to take action to achieve a goal or to satisfy a need--comes from within individuals, but hospital pharmacy managers can facilitate motivation by structuring the work environment so that it satisfies employees' needs. Concepts from several theories of motivation are discussed, including McGregor's theory X and theory Y assumptions, Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, Herzberg's motivation hygiene theory, and Massey's value system theory. Concepts from the Japanese style of management that can be used to facilitate motivation, such as quality circles, also are described. The autocratic, participative, and laissez faire styles of leadership are discussed in the context of the motivation theories, and suggested applications of theoretical concepts to practice are presented.

Creating a new rural pharmacy workforce: Development and implementation of the Rural Pharmacy Health Initiative.

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Scott, Mollie Ashe; Kiser, Stephanie; Park, Irene; Grandy, Rebecca; Joyner, Pamela U

2017-12-01

An innovative certificate program aimed at expanding the rural pharmacy workforce, increasing the number of pharmacists with expertise in rural practice, and improving healthcare outcomes in rural North Carolina is described. Predicted shortages of primary care physicians and closures of critical access hospitals are expected to worsen existing health disparities. Experiential education in schools and colleges of pharmacy primarily takes place in academic medical centers and, unlike experiential education in medical schools, rarely emphasizes the provision of patient care in rural U.S. communities, where chronic diseases are prevalent and many residents struggle with poverty and poor access to healthcare. To help address these issues, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy developed the 3-year Rural Pharmacy Health Certificate program. The program curriculum includes 4 seminar courses, interprofessional education and interaction with medical students, embedding of each pharmacy student into a specific rural community for the duration of training, longitudinal ambulatory care practice experiences, community engagement initiatives, leadership training, development and implementation of a population health project, and 5 pharmacy practice experiences in rural settings. The Rural Pharmacy Health Certificate program at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy seeks to transform rural pharmacy practice by creating a pipeline of rural pharmacy leaders and teaching a unique skillset that will be beneficial to healthcare systems, communities, and patients. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

[Disclosure of conflicts of interest in hospital pharmacy posters in France: we still have a long way to go].

Science.gov (United States)

Édouard, B; Toth, K; Descout, J

2013-05-01

Since 1995, disclosure of conflicts of interest in international scientific publications became systematic, but, in France, there is yet no obligation to mention them in oral communications or posters of pharmacy. To assess the rate of posters in hospital pharmacy meetings which mention potential conflicts of interest. A prospective study. All abstracts presented in printed poster format were evaluated during three hospital pharmacy meetings organized in France between November 2011 and March 2012 for the presence of the conflicts of interest disclosure, even if there were no conflicts of interest. The main outcome was the rate of posters with mentions of potential conflicts of interest. A subgroup analysis was conducted about geographic origin of authors. On 294 announced posters, 263 were displayed, 252 did not mention any conflict of interest, 11 mentioned the possibility or not of conflict of interest (4.2%): the rate ranged from 1.1 to 25% according to the meeting. Posters from France disclosed less often conflicts of interest (40%). The rate of spontaneous disclosure of conflicts of interest is very low within French pharmacists. The instructions given by French meeting organizers should be more directive on the matter. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Factors Associated With Burnout Among US Hospital Clinical Pharmacy Practitioners: Results of a Nationwide Pilot Survey.

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Jones, G Morgan; Roe, Neil A; Louden, Les; Tubbs, Crystal R

2017-12-01

Background: In health care, burnout has been defined as a psychological process whereby human service professionals attempting to positively impact the lives of others become overwhelmed and frustrated by unforeseen job stressors. Burnout among various physician groups who primarily practice in the hospital setting has been extensively studied; however, no evidence exists regarding burnout among hospital clinical pharmacists. Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the level of and identify factors independently associated with burnout among clinical pharmacists practicing in an inpatient hospital setting within the United States. Methods: We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional pilot study utilizing an online, Qualtrics survey. Univariate analysis related to burnout was conducted, with multivariable logistic regression analysis used to identify factors independently associated with the burnout. Results: A total of 974 responses were analyzed (11.4% response rate). The majority were females who had practiced pharmacy for a median of 8 years. The burnout rate was high (61.2%) and largely driven by high emotional exhaustion. On multivariable analysis, we identified several subjective factors as being predictors of burnout, including inadequate administrative and teaching time, uncertainty of health care reform, too many nonclinical duties, difficult pharmacist colleagues, and feeling that contributions are underappreciated. Conclusions: The burnout rate of hospital clinical pharmacy providers was very high in this pilot survey. However, the overall response rate was low at 11.4%. The negative effects of burnout require further study and intervention to determine the influence of burnout on the lives of clinical pharmacists and on other health care-related outcomes.

Systems of remuneration and motivation on the example of employees of internal hospital pharmacies in Poland – study results

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Joanna Nieżurawska

2016-03-01

The results of research indicate the functioning of traditional systems of remuneration among pharmacists (pharmacy managers and employees in hospitals. The internal structure of remuneration of employees is not very fragmented and employee engagement and motivation of employees are clearly smaller here.

Safety culture in a pharmacy setting using a pharmacy survey on patient safety culture: a cross-sectional study in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, P L; Zhang, L H; Zhang, M M; Zhang, L L; Zhang, C; Qin, S F; Li, X L; Liu, K X

2014-06-30

To explore the attitudes and perceptions of patient safety culture for pharmacy workers in China by using a Pharmacy Survey on Patient Safety Culture (PSOPSC), and to assess the psychometric properties of the translated Chinese language version of the PSOPSC. Cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from 20 hospital pharmacies in the southwest part of China. We performed χ(2) test to explore the differences on pharmacy staff in different hospital and qualification levels and countries towards patient safety culture. We also computed descriptive statistics, internal consistency coefficients and intersubscale correlation analysis, and then conducted an exploratory factor analysis. A test-retest was performed to assess reproducibility of the items. A total of 630 questionnaires were distributed of which 527 were responded to validly (response rate 84%). The positive response rate for each item ranged from 37% to 90%. The positive response rate on three dimensions ('Teamwork', 'Staff Training and Skills' and 'Staffing, Work Pressure and Pace') was higher than that of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) data (pculture at different hospital and qualification levels. The internal consistency of the total survey was comparatively satisfied (Cronbach's α=0.89). The results demonstrated that among the pharmacy staffs surveyed in China, there was a positive attitude towards patient safety culture in their organisations. Identifying perspectives of patient safety culture from pharmacists in different hospital and qualification levels are important, since this can help support decisions about action to improve safety culture in pharmacy settings. The Chinese translation of the PSOPSC questionnaire (V.2012) applied in our study is acceptable. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Lead-time reduction utilizing lean tools applied to healthcare: the inpatient pharmacy at a local hospital.

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Al-Araidah, Omar; Momani, Amer; Khasawneh, Mohammad; Momani, Mohammed

2010-01-01

The healthcare arena, much like the manufacturing industry, benefits from many aspects of the Toyota lean principles. Lean thinking contributes to reducing or eliminating nonvalue-added time, money, and energy in healthcare. In this paper, we apply selected principles of lean management aiming at reducing the wasted time associated with drug dispensing at an inpatient pharmacy at a local hospital. Thorough investigation of the drug dispensing process revealed unnecessary complexities that contribute to delays in delivering medications to patients. We utilize DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and 5S (Sort, Set-in-order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain) principles to identify and reduce wastes that contribute to increasing the lead-time in healthcare operations at the pharmacy understudy. The results obtained from the study revealed potential savings of > 45% in the drug dispensing cycle time.

Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Education in the People's Republic of China

Science.gov (United States)

Farnsworth, Norman R.

1976-01-01

The visit to the PCR by a herbal pharmacology study group during June 1-26, 1976 is reported. Although the primary purpose was not to study pharmacy and pharmaceutical education, the group observed many activities related to pharmacy, visiting several hospital and community pharmacies as well as one college of pharmacy. (LBH)

Selecting a pharmacy layout design using a weighted scoring system.

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, Alissa L; Huang, Yu-Li

2012-05-01

A weighted scoring system was used to select a pharmacy layout redesign. Facilities layout design techniques were applied at a local hospital pharmacy using a step-by-step design process. The process involved observing and analyzing the current situation, observing the current available space, completing activity flow charts of the pharmacy processes, completing communication and material relationship charts to detail which areas in the pharmacy were related to one another and how they were related, researching applications in other pharmacies or in scholarly works that could be beneficial, numerically defining space requirements for areas within the pharmacy, measuring the available space within the pharmacy, developing a set of preliminary designs, and modifying preliminary designs so they were all acceptable to the pharmacy staff. To select a final layout that could be implemented in the pharmacy, those layouts were compared via a weighted scoring system. The weighted aspect further allowed additional emphasis on categories based on their effect on pharmacy performance. The results produced a beneficial layout design as determined through simulated models of the pharmacy operation that more effectively allocated and strategically located space to improve transportation distances and materials handling, employee utilization, and ergonomics. Facilities layout designs for a hospital pharmacy were evaluated using a weighted scoring system to identify a design that was superior to both the current layout and alternative layouts in terms of feasibility, cost, patient safety, employee safety, flexibility, robustness, transportation distance, employee utilization, objective adherence, maintainability, usability, and environmental impact.

Pharmacy-Driven Dexmedetomidine Stewardship and Appropriate Use Guidelines in a Community Hospital Setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Schickli, M Alexandra; Eberwein, Kip A; Short, Marintha R; Ratliff, Patrick D

2017-01-01

Dexmedetomidine is a widely utilized agent in the intensive care unit (ICU) because it does not suppress respiratory drive and may be associated with less delirium than midazolam or propofol. Cost of dexmedetomidine therapy and debate as to the proper duration of use has brought its use to the forefront of discussion. To validate the efficacy and cost savings associated with pharmacy-driven dexmedetomidine appropriate use guidelines and stewardship in mechanically ventilated patients. This was a retrospective cohort study of adult patients who received dexmedetomidine for ICU sedation while on mechanical ventilation at a 433-bed not-for-profit community hospital. Included patients were divided into pre-enactment (PRE) and postenactment (POST) of dexmedetomidine guideline groups. A total of 100 patients (50 PRE and 50 POST) were included in the analysis. A significant difference in duration of mechanical ventilation (11.1 vs 6.2 days, P = 0.006) and incidence of reintubation (36% vs 18% of patients, P = 0.043) was seen in the POST group. Aggregate use of dexmedetomidine 200-µg vials (37.1 vs 18.4 vials, P = 0.010) and infusion days (5.4 vs 2.5 days, P = 0.006) were significantly lower in the POST group. Dexmedetomidine acquisition cost savings were calculated at $374 456.15 in the POST group. There was no difference between the PRE and POST groups with regard to ICU length of stay, expected mortality, and observed mortality. Pharmacy-driven dexmedetomidine appropriate use guidelines decreased the use of dexmedetomidine and increased cost savings at a community hospital without adversely affecting clinical outcomes.

A survey on pain assessment in patients with disorders of consciousness in Dutch hospitals and nursing homes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vink, Peter; Verweij, Lotte; van Erp, Willemijn Sabien; Lucas, Cees; Vermeulen, Hester

2015-01-01

The extent of variation in the use of behavioural pain observation tools, documentation and pain protocols in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) and with disorders of consciousness (DOC) is unknown. A national survey was undertaken in Dutch hospitals with neurology and neurosurgery nursing

[Staff accreditation in parenteral nutrition production in hospital pharmacy].

Science.gov (United States)

Vrignaud, S; Le Pêcheur, V; Jouan, G; Valy, S; Clerc, M-A

2016-09-01

This work aims to provide staff accreditation methodology to harmonize and secure practices for parenteral nutrition bags preparation. The methodology used in the present study is inspired from project management and quality approach. Existing training supports were used to produce accreditation procedure and evaluation supports. We first defined abilities levels, from level 1, corresponding to accredited learning agent to level 3, corresponding to expert accredited agent. Elements assessed for accreditation are: clothing assessment either by practices audit or by microbiologic test, test bags preparation and handling assessment, bag production to assess aseptic filling for both manual or automatized method, practices audit, number of days of production, and non-conformity following. At Angers Hospital, in 2014, production staff is composed of 12 agents. Staff accreditation reveals that 2 agents achieve level 3, 8 agents achieve level 2 and 2 agents are level 1. We noted that non-conformity decreased as accreditation took place from 81 in 2009 to 0 in 2014. To date, there is no incident due to parenteral bag produced by Angers hospital for neonatal resuscitation children. Such a consistent study is essential to insure a secured nutrition parenteral production. This also provides a satisfying quality care for patients. Copyright © 2016 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Career goals and expectations of men and women pharmacy residents.

Science.gov (United States)

King, C M; Oliver, E J; Jeffrey, L P

1982-11-01

Personal and professional characteristics of men and women hospital pharmacy residents were studied to identify differences that could affect future hospital pharmacy practice. Residents in 111 ASHP-accredited pharmacy residency programs received a survey containing questions on demographic information, reasons for selecting a residency, areas of professional interest, postresidency career goals, responsibilities to home and family, and advantages and disadvantages associated with gender. Of 286 residents receiving questionnaires, 226 responded; the percentages of men and women responding corresponded to the ratio of men and women in hospital pharmacy residencies. While men and women expressed educational goals that were not significantly different, more men than women had earned or were in the process of earning advanced degrees. No significant differences were evident between men's and women's plans for marriage and children, but 73% of the women indicated that they would take time out from their practice to raise children, compared with only 9% of the men. The majority of residents did not think their gender affected them in their residency programs, but in professional interactions more men saw gender as an advantage and more women as a disadvantage. Significantly more than women aspired to be hospital pharmacy directors. The results suggest that men are obtaining advanced training closer to the time they graduate from pharmacy school and that in the future women competing for promotions may be older than men competing for comparable positions. Those planning pharmacy staffing should consider the needs of women, and men, who expect to take time out from their careers for family responsibilities and possibly seek part-time positions when they return to the work force.

KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS AND ITS VACCINE AMONG PHARMACY STUDENTS OF TERTIARY TEACHING UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN SOUTH INDIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raghupathi Mahitha

2016-10-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Cervical cancer in women can be effectively prevented by HPV vaccine. Healthcare professionals including pharmacists have a role in creating awareness about this vaccine to public. In this context, it was decided to study awareness level about HPV among pharmacy students. The aim of the study is to study the knowledge and attitude towards human papilloma virus and it’s vaccine among pharmacy students of tertiary teaching university hospital in South India. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cross sectional, questionnaire-based study among pharmacy students. RESULTS 229 pharmacy students participated in the study. The mean total knowledge score among participants was 2.69 (SD=2.260 out of the possible maximum of 11 and the mean total attitude score was 2.67 (SD=2.437 out of the possible maximum of 10. Lack of knowledge about vaccine was the main reason for not taking the vaccine. Knowledge about the vaccines improves the attitude towards it (p<0.0001. CONCLUSION There is a need to design education program for pharmacy students to increase awareness about HPV, which in turn will increase the awareness among public positively.

Cross-sectional study on factors hampering implementation of measles pre- and postexposure measures in Dutch hospitals during the 2013-2014 measles outbreak.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fievez, L C R; Wong, A; Ruijs, W L M; Meerstadt-Rombach, F S; Timen, A

2017-01-01

This study examined adherence to national recommendations on measles pre- and postexposure measures, including immunization of health care workers (HCWs) in Dutch hospitals, during a national outbreak of measles in The Netherlands. This study also investigated which hospital characteristics and

Impact of the new handling recommendations for hazardous drugs in a hospital pharmacy service.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Alcántara, Beatriz G; Perelló Alomar, Catalina; Moreno Centeno, Elena; Modamio, Pilar; Mariño, Eduardo L; Delgado Sánchez, Olga

2017-03-01

To describe the actions taken by the Pharmacy Unit in a tertiary hospital in order to adapt to the recommendations established by NIOSH 2014 for handling Hazardous Drugs. Method: A retrospective observational study. A list was prepared including all hazardous drugs according to NIOSH 2014 that were available at the hospital as marketed or foreign drugs, or used in clinical trials, and there was a review of the processes of acquisition, repackaging, preparation, circuits, organizational, dispensing and identification. Results: After the analysis, a report including all needs was prepared and sent to the Hospital Management. Any relevant information about the handling and administration of hazardous drugs was included in the prescription computer program. There were changes in the acquisition process of two drugs, in order to avoid splitting and multi-dose formulations. An alternative or improvement was found for 35 253 of the 75 779 units of hazardous drugs repackaged in one year. The Pharmacy Unit took over the preparation of four non-sterile medications, as well as the preparation of all sterile parenteral medications included in Lists 1 and 2 that were not previously prepared there, as well as one from List 3. Information was also included about the preparation processes of Magistral Formulations that involved hazardous drugs from Lists 2 or 3. The adaptation to the recommendations by NIOSH 2014 has represented a change, but also a significant reduction in the handling process of hazardous drugs by the healthcare staff, therefore reducing the risk of occupational exposure. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Influences on Malaysian Pharmacy Students' Career Preferences

Science.gov (United States)

Kwai Chong, David Weng; Ahmadi, Keivan; Se, Wong Pei; Hassali, Mohammed Azmi; Hata, Ernieda Mohammed; Hadi, Muhammed Abdul; Sridhar, Sathvik Belagodu; Ahmed, Syed Imran; Yean, Low Bee; Efendie, Benny

2010-01-01

Objectives To identify and evaluate factors affecting the career preferences of fourth-year bachelor of pharmacy (BPharm) students in Malaysia in the presence of a 4-year period of mandatory government service. Methods A validated self-administered questionnaire was used in this cross-sectional study to collect data from final-year BPharm students enrolled at 3 government-funded universities and 1 private university in Malaysia. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results Three hundred fourteen students responded (213 from public universities and 101 from the private university). Approximately 32% of public university students and 37% of private university students ranked their own interest in pharmacy as the reason for undertaking pharmacy degree studies; 40.4% of public and 19.8% of private university respondents stated that they would enter a nonpharmacy-related career upon graduation if given the choice. Public university students ranked hospital pharmacy as their choice of first career setting (4.39, p = 0.001), while private students ranked community pharmacy first (4.1, p = 0.002). On a scale of 1 to 5, salary received the highest mean score (3.9 and 4.0, p = 0.854) as the extrinsic factor most influencing their career choice. Conclusions Final-year students at Malaysian public universities were most interested in hospital pharmacy practice as their first career step upon graduation, while private university students were most interested in community pharmacy. The top 3 extrinsic factors rated as significant in selecting a career destination were salary, benefits, and geographical location. PMID:21301600

Construct validity and inter-rater reliability of the Dutch activity measure for post-acute care "6-clicks" basic mobility form to assess the mobility of hospitalized patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Geelen, Sven Jacobus Gertruda; Valkenet, Karin; Veenhof, Cindy

2018-05-12

To evaluate the construct validity and the inter-rater reliability of the Dutch Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care "6-clicks" Basic Mobility short form measuring the patient's mobility in Dutch hospital care. First, the "6-clicks" was translated by using a forward-backward translation protocol. Next, 64 patients were assessed by the physiotherapist to determine the validity while being admitted to the Internal Medicine wards of a university medical center. Six hypotheses were tested regarding the construct "mobility" which showed that: Better "6-clicks" scores were related to less restrictive pre-admission living situations (p = 0.011), less restrictive discharge locations (p = 0.001), more independence in activities of daily living (p = 0.001) and less physiotherapy visits (p Dutch "6-clicks" shows a good construct validity and moderate-to-excellent inter-rater reliability when used to assess the mobility of hospitalized patients. Implications for Rehabilitation Even though various measurement tools have been developed, it appears the majority of physiotherapists working in a hospital currently do not use these tools as a standard part of their care. The Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care "6-clicks" Basic Mobility is the only tool which is designed to be short, easy to use within usual care and has been validated in the entire hospital population. This study shows that the Dutch version of the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care "6-clicks" Basic Mobility form is a valid, easy to use, quick tool to assess the basic mobility of Dutch hospitalized patients.

[Clinical pharmacy and surgery: Review].

Science.gov (United States)

Jarfaut, A; Nivoix, Y; Vigouroux, D; Kehrli, P; Gaudias, J; Kempf, J-F; Levêque, D; Gourieux, B

2014-05-01

Clinical pharmacy has been developed and evaluated in various medical hospital activities. Reviews conducted in this area reported a higher value of this discipline. In surgical services, evenly adverse drug events may occur, so clinical pharmacy activities must also help to optimize the management of drug's patient. The objectives of this literature review is to determine the profile of clinical pharmacy activities developed in surgical services and identify indicators. The research was conducted on Pubmed(®) database with the following keywords (2000-2013), "surgery", "pharmacy", "pharmacist", "pharmaceutical care", "impact" and limited to French or English papers. Studies dealing on simultaneously medical and surgical areas were excluded. Twenty-one papers were selected. The most frequently developed clinical pharmacy activities were history and therapeutic drug monitoring (antibiotics or anticoagulants). Two types of indicators were identified: activity indicators with the number of pharmaceutical interventions, their description and clinical signification, the acceptance rate and workload. Impact indicators were mostly clinical and economic impacts. The development of clinical pharmacy related to surgical patients is documented and appears to have, as for medical patients, a clinical and economical value. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Coping styles relate to health and work environment of Norwegian and Dutch hospital nurses : A comparative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreuder, Jolanda A. H.; Roelen, Corne A. M.; Groothoff, Johan W.; van der Klink, Jac J. L.; Mageroy, Nils; Pallesen, Stale; Bjorvatn, Bjorn; Moen, Bente E.

2012-01-01

Nurses exposed to high nursing stress report no health complaints as long as they have high coping abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate coping styles in relation to the health status and work environment of Norwegian and Dutch hospital nurses. This comparative study included a

Pharmacy Practice and Education in Bulgaria.

Science.gov (United States)

Petkova, Valentina; Atkinson, Jeffrey

2017-06-22

Pharmacies in Bulgaria have a monopoly on the dispensing of medicinal products that are authorized in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as medical devices, food additives, cosmetics, and sanitary/hygienic articles. Aptekari (pharmacists) act as responsible pharmacists, pharmacy owners, and managers. They follow a five year Masters of Science in Pharmacy (M.Sc. Pharm.) degree course with a six month traineeship. Pomoshnik-farmacevti (assistant pharmacists) follow a three year degree with a six month traineeship. They can prepare medicines and dispense OTC medicines under the supervision of a pharmacist. The first and second year of the M.Sc. Pharm. degree are devoted to chemical sciences, mathematics, botany and medical sciences. Years three and four center on pharmaceutical technology, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, pharmaco-economics, and social pharmacy, while year five focuses on pharmaceutical care, patient counselling, pharmacotherapy, and medical sciences. A six month traineeship finishes the fifth year together with redaction of a master thesis, and the four state examinations with which university studies end. Industrial pharmacy and clinical (hospital) pharmacy practice are integrated disciplines in some Bulgarian higher education institutions such as the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Medical University of Sofia. Pharmacy practice and education in Bulgaria are organized in a fashion very similar to that in most member states of the European Union.

Enacting Fit in Work Organization and Occupational Structure Design : The Case of Intermediary Occupations in a Dutch Hospital

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Offenbeek, M.A.G.; Sorge, A.; Knip, Marrig

2009-01-01

We report and interpret findings from an investigation of work redesign and the introduction of a new occupational position, nurse practitioner (NP), in four different subunits in a large Dutch university hospital. Full development of the new position and its contribution to performance crucially

Impact of the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative on Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobi, Judith; Ray, Shaunta'; Danelich, Ilya; Dodds Ashley, Elizabeth; Eckel, Stephen; Guharoy, Roy; Militello, Michael; O'Donnell, Paul; Sam, Teena; Crist, Stephanie M; Smidt, Danielle

2016-05-01

This paper describes the goals of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI) and its recommendations for health-system pharmacy practice transformation to meet future patient care needs and elevate the role of pharmacists as patient care providers. PPMI envisions a future in which pharmacists have greater responsibility for medication-related outcomes and technicians assume greater responsibility for product-related activities. Although the PPMI recommendations have elevated the level of practice in many settings, they also potentially affect existing clinical pharmacists, in general, and clinical pharmacy specialists, in particular. Moreover, although more consistent patient care can be achieved with an expanded team of pharmacist providers, the role of clinical pharmacy specialists must not be diminished, especially in the care of complex patients and populations. Specialist practitioners with advanced training and credentials must be available to model and train pharmacists in generalist positions, residents, and students. Indeed, specialist practitioners are often the innovators and practice leaders. Negotiation between hospitals and pharmacy schools is needed to ensure a continuing role for academic clinical pharmacists and their contributions as educators and researchers. Lessons can be applied from disciplines such as nursing and medicine, which have developed new models of care involving effective collaboration between generalists and specialists. Several different pharmacy practice models have been described to meet the PPMI goals, based on available personnel and local goals. Studies measuring the impact of these new practice models are needed. © 2016 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.

[Analysis of the question-answer activity of a hospital pharmacy. Example of the handling of drug interactions].

Science.gov (United States)

Jacqueroux, E; Lalande, L; Meddour, N; Papailhau, C; Bernard, E; Charroin, C; Perichou, J; Charpiat, B; Locher, F; Garcia, S

2015-05-01

The medical care of patients generates questions among healthcare professionals. Some will necessitate an advanced research. The hospital pharmacist is at the interface between prescribers, caregivers and the medicines and is requested to answer these requests. Studies conducted in other countries showed that this question-answer activity represents a significant amount of time in daily work. In France, this topic was poorly explored. The objective of our work was to study the volume and the type of questions, the clinical situations, the time required, the medicines implicated and the sources of information used. A prospective study was conducted in the pharmacy of a university hospital. All the requests answered by the pharmaceutical team, which needed a specific research, analysis and writing of an answer were collected. A hundred and one questions were analyzed, originating from doctors or medicals interns. Almost half concerned drug interactions, and among them, almost a fourth were not mentioned in the Summary of Product Characteristics of the medicines involved. A pharmaceutical advice was provided in 91.5% of the cases. Time dedicated to the research varied between less than 30 minutes and more than 8 hours. This study illustrates the question-answer activity of a hospital pharmacy, which is currently not taken into account as an indicator of pharmaceutical activity. A large part concerns analysis and management of drug interactions and requires a significant amount of pharmaceutical time. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Pharmacy Practice and Education in Bulgaria

Science.gov (United States)

Petkova, Valentina; Atkinson, Jeffrey

2017-01-01

Pharmacies in Bulgaria have a monopoly on the dispensing of medicinal products that are authorized in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as medical devices, food additives, cosmetics, and sanitary/hygienic articles. Aptekari (pharmacists) act as responsible pharmacists, pharmacy owners, and managers. They follow a five year Masters of Science in Pharmacy (M.Sc. Pharm.) degree course with a six month traineeship. Pomoshnik-farmacevti (assistant pharmacists) follow a three year degree with a six month traineeship. They can prepare medicines and dispense OTC medicines under the supervision of a pharmacist. The first and second year of the M.Sc. Pharm. degree are devoted to chemical sciences, mathematics, botany and medical sciences. Years three and four center on pharmaceutical technology, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, pharmaco-economics, and social pharmacy, while year five focuses on pharmaceutical care, patient counselling, pharmacotherapy, and medical sciences. A six month traineeship finishes the fifth year together with redaction of a master thesis, and the four state examinations with which university studies end. Industrial pharmacy and clinical (hospital) pharmacy practice are integrated disciplines in some Bulgarian higher education institutions such as the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Medical University of Sofia. Pharmacy practice and education in Bulgaria are organized in a fashion very similar to that in most member states of the European Union. PMID:28970446

Pharmacy Practice and Education in Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina Petkova

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Pharmacies in Bulgaria have a monopoly on the dispensing of medicinal products that are authorized in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as medical devices, food additives, cosmetics, and sanitary/hygienic articles. Aptekari (pharmacists act as responsible pharmacists, pharmacy owners, and managers. They follow a five year Masters of Science in Pharmacy (M.Sc. Pharm. degree course with a six month traineeship. Pomoshnik-farmacevti (assistant pharmacists follow a three year degree with a six month traineeship. They can prepare medicines and dispense OTC medicines under the supervision of a pharmacist. The first and second year of the M.Sc. Pharm. degree are devoted to chemical sciences, mathematics, botany and medical sciences. Years three and four center on pharmaceutical technology, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, pharmaco-economics, and social pharmacy, while year five focuses on pharmaceutical care, patient counselling, pharmacotherapy, and medical sciences. A six month traineeship finishes the fifth year together with redaction of a master thesis, and the four state examinations with which university studies end. Industrial pharmacy and clinical (hospital pharmacy practice are integrated disciplines in some Bulgarian higher education institutions such as the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Medical University of Sofia. Pharmacy practice and education in Bulgaria are organized in a fashion very similar to that in most member states of the European Union.

Defining the Role of the Pharmacy Technician and Identifying Their Future Role in Medicines Optimisation

Science.gov (United States)

Boughen, Melanie; Sutton, Jane; Fenn, Tess

2017-01-01

Background: Traditionally, pharmacy technicians have worked alongside pharmacists in community and hospital pharmacy. Changes within pharmacy provide opportunity for role expansion and with no apparent career pathway, there is a need to define the current pharmacy technician role and role in medicines optimisation. Aim: To capture the current roles of pharmacy technicians and identify how their future role will contribute to medicines optimisation. Methods: Following ethical approval and piloting, an online survey to ascertain pharmacy technicians’ views about their roles was undertaken. Recruitment took place in collaboration with the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK. Data were exported to SPSS, data screened and descriptive statistics produced. Free text responses were analysed and tasks collated into categories reflecting the type of work involved in each task. Results: Responses received were 393 (28%, n = 1380). Results were organised into five groups: i.e., hospital, community, primary care, General Practitioner (GP) practice and other (which included HM Prison Service). Thirty tasks were reported as commonly undertaken in three or more settings and 206 (84.7%, n = 243) pharmacy technicians reported they would like to expand their role. Conclusions: Tasks core to hospital and community pharmacy should be considered for inclusion to initial education standards to reflect current practice. Post qualification, pharmacy technicians indicate a significant desire to expand clinically and managerially allowing pharmacists more time in patient-facing/clinical roles. PMID:28970452

Defining the Role of the Pharmacy Technician and Identifying Their Future Role in Medicines Optimisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Boughen, Melanie; Sutton, Jane; Fenn, Tess; Wright, David

2017-07-15

Traditionally, pharmacy technicians have worked alongside pharmacists in community and hospital pharmacy. Changes within pharmacy provide opportunity for role expansion and with no apparent career pathway, there is a need to define the current pharmacy technician role and role in medicines optimisation. To capture the current roles of pharmacy technicians and identify how their future role will contribute to medicines optimisation. Following ethical approval and piloting, an online survey to ascertain pharmacy technicians' views about their roles was undertaken. Recruitment took place in collaboration with the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK. Data were exported to SPSS, data screened and descriptive statistics produced. Free text responses were analysed and tasks collated into categories reflecting the type of work involved in each task. Responses received were 393 (28%, n = 1380). Results were organised into five groups: i.e., hospital, community, primary care, General Practitioner (GP) practice and other (which included HM Prison Service). Thirty tasks were reported as commonly undertaken in three or more settings and 206 (84.7%, n = 243) pharmacy technicians reported they would like to expand their role. Tasks core to hospital and community pharmacy should be considered for inclusion to initial education standards to reflect current practice. Post qualification, pharmacy technicians indicate a significant desire to expand clinically and managerially allowing pharmacists more time in patient-facing/clinical roles.

Decentralized Impatient Pharmacy Service Study: Chief of Pharmacy Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-04-01

operation should *provide the pharmacist with more patient care contact if pharmacists are uti - lized as members of the hospital emergency team. Moreover...experience and knowledge, the pharmacist all too often remains an under-challenged and under-utilized member of the health care team. From April to June 1979...pharmacies surveyed reported having adequate space for Pharmacist -patient consultation and Drug information services. Unit dose medications were

A qualitative case study of ehealth and digital literacy experiences of pharmacy staff.

Science.gov (United States)

MacLure, Katie; Stewart, Derek

2018-06-01

eHealth's many forms are benchmarked by the World Health Organization. Scotland is considered an advanced adopter of ehealth. The third global survey on ehealth includes pharmacy-related ehealth indicators. Advances in ehealth place an obligation on pharmacy staff to demonstrate proficiency, or digital literacy, in using ehealth technologies. The aim of this study was to provide an indepth exploration of the ehealth and digital literacy experiences of pharmacy staff in the North East of Scotland. A qualitative local case study approach was adopted for observational and interview activities in community and hospital pharmacies. Interview and observational data were collated and analysed using a framework approach. This study gained management approval from the local health board following ethical review by the sponsor university. Nineteen pharmacies and staff (n = 94) participated including two hospitals. Most participants were female (n = 82), aged 29 years and younger (n = 34) with less than 5 years pharmacy experience (n = 49). Participants identified their own digital literacy as basic. Most of the pharmacies had minimum levels of technology implemented (n = 15). Four themes (technology, training, usability, processes) were inducted from the data, coded and modelled with illustrative quotes. Scotland is aspirational in seeking to support the developing role of pharmacy practice with ehealth, however, evidence to date shows most pharmacy staff work with minimum levels of technology. The self-reported lack of digital literacy and often mentioned lack of confidence in using IT suggest pharmacy staff need support and training. Informal work based digital literacy development of the pharmacy team is self-limiting. Usability of ehealth technology could be a key element of its' acceptability. There is potential to better engage with ehealth process efficiencies in both hospital and community pharmacy. As Scotland increasingly invests in ehealth pharmacy

Drug and Therapeutics (D & T) committees in Dutch hospitals : a nation-wide survey of structure, activities, and drug selection procedures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fijn, R; Brouwers, JRBJ; Knaap, RJ; De Jong-Van den Berg, LTW

Aims To determine structure, activities and drug selection processes used by Dutch hospital drug and therapeutics (D & T) committees. Methods A pretested structured survey questionnaire based on the Australian process and impact indicators, previous research, and consultation of professionals was

Course experiences, satisfaction and career intent of final year pre-registration Australian pharmacy students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shen G

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Background: In Australia, the profession of pharmacy has undergone many changes to adapt to the needs of the community. In recent years, concerns have been raised with evidence emerging of workforce saturation in traditional pharmacy practice sectors. It is not known how current final year pharmacy students’ perceive the different pharmacy career paths in this changing environment. Hence investigating students’ current experiences with their pharmacy course, interaction with the profession and developing an understanding of their career intentions would be an important step, as these students would make up a large proportion of future pharmacy workforce Objective: The objective of this study was thus to investigate final year students’ career perspectives and the reasons for choosing pharmacy, satisfaction with this choice of pharmacy as a tertiary course and a possible future career, factors affecting satisfaction and intention of future career paths. Methods: A quantitative cross sectional survey of final year students from 3 Australian universities followed by a qualitative semi-structured interview of a convenience sample of final year students from the University of Sydney. Results: ‘Interest in health and medicine’ was the most important reason for choosing pharmacy (n=238. The majority of students were ‘somewhat satisfied’ with the choice of pharmacy (35.7% as a course and possible future career. Positive associations were found between satisfaction and reasons for joining pharmacy such as ‘felt pharmacy is a good profession’ (p=0.003 while negative associations included ‘joined pharmacy as a gateway to medicine or dentistry’ (p=0.001. Quantitate and qualitative results showed the most frequent perception of community pharmacy was ‘changing’ while hospital and pharmaceutical industry was described as ‘competitive’ and ‘research’ respectively. The highest career intention was community followed by hospital

Course experiences, satisfaction and career intent of final year pre-registration Australian pharmacy students.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Grace; Fois, Romano; Nissen, Lisa; Saini, Bandana

2014-04-01

In Australia, the profession of pharmacy has undergone many changes to adapt to the needs of the community. In recent years, concerns have been raised with evidence emerging of workforce saturation in traditional pharmacy practice sectors. It is not known how current final year pharmacy students' perceive the different pharmacy career paths in this changing environment. Hence investigating students' current experiences with their pharmacy course, interaction with the profession and developing an understanding of their career intentions would be an important step, as these students would make up a large proportion of future pharmacy workforce. The objective of this study was thus to investigate final year students' career perspectives and the reasons for choosing pharmacy, satisfaction with this choice of pharmacy as a tertiary course and a possible future career, factors affecting satisfaction and intention of future career paths. A quantitative cross sectional survey of final year students from 3 Australian universities followed by a qualitative semi-structured interview of a convenience sample of final year students from the University of Sydney. 'Interest in health and medicine' was the most important reason for choosing pharmacy (n=238). The majority of students were 'somewhat satisfied' with the choice of pharmacy (35.7%) as a course and possible future career. Positive associations were found between satisfaction and reasons for joining pharmacy such as 'felt pharmacy is a good profession' (p=0.003) while negative associations included 'joined pharmacy as a gateway to medicine or dentistry' (p=0.001). Quantitate and qualitative results showed the most frequent perception of community pharmacy was 'changing' while hospital and pharmaceutical industry was described as 'competitive' and 'research' respectively. The highest career intention was community followed by hospital pharmacy. Complex factors including university experiences are involved in shaping

Delirium subtype identification and the validation of the Delirium Rating Scale--Revised-98 (Dutch version) in hospitalized elderly patients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Rooij, Sophia E.; van Munster, Barbara C.; Korevaar, Johanna C.; Casteelen, Gerty; Schuurmans, Marieke J.; van der Mast, Roos C.; Levi, Marcel

2006-01-01

BACKGROUND: Delirium is the most common acute neuropsychiatric disorder in hospitalized elderly. The Dutch version of the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R-98) appears to be a reliable method to classify delirium. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the

[Identification of knowledge deficits of pharmacy students at the beginning of the fifth year of pharmacy practice experience: Proposals to change the content of academic programs].

Science.gov (United States)

Charpiat, B; Derfoufi, S; Larger, M; Janoly-Dumenil, A; Mouchoux, C; Allenet, B; Tod, M; Grassin, J; Boulieu, R; Catala, O; Bedouch, P; Goudable, J; Vinciguerra, C

2016-09-01

In France, community pharmacy students performed a hospital pharmacy practice experience during the 5th year of the university curriculum. The purpose of a part of the content of the academic teaching program delivered before this practice experience is to prepare the students for their future hospital activities. It should enable them for the practical use of knowledge in order to improve pharmacotherapy, laboratory diagnosis and monitoring of patients' care. The aim of this study was to show if there are gaps in this program. Fourteen students performing their clerkship in a teaching hospital were invited to highlight these gaps when they were gradually immersed in the pharmaceutical care. They did so under the careful observation of hospital pharmacist preceptors. These practitioners referred to professional guidelines, documentary tools used in daily clinical practice and publications supporting their pharmaceutical care practices. Shortcomings and gaps identified were: how to communicate with other healthcare professionals and the content of verbal exchanges, how to conduct a patient-centered consultation, documentation tools required for relevant pharmacist' interventions, codification of pharmacist's interventions, risks related to drug packaging and benefit risk assessment of health information technologies. These gaps represent a handicap by delaying the process that led to move from student to healthcare professional. Hospital pharmacist preceptors have to fill in these gaps before engaging students in pharmaceutical care. These results invite to revise partly the content of the academic teaching program delivered before the 5th year hospital pharmacy practice experience. Copyright © 2016 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Minimum Requirements for Core Competency in Pediatric Pharmacy Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Boucher, Elizabeth A; Burke, Margaret M; Johnson, Peter N; Klein, Kristin C; Miller, Jamie L

2015-01-01

Colleges of pharmacy provide varying amounts of didactic and clinical hours in pediatrics resulting in variability in the knowledge, skills, and perceptions of new graduates toward pediatric pharmaceutical care. The Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (PPAG) endorses the application of a minimum set of core competencies for all pharmacists involved in the care of hospitalized children.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia: reducing misdiagnosis via collaboration between an inpatient anticoagulation pharmacy service and hospital reference laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Burnett, Allison E; Bowles, Harmony; Borrego, Matthew E; Montoya, Tiffany N; Garcia, David A; Mahan, Charles

2016-11-01

Misdiagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is common and exposes patients to high-risk therapies and potentially serious adverse events. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of collaboration between an inpatient pharmacy-driven anticoagulation management service (AMS) and hospital reference laboratory to reduce inappropriate HIT antibody testing via pharmacist intervention and use of the 4T pre-test probability score. Secondary objectives included clinical outcomes and cost-savings realized through reduced laboratory testing and decreased unnecessary treatment of HIT. This was a single center, pre-post, observational study. The hospital reference laboratory contacted the AMS when they received a blood sample for an enzyme-linked immunosorbent HIT antibody (HIT Ab). Trained pharmacists prospectively scored each HIT Ab ordered by using the 4T score with subsequent communication to physicians recommending for or against processing and reporting of lab results. Utilizing retrospective chart review and a database for all patients with a HIT Ab ordered during the study period, we compared the incidence of HIT Ab testing before and after implementation of the pharmacy-driven 4T score intervention. Our intervention significantly reduced the number of inappropriate HIT Ab tests processed (176 vs. 63, p reference laboratories can result in reduction of misdiagnosis of HIT and significant cost savings with similar safety.

Quality Service Analysis and Improvement of Pharmacy Unit of XYZ Hospital Using Value Stream Analysis Methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Jonny; Nasution, Januar

2013-06-01

Value stream mapping is a tool which is needed to let the business leader of XYZ Hospital to see what is actually happening in its business process that have caused longer lead time for self-produced medicines in its pharmacy unit. This problem has triggered many complaints filed by patients. After deploying this tool, the team has come up with the fact that in processing the medicine, pharmacy unit does not have any storage and capsule packing tool and this condition has caused many wasting times in its process. Therefore, the team has proposed to the business leader to procure the required tools in order to shorten its process. This research has resulted in shortened lead time from 45 minutes to 30 minutes as required by the government through Indonesian health ministry with increased %VA (valued added activity) or Process Cycle Efficiency (PCE) from 66% to 68% (considered lean because it is upper than required 30%). This result has proved that the process effectiveness has been increase by the improvement.

Quality Service Analysis and Improvement of Pharmacy Unit of XYZ Hospital Using Value Stream Analysis Methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jonny; Nasution, Januar

2013-01-01

Value stream mapping is a tool which is needed to let the business leader of XYZ Hospital to see what is actually happening in its business process that have caused longer lead time for self-produced medicines in its pharmacy unit. This problem has triggered many complaints filed by patients. After deploying this tool, the team has come up with the fact that in processing the medicine, pharmacy unit does not have any storage and capsule packing tool and this condition has caused many wasting times in its process. Therefore, the team has proposed to the business leader to procure the required tools in order to shorten its process. This research has resulted in shortened lead time from 45 minutes to 30 minutes as required by the government through Indonesian health ministry with increased %VA (valued added activity) or Process Cycle Efficiency (PCE) from 66% to 68% (considered lean because it is upper than required 30%). This result has proved that the process effectiveness has been increase by the improvement.

Adding Value by Hospital Real Estate: An Exploration of Dutch Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Zwart, Johan; van der Voordt, Theo J M

2016-01-01

To explore how hospital real estate can add value to the healthcare organization, which values are prioritized in practice, and why. Dutch healthcare organizations are self-responsible for the costs and benefits of their accommodation. Meanwhile, a lively debate is going on about possible added values of corporate and public real estate in the fields of corporate real estate management and facility management. This article connects both worlds and compares insights from literature with experiences from practice. Added values extracted from literature have been discussed with 15 chief executive officers and project leaders of recently newly built hospitals in the Netherlands. Interviewees were asked (1) which values are included in the design and management of their hospital and why, (2) to prioritize most important values from a list of nine predefined values, and (3) to explain how the chosen real estate decisions are supposed to support organizational objectives. Stimulating innovation, user satisfaction, and improving organizational culture are most highly valued, followed by improving productivity, reducing building costs, and creating building flexibility. Image, risk control, and financing possibilities got lower rankings. The findings have been used to develop a value-impact matrix that connects nine values to various stakeholders and possible interventions. The findings and the value-impact matrix can make different stakeholders aware of many possible added values of hospital real estate, potential synergy and conflicts between different values, and how to steer on value add in different phases of the life cycle. © The Author(s) 2015.

Evaluation of the pharmacy practice program in the 6-year pharmaceutical education curriculum in Japan: community pharmacy practice program.

Science.gov (United States)

Utsumi, Miho; Hirano, Sachi; Fujii, Yuki; Yamamoto, Hiroshi

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to highlight concerns with the current pharmacy practice program and suggest aspects for improvement. A further aim of the study was to enhance the educational effects of the program, from the students' point of view. We surveyed 1,607 pharmacy students in Japan who had completed the pharmacy practice program in either 2010 or 2011. The students completed a self-descriptive questionnaire comprising 48 questions examining their experience of the pharmacy practice program. For community pharmacy practice, four factors were extracted through exploratory analysis: "satisfactory learning (pharmacy)," "support system of the university," "creation and clarification of the training plan," and "dialogue with patients." When comparing the mean values for each of the four factors between 2011 and 2012, the 2012 group scored significantly higher (p programs. From the results of McNemar's test, from 2011 to 2012, there was a significant decrease in the number of students who were unable to experience "charge system of patients" at neither hospitals nor pharmacies (p program introduced some initiatives. Furthermore, conducting training at multiple facilities deepens student learning and assists with the correction of problems, such as the disparities within the teaching system and learning content at each of the training facilities.

Role of Leadership and Employee Engagement towards Individual Performance of Pharmacy Employees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susi A. Rahayu

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Employees dissatisfaction to the head of the hospital pharmacy will decrease employees performance and unsatisfied customers. To solve the problems, employees should be based on performance as customer expectations in providing services. One of the ways to improve the performance of the employees, they must feel engage to the work. One of the factors to improve employee engagement is the leadership factor. Therefore, it is necessary to study the impact of leadership on individual performance employee in hospital pharmacy and also the influence of employee engagement as a mediator. A total of 79 employees from the pharmacy in two private hospitals in Bandung became the participants. This study used the technique of partial least squares to test the hypothesized relationships. The results showed that there were significant between leadership to employee engagement (t value (12,84 > t-table (1.64, the significance of employee engagement on individual performance (t value (3.83 > t-table (1.64. In contrast, there was no influence and significance in leadership on individual performance (t value (0.45 < t-table (1.64. Employee engagement fully mediated the relationship between leadership and individual performance. Therefore, improving pharmacy services is a set of actions and involvement of pharmacy employees who are consistent, sustainable and clear.

Oseltamivir compounding in the hospital pharmacy during the (H1N1 influenza pandemic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Márcia Lúcia de Mário Marin

2010-01-01

Full Text Available AIMS: Pandemics impose large demands on the health care system. The supply of appropriate chemotherapeutic agents, namely oseltamivir solution, presented a serious challenge in the recent influenza pandemic. This study reports on the rational series of pharmacotechnical steps that were followed to appropriately handle bulk oseltamivir powder to meet the increased demand. METHODS: During a six-week period in August and September of 2009, a task force was created in the Central Pharmacy of Hospital das Clínicas to convert imported oseltamivir phosphate into ready-to-use solution for utilization by physicians and public health authorities. The protocol included dissolution, physico-chemical tests and the bottling of a liquid microdose formulation for emergency room and outpatient dispensing with adequate quality control during all phases. RESULTS: The successful production routine was based on a specially designed flowchart according to which a batch of 33210 g of oseltamivir powder was converted into 32175 solution units during the aforementioned period with a net loss of only 2.6%. The end products were bottles containing 50 ml of 15 mg/mL oseltamivir solution. The measured concentration was stable and accurate (97.5% - 102.0% of the nominal value. The drug was prescribed as both a prophylactic and therapeutic agent. DISCUSSION: Hospital pharmacies are conventionally engaged in the manipulation of medical prescriptions and specialty drugs. They are generally responsible for only small-scale equipment used for manufacturing and quality-control procedures. The compounding of oseltamivir was a unique effort dictated by exceptional circumstances. CONCLUSION: The shortage of oseltamivir solution for clinical use was solved by emergency operationalization of a semi-industrial process in which bulk powder was converted into practical vials for prompt delivery.

Pharmacy Utilization: A Study to Predict BAMC Outpatient Pharmacy Usage by Dual-Eligible Military Retiree/Medicare-Eligible Beneficiaries Resulting From Implementation of the TRICARE Senior Pharmacy Program (TSRx)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lankowicz, Andrew

2001-01-01

.... The problem that confronted Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) was the lack of knowledge about the effect that the TSRx program might have on utilization of the hospital s outpatient pharmacies. A survey (Appendix C...

Evaluation of the in vitro ocular toxicity of the fortified antibiotic eye drops prepared at the Hospital Pharmacy Departments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anxo Fernández-Ferreiro

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The use of parenteral antibiotic eye drop formulations with non-marketed compositions or concentrations, commonly called fortified antibiotic eye drops, is a common practice in Ophthalmology in the hospital setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro ocular toxicity of the main fortified antibiotic eye drops prepared in the Hospital Pharmacy Departments. We have conducted an in vitro experimental study in order to test the toxicity of gentamicin, amikacin, cefazolin, ceftazidime, vancomycin, colistimethate sodium and imipenem-cilastatin eye drops; their cytotoxicity and acute tissue irritation have been evaluated. Cell-based assays were performed on human stromal keratocytes, using a cell-based impedance biosensor system [xCELLigence Real-Time System Cell Analyzer (RTCA], and the Hen’s Egg Test for the ocular irritation tests. All the eye drops, except for vancomycin and imipenem, have shown a cytotoxic effect dependent on concentration and time; higher concentrations and longer exposure times will cause a steeper decline in the population of stromal keratocytes. Vancomycin showed a major initial cytotoxic effect, which was reverted over time; and imipenem appeared as a non-toxic compound for stromal cells. The eye drops with the highest irritating effect on the ocular surface were gentamicin and vancomycin. Those antibiotic eye drops prepared at the Hospital Pharmacy Departments included in this study were considered as compounds potentially cytotoxic for the ocular surface; this toxicity was dependent on the concentration used

Development and Implementation of a Combined Master of Science and PGY1/PGY2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency Program at a Large Community Teaching Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Gazda, Nicholas P; Griffin, Emily; Hamrick, Kasey; Baskett, Jordan; Mellon, Meghan M; Eckel, Stephen F; Granko, Robert P

2018-04-01

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to share experiences after the development of a health-system pharmacy administration residency with a MS degree and express the need for additional programs in nonacademic medical center health-system settings. Summary: Experiences with the development and implementation of a health-system pharmacy administration residency at a large community teaching hospital are described. Resident candidates benefit from collaborations with other health-systems through master's degree programs and visibility to leaders at your health-system. Programs benefit from building a pipeline of future pharmacy administrators and by leveraging the skills of residents to contribute to projects and department-wide initiatives. Tools to assist in the implementation of a new pharmacy administration program are also described and include rotation and preceptor development, marketing and recruiting, financial evaluation, and steps to prepare for accreditation. Conclusion: Health-system pharmacy administration residents provide the opportunity to build a pipeline of high-quality leaders, provide high-level project involvement, and produce a positive return on investment (ROI) for health-systems. These programs should be explored in academic and nonacademic-based health-systems.

Medical psychology services in dutch general hospitals: state of the art developments and recommendations for the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Soons, Paul; Denollet, Johan

2009-06-01

In this article an overview is presented of the emergence of medical psychology in the care of somatically ill patients. The situation in the Netherlands can be considered as prototypical. For 60 years, clinical psychologists have been working in general, teaching and academic hospitals. Nowadays, they are an integrated non-medical specialism working in the medical setting of hospitals in the Netherlands, and are a full-member of the medical board. This paper discusses several topics: the position of the general hospital in the health care system in the Netherlands, the emergence of medical psychology in Dutch hospitals, the role of the professional association of medical psychologists, and the characteristics of patients seen by clinical psychologists. Following the discussion about the situation of medical psychology in other countries, recommendations are formulated for the further development of medical psychology in the Netherlands as well as in other countries.

Cost-Effectiveness of Clinical Pharmacy Education on Infection Management Among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in an Indonesian Hospital

OpenAIRE

Nasution, Azizah; Sulaiman, SA. Syed; Shafie, A.A

2016-01-01

Objectives This study evaluated the clinical and economic impacts of clinical pharmacy education (CPE) on infection management among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 4 and 5 in Haji Adam Malik Hospital, Indonesia. Methods A quasi-experimental economic evaluation comparing CPE impact on 6-month CKD mortality was conducted on the basis of payer perspective. The experimental group (n = 63) received care by health care providers who were given CPE on drug-related probl...

AN ANALYSIS OF PHARMACY SERVICES BY PHARMACIST IN COMMUNITY PHARMACY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Max Joseph Herman

2013-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Background: Up to now there are more than 60 schools of pharmacy with a variety of accreditation level in lndonesia. Previous study found that the standard of pharmaceutical services at various service facilities (hospitals, primary health care and community pharmacy can not be fully implemented because of the limited competency of pharmacist. This study was conducted to identify the qualification of pharmacist who delivers services in community pharmacy in compliance with the Indonesian Health Law No. 36 of 2009. As mandated in the Health Law No. 36 of 2009, the government is obliged to establish minimum requirements that must be possessed. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in 2010 at 2 community pharmacies in each of 3 cities, i.e. Bandung, DI Yogyakarta and Surabaya. Other than ten pharmacists delivering services in community pharmacies, there were pharmacists as informants from 4 institutions in each city selected, i.e. six pharmacists from two Schools of Pharmacy, three pharmacists from three Regional Indonesian Pharmacists Association,six pharmacists from three District Health Offices and three Provincial Health Offices. Primary data collection through in-depth interviews and observation as well as secondary data collection concerning standard operating procedures, monitoring documentation and academic curricula has been used. Descriptive data were analysed qualitatively Results: The findings indicate that pharmacists' qualification to deliver services in a community pharmacy in accordance with the Government Regulation No. 51 of 2009, Standards of Pharmacy Services in Community Pharmacy and Good Pharmaceutical Practices (GPP was varied. Most pharmacists have already understood their roles in pharmacy service, but to practice it in accordance with the standards or guidelines they are still having problems. It is also acknowledged by pharmacists in other institutions, including School of Pharmacy, Regional

Social Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy-Joining Forces.

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Almarsdottir, Anna Birna; Granas, Anne Gerd

2015-12-22

This commentary seeks to define the areas of social pharmacy and clinical pharmacy to uncover what they have in common and what still sets them apart. Common threats and challenges of the two areas are reviewed in order to understand the forces in play. Forces that still keep clinical and social pharmacy apart are university structures, research traditions, and the management of pharmacy services. There are key (but shrinking) differences between clinical and social pharmacy which entail the levels of study within pharmaceutical sciences, the location in which the research is carried out, the choice of research designs and methods, and the theoretical foundations. Common strengths and opportunities are important to know in order to join forces. Finding common ground can be developed in two areas: participating together in multi-disciplinary research, and uniting in a dialogue with internal and external key players in putting forth what is needed for the profession of pharmacy. At the end the question is posed, "What's in a name?" and we argue that it is important to emphasize what unifies the families of clinical pharmacy and social pharmacy for the benefit of both fields, pharmacy in general, and society at large.

Pharmacy Malpractice: The rate and prevalence of dispensing high-risk prescription-only medications at community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia.

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Alshammari, Thamir M; Alhindi, Salman A; Alrashdi, Ahmed M; Benmerzouga, Imaan; Aljofan, Mohamad

2017-07-01

To assess the compliance of community pharmacies with the regulations that prohibit the dispensing of prescription-only medications in the absence of a physician prescription in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the period between October 2014 and January 2015. A list of 10 prescription-only medications were selected to be studied. 150 community pharmacies were visited across 6 major regions in Saudi Arabia to assess the prevalence of non-compliance among community pharmacies. Pharmacies were selected in random and researchers (disguised as patients) requested to purchase prescription-only medications in the absence of a prescription. Not all medications were purchased at once. Data were recorded per pharmacy, where pharmacies that approved dispense of the selected drug were scored as non-compliant and the pharmacies that rejected dispense of the selected drug were scored as compliant. Compliance rate was calculated per region per drug. Pharmacies based in governmental hospitals were visited in parallel. A total of 20 were visited. Data and statistical analysis were performed using Statistical Analyses Software (SAS 9.3). A total of 150 pharmacies were visited over a period of 3 months. On average, the percent approved dispense of prescription-only drugs across 6 regions in Saudi Arabia is 63% and the percent rejected dispense is 37% representing a significant non-compliance rate regarding the selected list of medications in this study. The frequency of dispense per medication across 6 major regions in Saudi Arabia is as follows: Isosorbide dinitrate (86%), Enoxaparin (82%), nitroglycerin (74%), Propranolol (73%), Verapamil (70%), Warfarin (65%), Methyldopa (64%), Ciprofloxacin (57%) and Codeine (4%). Non-compliance of community pharmacies with the law of pharmaceutical practice is at an alarming rate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and authoritative figures must intervene to impede and combat such activities .

Relationship between hospital pharmacists' job satisfaction and involvement in clinical activities.

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Olson, D S; Lawson, K A

1996-02-01

Job satisfaction among hospital pharmacists employed by a national hospital pharmacy management company was measured by using a mail questionnaire. A previously validated survey that measured pharmacists' job satisfaction was adapted for use in this study. Additional questions determined the pharmacist's clinical pharmacy training and participation in clinical pharmacy services. Questionnaires were mailed to all full-time hospital pharmacists employed by the pharmacy management company. Of the 606 mailed, deliverable questionnaires, 354 usable responses were returned, for a response rate of 58.4%. The respondent hospital pharmacists' level of job satisfaction showed a positive association with clinical pharmacy involvement. Of the nine items in the questionnaire that measured the pharmacists' involvement in clinical pharmacy services, seven items showed a positive relationship between involvement in that clinical activity and job satisfaction. Mean job satisfaction increased as the percentage of time spent performing clinical pharmacy activities increased. Job satisfaction decreased as time spent performing distributive functions increased. The percentage of time hospital pharmacists were engaged in clinical activities was significantly associated with job satisfaction.

A 12 year (1998-2009) antibiotic resistance surveillance of Klebsiella pneumoniae collected from intensive care and urology patients in 14 Dutch hospitals.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Donk, C.F. van der; Beisser, P.S.; Hoogkamp-Korstanje, J.A.A.; Bruggeman, C.A.; Stobberingh, E.E.; Waar, K.; Vogels, W.H.; Bloembergen, P.; Beunders, A.J.; Rietra, P.; Hendrix, M.G.; Bijlmer, H.A.; Jongh, B.M. de; Hendriks, W.D.; Sturm, P.D.J.; Buiting, A.G.M.; Sabbe, L.J.; Trienekens, T.A.; Dessel, H. van

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the changes in antibiotic resistance from 1998 to 2009 of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from the intensive care units (ICUs) and urology services of 14 Dutch hospitals and the consequences for empirical therapy. METHODS: Quantitative antibiotic susceptibility testing of K.

Drug-related problems and pharmacy interventions in community practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Westerlund, Tommy; Almarsdóttir, Anna Birna; Melander, Arne

1999-01-01

Objectives. (1) To document types and number of drug-related problems identified by community pharmacy personnel in Sweden; (2) to determine relationships among the types and number of problems identified and the gender, age and number of prescribed drugs in patients; and (3) to document the inte......Objectives. (1) To document types and number of drug-related problems identified by community pharmacy personnel in Sweden; (2) to determine relationships among the types and number of problems identified and the gender, age and number of prescribed drugs in patients; and (3) to document...... the interventions made by pharmacy personnel with patients and prescribers. Method. Random samples of pharmacists, prescriptionists and pharmacy technicians were drawn nationwide in Sweden; 144 (63 per cent) of the employees fulfilling the inclusion criteria agreed to take part. The participants documented drug......-related problems, interventions and patient variables on a data collection form, and tallied the number of patients they served on another form. Setting. One hundred and sixteen community pharmacies and 12 outpatient hospital pharmacies. Key findings. One problem or more was identified among 2.5 per cent...

International Mentoring Programs: Leadership Opportunities to Enhance Worldwide Pharmacy Practice.

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Ubaka, Chukwuemeka; Brechtelsbauer, Erich; Goff, Debra A

2017-07-01

Health-system and community pharmacy practice in the United States is experiencing transformational change; however, this transformation is lagging in the international arena. As a result, efforts are being made to provide support and education to the international pharmacy leaders and practitioners. This article describes one effort, the Mandela Washington Fellows Program, and suggests areas where pharmacy leaders can be involved to help advance the practice of pharmacy on an international level. The Mandela Washington Fellows Program for young Africa leaders consists of a US-Africa pharmacy-mentoring program identified ranging from educational opportunities to collaboration for implementation of patient care programs. The specifics of the mentoring program include daily meetings, clinic and ward rounds, round table discussions with mentors, and visits to various hospital care systems. Lessons were learned and strategies for sustaining the program are discussed. These types of programs represent leadership opportunities that may not be apparent to most pharmacy directors, but expanding their view to helping international pharmacists expand their practice only strengthens the professional goal of providing patient-centered pharmacy services.

Big data in pharmacy practice: current use, challenges, and the future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ma C

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Carolyn Ma, Helen Wong Smith, Cherie Chu, Deborah T JuarezDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, The Daniel K Inouye College of Pharmacy, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, Hilo, HI, USAAbstract: Pharmacy informatics is defined as the use and integration of data, information, knowledge, technology, and automation in the medication-use process for the purpose of improving health outcomes. The term “big data” has been coined and is often defined in three V's: volume, velocity, and variety. This paper describes three major areas in which pharmacy utilizes big data, including: 1 informed decision making (clinical pathways and clinical practice guidelines; 2 improved care delivery in health care settings such as hospitals and community pharmacy practice settings; and 3 quality performance measurement for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and medication management activities such as tracking medication adherence and medication reconciliation.Keywords: clinical pharmacy data base, pharmacy informatics, patient outcomes

Medication reconciliation and prescribing reviews by pharmacy technicians in a geriatric ward

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buck, Thomas Croft; Gronkjaer, Louise Smed; Duckert, Marie-Louise

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Incomplete medication histories obtained on hospital admission are responsible for more than 25% of prescribing errors. This study aimed to evaluate whether pharmacy technicians can assist hospital physicians' in obtaining medication histories by performing medication reconciliation an...... reconciliation and focused medication reviews. Further randomized, controlled studies including a larger number of patients are required to elucidate whether these observations are of significance and of importance for securing patient safety....... and prescribing reviews. A secondary aim was to evaluate whether the interventions made by pharmacy technicians could reduce the time spent by the nurses on administration of medications to the patients. METHODS: This observational study was conducted over a 7 week period in the geriatric ward at Odense...... University Hospital, Denmark. Two pharmacy technicians conducted medication reconciliation and prescribing reviews at the time of patients' admission to the ward. The reviews were conducted according to standard operating procedures developed by a clinical pharmacist and approved by the Head of the Geriatric...

Euthanasia and assisted suicide in Dutch hospitals: the role of nurses.

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van Bruchem-van de Scheur, G G; van der Arend, Arie J G; Huijer Abu-Saad, Huda; van Wijmen, Frans C B; Spreeuwenberg, Cor; Ter Meulen, Ruud H J

2008-06-01

To report a study on the role of nurses in euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in hospitals, conducted as part of a wider study on the role of nurses in medical end-of-life decisions. Issues concerning legislation and regulation with respect to the role of nurses in euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide gave the Dutch Minister for Health reason to commission a study on the role of nurses in medical end-of-life decisions in hospitals, homecare and nursing homes. A questionnaire was sent in 2003 to 692 nurses employed in 73 hospital locations. The response suitable for analysis was from 532 (76.9%) nurses. Data were quantitatively analysed using spss version 11.5 for Windows. In almost half of the cases (45.1%), the nurse was the first with whom patients discussed their request for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide. Consultations between physicians and nurses quite often took place (78.8%). In several cases (15.4%), nurses themselves administered the euthanatics with or without a physician. It is not self-evident that hospitals have guidelines concerning euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide. In the decision-making process, the consultation between the physician and the nurse needs improvement. In administering the euthanatics, physicians should take responsibility and should not leave these actions to nurses. Guidelines may play an important role to improve the collaboration between physicians and nurses and to prevent procedural, ethical and legal misunderstandings. Nurses in clinical practice are often closely involved in the last stage of a person's life. Consequently, they are often confronted with caring for patients requesting euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide. The results provide relevant information and may help nurses in defining their role in euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, especially in case these practices should become legalised.

Creating organizational value by leveraging the multihospital pharmacy enterprise.

Science.gov (United States)

Schenkat, Dan; Rough, Steve; Hansen, Amanda; Chen, David; Knoer, Scott

2018-04-01

The results of a survey of multihospital pharmacy leaders are summarized, and a road map for creating organizational value with the pharmacy enterprise is presented. A survey was designed to evaluate the level of integration of pharmacy services across each system's multiple hospitals, determine the most commonly integrated services, determine whether value was quantified when services were integrated, collect common barriers for finding value through integration, and identify strategies for successfully overcoming these barriers. The comprehensive, 59-question survey was distributed electronically in September 2016 to the top pharmacy executive at approximately 160 multihospital systems located throughout the United States. Survey respondents indicated that health systems are taking a wide range of approaches to integrating services systemwide. Several themes emerged from the survey responses: (1) having a system-level pharmacy leader with solid-line reporting across the enterprise increased the likelihood of integrating pharmacy services effectively, (2) integration of pharmacy services across a multihospital system was unlikely to decrease the number of pharmacy full-time equivalents within the enterprise, and (3) significant opportunities exist for creating value for the multihospital health system with the pharmacy enterprise, particularly within 4 core areas: system-level drug formulary and clinical standardization initiatives, supply chain initiatives, electronic health record integration, and specialty and retail pharmacy services. Consistently demonstrating strong organizational leadership, entrepreneurialism, and the ability to create value for the organization will lead to the system-level pharmacy leader and the pharmacy enterprise being well-positioned to achieve positive outcomes for patients, payers, and the broader health system. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Pharmacist-led Tdap vaccination of close contacts of neonates in a women's hospital.

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Mills, Brittany; Fensterheim, Leonard; Taitel, Michael; Cannon, Adam

2014-01-16

Pertussis can cause severe illness and death in infants. Immunization of family members with the tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoids, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine can decrease risk of pertussis infection among infants. A community pharmacy on a women's hospital campus implemented a Tdap vaccination pilot program. To investigate the rate of Tdap vaccination among close contacts of neonates in a women's hospital pharmacy and to assess the impact of a coordinated pharmacy and hospital Tdap vaccination program. The intervention entailed education from hospital staff who explained the risks of pertussis, advocated the benefits of vaccination, and encouraged family members to be vaccinated. In the on-site clinic or in the pharmacy, pharmacists administered vaccine to eligible patients. Rates of Tdap vaccinations in the intervention pharmacy with in-hospital vaccination were compared to comparison pharmacies without Tdap interventions. In the pre-study period (December 2008-November 2010), there were 31 Tdap vaccinations administered at the intervention pharmacy (mean=1.3/month); during the study period (December 2010-November 2012), 2045 Tdap vaccinations were administered (mean=85.2/month). In four comparison hospital-campus pharmacies, there were 77 vaccinations (mean=0.8/month) during the pre-study period and 817 vaccinations (mean=8.5/month) during the study period. There were 155 vaccinations administered in 44 area-community pharmacies (mean=0.1/month) during the pre-study period and 2930 (mean=2.8/month) during the study period. The intervention pharmacy had the highest average monthly rate of change in Tdap volume from pre-study to study period (83.9), compared to comparison hospital-campus pharmacies (7.7, pvaccination coverage per live births was 8.1% in the intervention pharmacy versus 5.5% in the comparison hospital-campus pharmacies (pvaccination rates increased after implementation of the intervention program. This project illustrates how

Canadian Pharmacy Practice Residents’ Projects: Publication Rates and Study Characteristics

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Hung, Michelle; Duffett, Mark

2013-01-01

Background: Research projects are a key component of pharmacy residents’ education. Projects represent both a large investment of effort for each resident (up to 10 weeks over the residency year) and a large body of research (given that there are currently over 150 residency positions in Canada annually). Publication of results is a vital part of the dissemination of information gleaned from these projects. Objectives: To determine the publication rate for research projects performed under the auspices of accredited English-language hospital pharmacy residency programs in Canada and to describe the study characteristics of residency projects performed in Ontario from 1999/2000 to 2008/2009. Methods: Lists of residents and project titles for the period of interest were obtained from residency coordinators. PubMed, CINAHL, the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, and Google were searched for evidence of publication of each project identified, as an abstract or presentation at a meeting, a letter to the editor, or a full-text manuscript. The library holdings of the University of Toronto were reviewed to determine study characteristics of the Ontario residency projects. Results: For the objective of this study relating to publication rate, 518 projects were included. The overall publication rate was 32.2% (60 [35.9%] as abstracts and 107 [64.1%] as full-text manuscripts). Publication in pharmacy-specific journals (66 [61.7%] of 107 full-text manuscripts) was more frequent than publication in non-pharmacy-specific journals. The publication rate of projects as full-text manuscripts remained stable over time. Of the 202 Ontario residency projects archived in the University of Toronto’s library, most were cohort studies (83 [41.1%]), and the most common topic was efficacy and/or safety of a medication (46 [22.8%]). Conclusions: Most hospital pharmacy residents’ projects were unpublished, and the publication rate of projects as full-text manuscripts has not

Canadian pharmacy practice residents' projects: publication rates and study characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Michelle; Duffett, Mark

2013-03-01

Research projects are a key component of pharmacy residents' education. Projects represent both a large investment of effort for each resident (up to 10 weeks over the residency year) and a large body of research (given that there are currently over 150 residency positions in Canada annually). Publication of results is a vital part of the dissemination of information gleaned from these projects. To determine the publication rate for research projects performed under the auspices of accredited English-language hospital pharmacy residency programs in Canada and to describe the study characteristics of residency projects performed in Ontario from 1999/2000 to 2008/2009. Lists of residents and project titles for the period of interest were obtained from residency coordinators. PubMed, CINAHL, the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, and Google were searched for evidence of publication of each project identified, as an abstract or presentation at a meeting, a letter to the editor, or a full-text manuscript. The library holdings of the University of Toronto were reviewed to determine study characteristics of the Ontario residency projects. For the objective of this study relating to publication rate, 518 projects were included. The overall publication rate was 32.2% (60 [35.9%] as abstracts and 107 [64.1%] as full-text manuscripts). Publication in pharmacy-specific journals (66 [61.7%] of 107 full-text manuscripts) was more frequent than publication in non-pharmacy-specific journals. The publication rate of projects as full-text manuscripts remained stable over time. Of the 202 Ontario residency projects archived in the University of Toronto's library, most were cohort studies (83 [41.1%]), and the most common topic was efficacy and/or safety of a medication (46 [22.8%]). Most hospital pharmacy residents' projects were unpublished, and the publication rate of projects as full-text manuscripts has not increased over time. Most projects were observational studies

Frequency and severity of sexual harassment in pharmacy practice in Ohio.

Science.gov (United States)

Broedel-Zaugg, K; Shaffer, V; Mawer, M; Sullivan, D L

1999-01-01

To determine the frequency and severity of sexual harassment in the pharmacy workplace for both male and female pharmacists, and to identify: (1) instigators, (2) places of occurrence, and (3) pharmacists' responses. Mailed survey using elements of the Sexual Experience Questionnaire (SEQ). One repeat mailing to nonrespondents. Community pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, other pharmacies in the state of Ohio. 789 randomly selected pharmacists registered in Ohio. Not applicable. Amount of gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion; differences in occurrences of sexual harassment between men and women; identification of instigators as colleagues, patients, or supervisors; identification of place of occurrence as community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, or elsewhere; pharmacists' responses and reactions. After two mailings, 265 usable surveys were returned for a response rate of 34%. Women differed significantly from men in total occurrences of sexual harassment, with men reporting 183 instances of sexual harassment and women reporting 281 such experiences. Instigators were colleagues (43%), patients (30%), and superiors (27%). Men reported 143 experiences of unwanted sexual attention, whereas women reported 272 such occurrences. Colleagues were responsible for 47% of instances of unwanted sexual attention, patients were responsible for 37%, and superiors 16%. No significant differences were found between men and women in total number of occurrences of sexual coercion. Sexual harassment in the workplace has been experienced by both male and female pharmacists. Women experienced more hostile work environment harassment than did men. However, quid pro quo harassment did not differ significantly between the sexes.

Healthcare professionals' perceptions related to the provision of clinical pharmacy services in the public health sector of Mexico: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz de León-Castañeda, Christian; Gutiérrez-Godínez, Jéssica; Colado-Velázquez, Juventino Iii; Toledano-Jaimes, Cairo

2018-04-22

In Mexico, the Modelo Nacional de Farmacia Hospitalaria (MNFH, or National Hospital Pharmacy Model), published in 2009, mainly aims to promote the provision of clinical pharmacy services in private and public hospitals. However, there is little scientific documentation about the quality of these services. To explore healthcare professionals' perceptions related to the quality of clinical pharmacy services provision. A case-study based on a qualitative approach was performed at the pharmaceutical services unit at a public hospital located in Mexico City, which operates under the administrative control of the Ministry of Health. Donabedian's conceptual model was adapted to explore health care professionals' perceptions of the quality of clinical pharmacy services provision. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with pharmacists, physicians and nurses and then transcribed and analyzed via discourse analysis and codification techniques, using the software package Atlas. ti. Limitations in pharmaceutical human resources were identified as the main factor affecting coverage and quality in clinical pharmacy services provision. However, the development in pharmacy staff of technical competences and skills for clinical pharmacy service provision were recognized. Significant improvements in the rational use of medicines were associated with clinical pharmacy services provision. The perception analysis performed in this study suggested that it is necessary to increase pharmacy staff in order to improve interprofessional relationships and the quality of clinical pharmacy services provision. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pharmacy specialists' attitudes toward pharmaceutical service quality at community pharmacies.

Science.gov (United States)

Urbonas, Gvidas; Jakušovaitė, Irayda; Savickas, Arūnas

2010-01-01

The main objective of this study was to analyze pharmacy specialists' attitudes toward the quality of pharmaceutical services at Lithuanian community pharmacies. Between April and June 2009, a total of 471 Lithuanian community pharmacy specialists completed a questionnaire designed to evaluate their attitudes toward the quality of pharmaceutical services at community pharmacies. The main dimensions of pharmaceutical service quality were extracted by principal component analysis. Two main dimensions of pharmaceutical service quality were extracted: pharmacotherapeutic aspects (provision of information about drug therapy, possible side effects, health promotion, the amount of time spent with a patient, and the ascertainment that a patient understood the provided information) and socioeconomic aspects (considering patient's needs and financial capabilities, making a patient confident with the services provided). Pharmacy specialists evaluated the quality of both dimensions positively, but the quality of the first dimension was rated significantly worse than that of the second dimension. The attitudes of pharmacy specialists working at independent pharmacies were more positive toward pharmacotherapeutic aspects as compared to the specialists working at chain or state pharmacies. Pharmacotherapeutic aspects were rated better by pharmacy specialists, aged ≥ 55 years, than those younger than 45 years. Moreover, the attitudes of 45-54-year-old pharmacy specialists toward the socioeconomic aspects were more positive as compared with those of 35-44-year olds. Pharmacists rated the socioeconomic aspects of pharmaceutical service quality worse as compared with pharmacy technicians. The attitudes of pharmacy specialists working at pharmacies with 6-9 specialists were more negative toward pharmacotherapeutic aspects than those of the pharmacies with 1-2 specialists. Pharmacy specialists working at pharmacies with ≥ 10 specialists reported lower scores of socioeconomic

Factors affecting pharmacy engagement and pharmacy customer devotion in community pharmacy: A structural equation modeling approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Nitadpakorn, Sujin; Farris, Karen B; Kittisopee, Tanattha

2017-01-01

The concept of customer engagement and devotion has been applied in various service businesses to keep the customers with business However, a limited number of studies were performed to examine the context of customer engagement and devotion in pharmacy business which focus on the impact of customer perceptions about pharmacists, perceived quality of pharmacy structure, medication price strategy on pharmacy engagement and pharmacy customer devotion in a pharmacy providing pharmaceutical care to the customers. This study aimed to assess a conceptual model depicting the relationships among customer perceptions about pharmacists, pharmacy quality structure, medication price, customer engagement, and customer devotion. And also aimed to assess and measure if there is a direct or indirect relationship between these factors. A quantitative study was conducted by using self-administered questionnaires. Two hundred and fifty three customers who regularly visited the pharmacy were randomly recruited from a purposively selected 30 community pharmacies in Bangkok. The survey was completed during February to April 2016. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to assess the direct and indirect relationships between constructs. A total of 253/300 questionnaires were returned for analysis, and the response rate was 84%. Only perceptions about pharmacist in customers receiving professional pharmacy services was statically significant regarding relationship with pharmacy engagement (beta=0.45). Concurrently, the model from empirical data fit with the hypothetical model (p-value = 0.06, adjusted chi-square (CMIN/DF)=1.16, Goodness of Fit Index (GFI)=0.93, Comparatively Fit Index (CFI)=0.99, and Root Mean Square Error Approximation (RMSEA)=0.03). The study confirmed the indirect positive influence of customer perceptions about pharmacist on pharmacy customer devotion in providing pharmacy services via pharmacy engagement It was customer perceptions about pharmacist that influenced

Factors affecting pharmacy engagement and pharmacy customer devotion in community pharmacy: A structural equation modeling approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nitadpakorn S

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The concept of customer engagement and devotion has been applied in various service businesses to keep the customers with business However, a limited number of studies were performed to examine the context of customer engagement and devotion in pharmacy business which focus on the impact of customer perceptions about pharmacists, perceived quality of pharmacy structure, medication price strategy on pharmacy engagement and pharmacy customer devotion in a pharmacy providing pharmaceutical care to the customers. Objective: This study aimed to assess a conceptual model depicting the relationships among customer perceptions about pharmacists, pharmacy quality structure, medication price, customer engagement, and customer devotion. And also aimed to assess and measure if there is a direct or indirect relationship between these factors. Methods: A quantitative study was conducted by using self-administered questionnaires. Two hundred and fifty three customers who regularly visited the pharmacy were randomly recruited from a purposively selected 30 community pharmacies in Bangkok. The survey was completed during February to April 2016. A structural equation model (SEM was used to assess the direct and indirect relationships between constructs. Results: A total of 253/300 questionnaires were returned for analysis, and the response rate was 84%. Only perceptions about pharmacist in customers receiving professional pharmacy services was statically significant regarding relationship with pharmacy engagement (beta=0.45. Concurrently, the model from empirical data fit with the hypothetical model (p-value = 0.06, adjusted chi-square (CMIN/DF=1.16, Goodness of Fit Index (GFI=0.93, Comparatively Fit Index (CFI=0.99, and Root Mean Square Error Approximation (RMSEA=0.03. Conclusion: The study confirmed the indirect positive influence of customer perceptions about pharmacist on pharmacy customer devotion in providing pharmacy services via pharmacy

Restructuring supervision and reconfiguration of skill mix in community pharmacy: Classification of perceived safety and risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Fay; Willis, Sarah C; Noyce, Peter R; Schafheutle, Ellen I

2016-01-01

Broadening the range of services provided through community pharmacy increases workloads for pharmacists that could be alleviated by reconfiguring roles within the pharmacy team. To examine pharmacists' and pharmacy technicians (PTs)' perceptions of how safe it would be for support staff to undertake a range of pharmacy activities during a pharmacist's absence. Views on supervision, support staff roles, competency and responsibility were also sought. Informed by nominal group discussions, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to a random sample of 1500 pharmacists and 1500 PTs registered in England. Whilst focused on community pharmacy practice, hospital pharmacy respondents were included, as more advanced skill mix models may provide valuable insights. Respondents were asked to rank a list of 22 pharmacy activities in terms of perceived risk and safety of these activities being performed by support staff during a pharmacist's absence. Descriptive and comparative statistic analyses were conducted. Six-hundred-and-forty-two pharmacists (43.2%) and 854 PTs (57.3%) responded; the majority worked in community pharmacy. Dependent on agreement levels with perceived safety, from community pharmacists and PTs, and hospital pharmacists and PTs, the 22 activities were grouped into 'safe' (n = 7), 'borderline' (n = 9) and 'unsafe' (n = 6). Activities such as assembly and labeling were considered 'safe,' clinical activities were considered 'unsafe.' There were clear differences between pharmacists and PTs, and sectors (community pharmacy vs. hospital). Community pharmacists were most cautious (particularly mobile and portfolio pharmacists) about which activities they felt support staff could safely perform; PTs in both sectors felt significantly more confident performing particularly technical activities than pharmacists. This paper presents novel empirical evidence informing the categorization of pharmacy activities into 'safe,' 'borderline' or 'unsafe

A national survey on the current status of informatics residency education in pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Blash, Anthony; Saltsman, Connie L; Steil, Condit

2017-11-01

Upon completion of their post-graduate training, pharmacy informatics residents need to be prepared to interact with clinical and technology experts in the new healthcare environment. This study describes pharmacy informatics residency programs within the United States. Preliminary information for all pharmacy informatics residency programs was accessed from program webpages. An email was sent out to programs asking them to respond to a six-item questionnaire. This questionnaire was designed to elicit information on attributes of the program, behaviors of the preceptors and residents, and attitudes of the residency directors. Of 22 pharmacy informatics residencies identified, nineteen (86%) participated. Twenty (91%) were second post-graduate year (PGY2) residencies. Ten (45%) were accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), while eight (36%) were candidates for accreditation. Hospital (17/22, 77%) and administrative offices (3/22, 14%) were the predominant training sites for pharmacy informatics residents. Large institutions were the predominant training environment for the pharmacy informatics resident, with 19 of 22 (86%) institutions reporting a licensed bed count of 500 or more. The median (range) number of informatics preceptors at a site was six to eight. Regarding barriers to pharmacy informatics residency education, residency directors reported that residents did not feel prepared based on the limited availability of curricular offerings. In the United States, relatively few residencies are explicitly focused on pharmacy informatics. Most of these are accredited and hospital affiliated, especially with large institutions (>500 beds). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Work group design in pharmacy: the pharmacist-technician team.

Science.gov (United States)

Kershaw, B P; Solomon, D K; Zarowitz, B J

1987-05-01

The contemporary pharmacy practice manager faces the challenge of designing pharmacy service programs that not only satisfy the needs of the patient, but at the same time satisfy and motivate the pharmacists and technicians who sustain the programs. This research examined the team design, which has been recommended but not fully described in the literature. This application did not explore the full potential of the team design in the hospital pharmacy setting. More study is needed in this area to assess the impact of work group design on the expansion of clinical programs, employee turnover rates, quality and quantity of work produced, and, most important, the impact on job satisfaction enjoyed by pharmacists and technicians.

Hospital survival strategies for the 1980s.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonney, R S

1983-09-01

Survival strategies for hospitals and hospital pharmacy departments are presented, and one hospital's development into a health-services system is described. Financial and competitive pressures are forcing institutions to develop new strategies for survival. The primary institutional strategy is diversification--both horizontal and vertical. Diversification can assist in the hospital's growth, increase its asset and revenue bases, and lead to the development of a health-care delivery system. Marketing to physicians and developing information systems are also critical strategies under a prospective payment system. Institutions will need to know the cost of providing care for specific diagnosis-related groups. Strategies must be employed to develop incentives to reduce inpatient acute-care services and to increase productivity. Physicians should be involved in all of the institutional strategies. Strategies for the pharmacy department are basically the same. Pharmacy departments should develop programs to reduce drug use (especially antibiotic use) and information systems that show the actual cost of providing services by diagnosis. The major corporate restructuring and diversification efforts of one hospital are described. The future of hospitals and pharmacy departments will depend on the successful application of the strategies discussed.

A pharmacogenetics service experience for pharmacy students, residents, and fellows.

Science.gov (United States)

Drozda, Katarzyna; Labinov, Yana; Jiang, Ruixuan; Thomas, Margaret R; Wong, Shan S; Patel, Shitalben; Nutescu, Edith A; Cavallari, Larisa H

2013-10-14

To utilize a comprehensive, pharmacist-led warfarin pharmacogenetics service to provide pharmacy students, residents, and fellows with clinical and research experiences involving genotype-guided therapy. First-year (P1) through fourth-year (P4) pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, and pharmacy fellows participated in a newly implemented warfarin pharmacogenetics service in a hospital setting. Students, residents, and fellows provided genotype-guided dosing recommendations as part of clinical care, or analyzed samples and data collected from patients on the service for research purposes. Students', residents', and fellows' achievement of learning objectives was assessed using a checklist based on established core competencies in pharmacogenetics. The mean competency score of the students, residents, and fellows who completed a clinical and/or research experience with the service was 97% ±3%. A comprehensive warfarin pharmacogenetics service provided unique experiential and research opportunities for pharmacy students, residents, and fellows and sufficiently addressed a number of core competencies in pharmacogenetics.

[Burnout in Dutch medical students: prevalence and causes].

Science.gov (United States)

Conijn, Maartjie; Boersma, Henri J M V; van Rhenen, Willem

2015-01-01

To investigate the prevalence and causes of burnout in Dutch medical students. Questionnaire survey. All 14,570 student members of the KNMG (Royal Dutch Medical Association) were invited to fill in a digital survey. Burnout was determined with the Utrecht Burnout Scale (UBOS). Triggering and protective factors for burnout were also investigated . 2,739 medical students (18.8%) completed the survey and 14.5 per cent of all respondents met the burnout criteria. 17.8 per cent of the hospital interns who responded and 11.6 per cent of the preclinical students who responded met these criteria. Work-home interference and high levels of emotional pressure had the strongest link to burn-out, while a sufficient amount of support from family, friends and peers reduced the risk of burnout in both undergraduates and hospital interns. Our exploratory research suggests that the prevalence of burnout is high, particularly among the hospital interns who responded. The most important contributory factors are high levels of emotional pressure and work-home interference. The low percentage of respondents makes it difficult to make any statement about the prevalence and causes of burnout among all Dutch medical students.

Clinical risk management in Dutch community pharmacies: the case of drug-drug interactions.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buurma, H.; Smet, P.A.G.M. de; Egberts, A.C.G.

2006-01-01

BACKGROUND: The prevention of drug-drug interactions requires a systematic approach for which the concept of clinical risk management can be used. The objective of our study was to measure the frequency, nature and management of drug-drug interaction alerts as these occur in daily practice of Dutch

Using an integrated information system to reduce interruptions and the number of non-relevant contacts in the inpatient pharmacy at tertiary hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Binobaid, Saleh; Almeziny, Mohammed; Fan, Ip-Shing

2017-07-01

Patient care is provided by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals intended for high-quality and safe patient care. Accordingly, the team must work synergistically and communicate efficiently. In many hospitals, nursing and pharmacy communication relies mainly on telephone calls. In fact, numerous studies have reported telephone calls as a source of interruption for both pharmacy and nursing operations; therefore, the workload increases and the chance of errors raises. This report describes the implementation of an integrated information system that possibly can reduce telephone calls through providing real-time tracking capabilities and sorting prescriptions urgency, thus significantly improving traceability of all prescriptions inside pharmacy. The research design is based on a quasi-experiment using pre-post testing using the continuous improvement approach. The improvement project is performed using a six-step method. A survey was conducted in Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC) to measure the volume and types of telephone calls before and after implementation to evaluate the impact of the new system. Beforehand of the system implementation, during the two-week measurement period, all pharmacies received 4466 calls and the majority were follow-up calls. Subsequently of the integrated system rollout, there was a significant reduction ( p  > 0.001) in the volume of telephone calls to 2630 calls; besides, the calls nature turned out to be more professional inquiries ( p  > 0.001). As a result, avoidable interruptions and workload were decreased.

Reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the American Burn Association/Shriners Hospital for Children Burn Outcomes Questionnaire (5-18 years of age)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Baar, Margriet E.; Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise; Oen, Irma M. M. H.; Dokter, Jan; Boxma, Han; Hinson, Michelle I.; van Loey, Nancy E. E.; Faber, Albertus W.; van Beeck, Ed F.

2006-01-01

The American Burn Association/Shriners Hospital for Children Burn Outcomes Questionnaire (BOQ) is a self-administered questionnaire to monitor functional outcome after burns in children and adolescents. This study aimed to assess feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Dutch BOQ. The BOQ was

Impact of a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in an Emergency Department for Seniors.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Paul B; Delate, Thomas; Lyman, Alfred; Adams, Jody; Kreutz, Heather; Sanchez, Julia K; Dowd, Mary Beth; Gozansky, Wendolyn

2016-02-01

This study assesses outcomes associated with the implementation of an emergency department (ED) for seniors in which a clinical pharmacy specialist, with specialized geriatric training that included medication management training, is a key member of the ED care team. This was a retrospective cohort analysis of patients aged 65 years or older who presented at an ED between November 1, 2012, and May 31, 2013. Three groups of seniors were assessed: treated by the clinical pharmacy specialist in the ED for seniors, treated in the ED for seniors but not by the clinical pharmacy specialist, and not treated in the ED for seniors. Outcomes included rates of an ED return visit, mortality and hospital admissions, and follow-up total health care costs. Multivariable regression modeling was used to adjust for any potential confounders in the associations between groups and outcomes. A total of 4,103 patients were included, with 872 (21%) treated in the ED for seniors and 342 (39%) of these treated by the clinical pharmacy specialist. Groups were well matched overall in patient characteristics. Patients who received medication review and management by the clinical pharmacy specialist did not experience a reduction in ED return visits, mortality, cost of follow-up care, or hospital admissions compared with the other groups. Of the patients treated by the clinical pharmacy specialist, 154 (45.0%) were identified as having at least 1 medication-related problem. Although at least 1 medication-related problem was identified in almost half of patients treated by the clinical pharmacy specialist in the ED for seniors, incorporation of a clinical pharmacy specialist into the ED staff did not improve clinical outcomes. Copyright © 2015 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predicting tobacco sales in community pharmacies using population demographics and pharmacy type.

Science.gov (United States)

Hickey, Lisa M; Farris, Karen B; Peterson, N Andrew; Aquilino, Mary L

2006-01-01

To determine whether the population demographics of the location of pharmacies were associated with tobacco sales in pharmacies, when controlling for pharmacy type. Retrospective analysis. Iowa. All retailers in Iowa that obtained tobacco licenses and all pharmacies registered with the Iowa Board of Pharmacy in 2003. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE AND INTERVENTIONS: Percentage of pharmacies selling tobacco (examined by pharmacy type using chi-square analysis); median income and distribution of race/ethnicity in the county for pharmacies that did or did not sell tobacco (t tests); predictors of whether a pharmacy sold tobacco (logistic regression using the independent variables county-level demographic variables and pharmacy characteristics). County gender composition, race/ethnicity make-up, and income levels were different for tobacco-selling and -nonselling pharmacies. Logistic regression showed that whether a pharmacy sold tobacco was strongly dependent on the type of pharmacy; compared with independent pharmacies (of which only 5% sold tobacco products), chain pharmacies were 34 times more likely to sell tobacco products, mass merchandiser outlets were 47 times more likely to stock these goods, and grocery stores were 378 times more likely to do so. Pharmacies selling tobacco were more likely to be located in counties with significantly higher numbers of multiracial groups. The best predictor of whether an Iowa pharmacy sells tobacco products is type of pharmacy. In multivariable analyses, population demographics of the county in which pharmacies were located were generally not predictive of whether a pharmacy sold tobacco.

The influence of learning environment on trainee pharmacy technicians' education and training experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Schafheutle, Ellen I; Jee, Samuel D; Willis, Sarah C

2017-12-16

In Great Britain (GB), pharmacy technicians (PTs) are registered professionals, with their education and training regulated; little is known about this or the learning environment in which it takes place. This study aimed to profile recently registered pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians (PTPTs) in GB and capture views on PTPTs' training experiences, focussing on differences in community and hospital settings. A mixed methods study was conducted in 2013-14, following university ethics approval. One-to-one, semi-structured telephone interviews with face-to-face and distance education providers, and hospital and community pharmacy employers of PTPTs explored views on education delivery, work-based learning, and assessment. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, analysed thematically and findings informed design of a census survey of all 1457 recently registered PTs, investigating satisfaction with various aspects of their training. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS v20, employing comparative statistics (Mann-Whitney U, Chi-Square). Six-hundred and forty-six questionnaires were returned (response rate 44.3%), 632 were usable. Three-quarters (75.9%) of respondents had trained in community; the majority (88.0%) were female, the average age was 35.26 ± 10.22. Those based in hospitals were more satisfied with their training: hospital trainees worked in larger teams and tended to be better supported, they had more study time, and were more likely to complete their training in the intended two-year period. Interviews with staff in 17 Further Education colleges, 6 distance providers, 16 community pharmacies and 15 NHS organisations confirmed survey findings and offered explanations into why differences in training experiences may exist. This study has identified differences between PTPTs' work-based experiences in hospital and community pharmacy. Perceiving PTPTs as 'apprentices' vs. 'employees' may define how their training is managed by employers

Quality pharmacy services and key performance indicators in Polish NICUs: a Delphi approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Krzyżaniak, Natalia; Pawłowska, Iga; Bajorek, Beata

2018-03-31

Background Currently, there is no literature describing what a quality level of practice entails in Polish neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), nor are there any means of currently measuring the quality of pharmaceutical care provided to NICU patients. Objective To identify a set of essential pharmacist roles and pharmacy-relevant key performance indicators (KPI's) suitable for Polish neonatal intensive units (NICUs). Setting Polish hospital pharmacies and NICUs. Method Using a modified Delphi technique, potential KPI's structured along Donabedian's domains as well as pharmacy services were presented to an expert panel of stakeholders. Two online, consecutive Delphi rounds, were completed by panellists between August and September 2017. Main outcome measure To identify the minimum level of pharmacy services that should be consistently provided to NICU patients. Results A total of 16 panellists contributed to the expert panel. Overall, consensus of 75% was reached for 23 indicators and for 28 roles. When considering pharmacy services for the NICU, the experts were found to highly value traditional pharmacy roles, such as dispensing and extemporaneous compounding, however, they were still eager for roles in the other domains, such as educational and clinical services, to be listed as essential for NICU practice. Panellists were found to positively value the list of indicators presented, and excluded only 9 out of the total list. Conclusion There is a need for future research to establish a minimum standard of practice for Polish pharmacists to encourage the progression and standardisation of hospital pharmacy services to meet the level of practice seen in NICUs worldwide.

Development of a pharmacy student research program at a large academic medical center.

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, Milena M; Skoglund, Erik; Bergman, Scott; Scheetz, Marc H

2015-11-01

A program to promote research by pharmacy students created through the collaboration of an academic medical center and a college of pharmacy is described. In 2009, Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy and Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) expanded their existing partnership by establishing a program to increase opportunities for pharmacy students to conduct clinical-translational research. All professional year 1, 2, or 3 students at the college, as well as professional year 4 students on rotation at NMH, can participate in the program. Central to the program's infrastructure is the mentorship of student leads by faculty- and hospital-based pharmacists. The mentors oversee the student research projects and guide development of poster presentations; student leads mentor junior students and assist with orientation and training activities. Publication of research findings in the peer-reviewed literature is a key program goal. In the first four years after program implementation, participation in a summer research program grew nearly 10-fold (mainly among incoming professional year 2 or 3 students, and student poster presentations at national pharmacy meetings increased nearly 20-fold; the number of published research articles involving student authors increased from zero in 2009 to three in 2012 and two in 2013. A collaborative program between an academic medical center and a college of pharmacy has enabled pharmacy students to conduct research at the medical center and has been associated with increases in the numbers of poster presentations and publications involving students. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Information on the quality of substance for the preparation of pharmaceutical drugs in terms of hospital pharmacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jovović Marija Đ.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Explanation the topic The pharmaceutical activity is the activity of public or social and special interest, because it is a direct function of health care. Topic positioning and discussion The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of ensuring the quality of pharmaceutical substances that supplies hospitals, which are used for production of galenic and magistral drugs. Conclusion Compliance with national legislation, as well as establishing compliance prescribed by the European legislation in the field of drug development is binding. Therefore, all manufacturers of drugs and/or active pharmaceutical ingredients must apply quality standards prescribed by the European Pharmacopoeia in order to develop, manufacture and sales of medicines. When it comes to the quality of pharmaceutical ingredients for the production of drugs in the pharmacy, pharmacies especially in residential institutions in our country is permanently done by harmonizing national legislation in order to improve conditions for the preparation and production of galenic drugs in terms of inpatient health institutions performed in a manner that is prescribed by international regulations. This requires the adaptation of institutions, including fundamental changes in competence as national professional and administrative and regulatory rules that apply to state- and private sectors.

Experience of collaboration between a Dutch surgical team in a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Experience of collaboration between a Dutch surgical team in a Ghanaian Orthopaedic Teaching Hospital. ... medical teams from our hospital were deployed to St. Joseph's Hospital. These teams were completely self-supporting. They were encouraged to work together with the local-staff. Apart from clinical work, effort was

Self-Reported Digital Literacy of the Pharmacy Workforce in North East Scotland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katie MacLure

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In their day-to-day practice, pharmacists, graduate (pre-registration pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, dispensing assistants and medicines counter assistants use widely available office, retail and management information systems alongside dedicated pharmacy management and electronic health (ehealth applications. The ability of pharmacy staff to use these applications at home and at work, also known as digital literacy or digital competence or e-skills, depends on personal experience and related education and training. The aim of this research was to gain insight into the self-reported digital literacy of the pharmacy workforce in the North East of Scotland. A purposive case sample survey was conducted across NHS Grampian in the NE of Scotland. Data collection was based on five items: sex, age band, role, pharmacy experience plus a final question about self-reported digital literacy. The study was conducted between August 2012 and March 2013 in 17 community and two hospital pharmacies. With few exceptions, pharmacy staff perceived their own digital literacy to be at a basic level. Secondary outcome measures of role, age, gender and work experience were not found to be clear determinants of digital literacy. Pharmacy staff need to be more digitally literate to harness technologies in pharmacy practice more effectively and efficiently.

Issues Facing Pharmacy Leaders in 2015: Suggestions for Pharmacy Strategic Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Robert J.

2015-01-01

Issues facing pharmacy leaders in 2015 include practice model growth and the role of pharmacy students, clinical privileging of health-system pharmacists and provider status, medication error prevention, and specialty pharmacy services. The goal of this article is to provide practical approaches to 4 issues facing pharmacy leaders in 2015 to help them focus their department’s goals. This article will address (1) advances in the pharmacy practice model initiative and the role of pharmacy students, (2) the current thinking of pharmacists being granted clinical privileges in health systems, (3) updates on preventing harmful medication errors, and (4) the growth of specialty pharmacy services. The sample template of a strategic plan may be used by a pharmacy department in 2015 in an effort to continue developing patient-centered pharmacy services. PMID:25717212

Compliance with national guidelines for the management of drug-drug interactions in Dutch community pharmacies.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buurma, H.; Schalekamp, T.; Egberts, A.C.G.; Smet, P.A.G.M. de

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists contribute to the detection and prevention of drug therapy-related problems, including drug-drug interactions. Little is known about compliance with pharmacy practice guidelines for the management of drug-drug interaction alerts. OBJECTIVE: To measure the compliance of

Multiple pharmacy use and types of pharmacies used to obtain prescriptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Look, Kevin A; Mott, David A

2013-01-01

To evaluate trends and patterns in the prevalence of multiple pharmacy use (MPU) and to describe the number and types of pharmacies used by multiple pharmacy users from 2003 to 2009. Retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study. United States from 2003 to 2009. 89,941 responses to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey over 7 years. Analysis of respondent pharmacy use behaviors. Annual use of more than one pharmacy and number and types of pharmacies used. MPU among patients using medications increased significantly during the study period (from 36.4% [95% CI 35.2-37.6] in 2003 to 43.2% [41.9-44.4] in 2009)-a relative increase of 18.7% ( P = 0.01). Multiple pharmacy users used between 2 and 17 different pharmacies per year to obtain prescription medications. Although approximately 70% of multiple pharmacy users used only two pharmacies, the proportion using three or more pharmacies increased from 24.1% (22.5-25.7) in 2003 to 29.1% (27.4-30.8) in 2009. Mail service pharmacy use had the largest relative increase among multiple pharmacy users during the study period (27.2%), and MPU was nearly twice as high (75%) among mail service users compared with non-mail service users. MPU is common on a national level and has increased greatly in recent years. Patient use of pharmacies that have the potential to share medication information electronically is low among multiple pharmacy users, suggesting increased workload for pharmacists and potential medication safety concerns. This has important implications for pharmacists, as it potentially impedes their ability to maintain accurate medication profiles for patients.

[Results from a general training hospital for the implementation of a diagnostic workup for pulmonary embolism according to the Dutch Institute for Health Care Improvement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamphuisen, P.W.; Jacobs, E.M.G.; Mol, J.J.; Rijnders, A.J.; Ullmann, E.F.

2002-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the active implementation of the Dutch Institute for Healthcare Improvement's guideline for the diagnostic work-up for pulmonary embolism in a general training hospital, and to analyse reasons for not following the guideline strategy. DESIGN: Partly retrospective and partly

Big data in pharmacy practice: current use, challenges, and the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Carolyn; Smith, Helen Wong; Chu, Cherie; Juarez, Deborah T

2015-01-01

Pharmacy informatics is defined as the use and integration of data, information, knowledge, technology, and automation in the medication-use process for the purpose of improving health outcomes. The term "big data" has been coined and is often defined in three V's: volume, velocity, and variety. This paper describes three major areas in which pharmacy utilizes big data, including: 1) informed decision making (clinical pathways and clinical practice guidelines); 2) improved care delivery in health care settings such as hospitals and community pharmacy practice settings; and 3) quality performance measurement for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and medication management activities such as tracking medication adherence and medication reconciliation.

Pharmacy users' expectations of pharmacy encounters: a Q-methodological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Renberg, Tobias; Wichman Törnqvist, Kristina; Kälvemark Sporrong, Sofia; Kettis Lindblad, Asa; Tully, Mary P

2011-12-01

Pharmacy practice is evolving according to general health-care trends such as increased patient involvement and public health initiatives. In addition, pharmacists strive to find new professional roles. Clients' expectations of service encounters at pharmacies is an under-explored topic but crucial to understanding how pharmacy practice can evolve efficiently. To identify and describe different normative expectations of the pharmacy encounter among pharmacy clients. Q methodology, an approach to systematically explore subjectivity that retains complete patterns of responses and organizes these into factors of operant subjectivity. Eighty-five regular prescription medication users recruited at Swedish community pharmacies and by snowballing. Seven factors of operant subjectivity were identified, and organized into two groups. Factors that emphasized the physical drug product as the central object of the pharmacy encounter were labelled as independent drug shopping; logistics of drug distribution; and supply of individual's own drugs. Factors that emphasized personal support as desirable were labelled competence as individual support; individualist professional relations, just take care of me; and practical health-care and lifestyle support. The systematic Q-methodological approach yielded valuable insights into how pharmacy clients construct their expectations for service encounters. They hold differentiating normative expectations for pharmacy services. Understanding these varying viewpoints may be important for developing and prioritizing among efficient pharmacy services. Clients' expectations do not correspond with trends that guide current pharmacy practice development. This might be a challenge for promoting or implementing services based on such trends. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital: A Summer Internship

OpenAIRE

Smith, Adam

2016-01-01

Adam Smith, a native of Richmond, Indiana, is an advanced pharmacy practice student in the College of Pharmacy at Purdue University. In this article, he describes how career exploration through a summer internship with The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland solidified his desire to pursue a career in pharmacy administration.

"Click for Closer Care": A Content Analysis of Community Pharmacy Websites in Four Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwier, Sandra

2017-06-14

Combinations of professional and commercial communication are typically very controversial, particularly in health care communication on the Internet. Websites of licensed community pharmacies on the other hand tend to raise remarkably little controversy, although they typically contain controversial combinations of clinical and commercial services previously unprecedented in professional health care communication. The aim of this study was to fill the void of knowledge about the combination of clinical and commercial services presented on the websites of licensed community pharmacies. A content analysis of clinical and commercial services presented in a random sample of 200 licensed community pharmacy websites from Great Britain, the Netherlands, the Canadian provinces British Columbia and Manitoba, and the Australian states New South Wales and Western Australia was conducted. The top five specific services mentioned on the community pharmacy websites were cosmetic products (126/200, 63.0%), medication refill request options (124/200, 62.0%), over-the-counter medicine (115/200, 57.5%), complementary and alternative medicine (107/200, 53.5%), and home medical aids (98/200, 49.0%). On average, 72.5% (145/200) of the community pharmacy websites across the 4 countries included a combination of clinical and commercial services. A combination of clinical and commercial services was more often present on chain pharmacy websites (120/147, 82.8%) than single pharmacy websites (25/53, 47%; Ppharmacy websites, followed by the Australian, British, and Dutch pharmacy websites, respectively (Ppharmacies' homepages contained a combination of clinical and commercial images (107/200, 53.5%), and almost half of the homepage menus contained a combination of clinical and commercial items (99/200, 49.5%). The latter were, again, more common on chain pharmacy than single pharmacy websites (Ppharmacies in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia combine clinical services

Pharmacy alternatives (image)

Science.gov (United States)

... common source for obtaining prescriptions is the local pharmacy. Usually the pharmacy is located in a drug or grocery store. ... some insurance companies have chosen is mail-order pharmacy. Once a pharmacy has been chosen it is ...

Ranking of healthcare programmes based on health outcome, health costs and safe delivery of care in hospital pharmacy practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Brisseau, Lionel; Bussières, Jean-François; Bois, Denis; Vallée, Marc; Racine, Marie-Claude; Bonnici, André

2013-02-01

To establish a consensual and coherent ranking of healthcare programmes that involve the presence of ward-based and clinic-based clinical pharmacists, based on health outcome, health costs and safe delivery of care. This descriptive study was derived from a structured dialogue (Delphi technique) among directors of pharmacy department. We established a quantitative profile of healthcare programmes at five sites that involved the provision of ward-based and clinic-based pharmaceutical care. A summary table of evidence established a unique quality rating per inpatient (clinic-based) or outpatient (ward-based) healthcare programme. Each director rated the perceived impact of pharmaceutical care per inpatient or outpatient healthcare programme on three fields: health outcome, health costs and safe delivery of care. They agreed by consensus on the final ranking of healthcare programmes. A ranking was assigned for each of the 18 healthcare programmes for outpatient care and the 17 healthcare programmes for inpatient care involving the presence of pharmacists, based on health outcome, health costs and safe delivery of care. There was a good correlation between ranking based on data from a 2007-2008 Canadian report on hospital pharmacy practice and the ranking proposed by directors of pharmacy department. Given the often limited human and financial resources, managers should consider the best evidence available on a profession's impact to plan healthcare services within an organization. Data are few on ranking healthcare programmes in order to prioritize which healthcare programme would mostly benefit from the delivery of pharmaceutical care by ward-based and clinic-based pharmacists. © 2012 The Authors. IJPP © 2012 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Hospital and Community Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Which Competences Are Important for Their Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey Atkinson

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of the PHAR-QA (Quality assurance in European pharmacy education and training project was to investigate how competence-based learning could be applied to a healthcare, sectoral profession such as pharmacy. This is the first study on evaluation of competences from the pharmacists’ perspective using an improved Delphi method with a large number of respondents from all over Europe. This paper looks at the way in which hospital pharmacists rank the fundamental competences for pharmacy practice. European hospital pharmacists (n = 152 ranked 68 competences for pharmacy practice of two types (personal and patient care, arranged into 13 clusters. Results were compared to those obtained from community pharmacists (n = 258. Generally, hospital and community pharmacists rank competences in a similar way. Nevertheless, differences can be detected. The higher focus of hospital pharmacists on knowledge of the different areas of science as well as on laboratory tests reflects the idea of a hospital pharmacy specialisation. The difference is also visible in the field of drug production. This is a necessary competence in hospitals with requests for drugs for rare diseases, as well as paediatric and oncologic drugs. Hospital pharmacists give entrepreneurship a lower score, but cost-effectiveness a higher one than community pharmacists. This reflects the reality of pharmacy practice where community pharmacists have to act as entrepreneurs, and hospital pharmacists are managers staying within drug budgets. The results are discussed in the light of a “hospital pharmacy” specialisation.

Hospital and Community Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Which Competences Are Important for Their Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Jeffrey; Sánchez Pozo, Antonio; Rekkas, Dimitrios; Volmer, Daisy; Hirvonen, Jouni; Bozic, Borut; Skowron, Agnieska; Mircioiu, Constantin; Sandulovici, Roxana; Marcincal, Annie; Koster, Andries; Wilson, Keith A.; van Schravendijk, Chris; Frontini, Roberto; Price, Richard; Bates, Ian; De Paepe, Kristien

2016-01-01

The objective of the PHAR-QA (Quality assurance in European pharmacy education and training) project was to investigate how competence-based learning could be applied to a healthcare, sectoral profession such as pharmacy. This is the first study on evaluation of competences from the pharmacists’ perspective using an improved Delphi method with a large number of respondents from all over Europe. This paper looks at the way in which hospital pharmacists rank the fundamental competences for pharmacy practice. European hospital pharmacists (n = 152) ranked 68 competences for pharmacy practice of two types (personal and patient care), arranged into 13 clusters. Results were compared to those obtained from community pharmacists (n = 258). Generally, hospital and community pharmacists rank competences in a similar way. Nevertheless, differences can be detected. The higher focus of hospital pharmacists on knowledge of the different areas of science as well as on laboratory tests reflects the idea of a hospital pharmacy specialisation. The difference is also visible in the field of drug production. This is a necessary competence in hospitals with requests for drugs for rare diseases, as well as paediatric and oncologic drugs. Hospital pharmacists give entrepreneurship a lower score, but cost-effectiveness a higher one than community pharmacists. This reflects the reality of pharmacy practice where community pharmacists have to act as entrepreneurs, and hospital pharmacists are managers staying within drug budgets. The results are discussed in the light of a “hospital pharmacy” specialisation. PMID:28970394

Pharmacies

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — Pharmacies in the United States and Territories A pharmacy is a facility whose primary function is to store, prepare and legally dispense prescription drugs under...

Community pharmacy based research activity in India: A bibliometric study of the past ten years.

Science.gov (United States)

Basak, Subal Chandra; Sathyanarayana, Dondeti

2010-02-01

The objective of this study was to analyze and record the published evidence regarding community pharmacy practice in India during the past decade (1998-2008). A bibliometric review analysis of the original papers was undertaken to assess the different aspects of community pharmacy practice in India. The MEDLINE, Index Copernicus, IndMed, DOAJ databases and the journals such as Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Indian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy were used as data sources. Type of papers, type of journals, category of papers, production indicators and impact factor of the journals were analyzed. Thirty papers were included in the study. The papers were published in 13 different journals, 33.3% of them being in the Indian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy. The average number of authors per paper was 2.73 (SD=1.41). Impact factor was available for only three journals. There are limited studies being published in India which cover the community pharmacy related activities in India. The key indicators which emerge from the literature review present some fundamental challenges to the development of the role of the community pharmacist in India.

The Second Round of the PHAR-QA Survey of Competences for Pharmacy Practice

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Jeffrey Atkinson

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of the second European Delphi round on the ranking of competences for pharmacy practice and compares these data to those of the first round already published. A comparison of the numbers of respondents, distribution by age group, country of residence, etc., shows that whilst the student population of respondents changed from Round 1 to 2, the populations of the professional groups (community, hospital and industrial pharmacists, pharmacists in other occupations and academics were more stable. Results are given for the consensus of ranking and the scores of ranking of 50 competences for pharmacy practice. This two-stage, large-scale Delphi process harmonized and validated the Quality Assurance in European Pharmacy Education and Training (PHAR-QA framework and ensured the adoption by the pharmacy profession of a framework proposed by the academic pharmacy community. The process of evaluation and validation of ranking of competences by the pharmacy profession is now complete, and the PHAR-QA consortium will now put forward a definitive PHAR-QA framework of competences for pharmacy practice.

The Second Round of the PHAR-QA Survey of Competences for Pharmacy Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Jeffrey; De Paepe, Kristien; Pozo, Antonio Sánchez; Rekkas, Dimitrios; Volmer, Daisy; Hirvonen, Jouni; Bozic, Borut; Skowron, Agnieska; Mircioiu, Constantin; Marcincal, Annie; Koster, Andries; Wilson, Keith; van Schravendijk, Chris

2016-01-01

This paper presents the results of the second European Delphi round on the ranking of competences for pharmacy practice and compares these data to those of the first round already published. A comparison of the numbers of respondents, distribution by age group, country of residence, etc., shows that whilst the student population of respondents changed from Round 1 to 2, the populations of the professional groups (community, hospital and industrial pharmacists, pharmacists in other occupations and academics) were more stable. Results are given for the consensus of ranking and the scores of ranking of 50 competences for pharmacy practice. This two-stage, large-scale Delphi process harmonized and validated the Quality Assurance in European Pharmacy Education and Training (PHAR-QA) framework and ensured the adoption by the pharmacy profession of a framework proposed by the academic pharmacy community. The process of evaluation and validation of ranking of competences by the pharmacy profession is now complete, and the PHAR-QA consortium will now put forward a definitive PHAR-QA framework of competences for pharmacy practice. PMID:28970400

Competition in the Dutch hospital sector: an analysis of health care volume and cost.

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Krabbe-Alkemade, Y J F M; Groot, T L C M; Lindeboom, M

2017-03-01

This paper evaluates the impact of market competition on health care volume and cost. At the start of 2005, the financing system of Dutch hospitals started to be gradually changed from a closed-end budgeting system to a non-regulated price competitive prospective reimbursement system. The gradual implementation of price competition is a 'natural experiment' that provides a unique opportunity to analyze the effects of market competition on hospital behavior. We have access to a unique database, which contains hospital discharge data of diagnosis treatment combinations (DBCs) of individual patients, including detailed care activities. Difference-in-difference estimates show that the implementation of market-based competition leads to relatively lower total costs, production volume and number of activities overall. Difference-in-difference estimates on treatment level show that the average costs for outpatient DBCs decreased due to a decrease in the number of activities per DBC. The introduction of market competition led to an increase of average costs of inpatient DBCs. Since both volume and number of activities have not changed significantly, we conclude that the cost increase is likely the result of more expensive activities. A possible explanation for our finding is that hospitals look for possible efficiency improvements in predominantly outpatient care products that are relatively straightforward, using easily analyzable technologies. The effects of competition on average cost and the relative shares of inpatient and outpatient treatments on specialty level are significant but contrary for cardiology and orthopedics, suggesting that specialties react differently to competitive incentives.

Inventory of X-ray apparatus in Dutch hospitals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timmermans, C.W.M.; Beentjes, L.B.

1985-07-01

The guideline of the European Communities concerning protection from radiation for persons which are subjected to medical diagnosis or therapy, prescriber in article 3 that the member states should make an inventory of medical and dental instruments. Such an inventory already existed at the Dutch Direct Radiation protection of DGHM. In the present investigation this inventory was actualized and analyzed further. (Auth.)

Impact of Previous Pharmacy Work Experience on Pharmacy School Academic Performance

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Mar, Ellena; T-L Tang, Terrill; Sasaki-Hill, Debra; Kuperberg, James R.; Knapp, Katherine

2010-01-01

Objectives To determine whether students' previous pharmacy-related work experience was associated with their pharmacy school performance (academic and clinical). Methods The following measures of student academic performance were examined: pharmacy grade point average (GPA), scores on cumulative high-stakes examinations, and advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) grades. The quantity and type of pharmacy-related work experience each student performed prior to matriculation was solicited through a student survey instrument. Survey responses were correlated with academic measures, and demographic-based stratified analyses were conducted. Results No significant difference in academic or clinical performance between those students with prior pharmacy experience and those without was identified. Subanalyses by work setting, position type, and substantial pharmacy work experience did not reveal any association with student performance. A relationship was found, however, between age and work experience, ie, older students tended to have more work experience than younger students. Conclusions Prior pharmacy work experience did not affect students' overall academic or clinical performance in pharmacy school. The lack of significant findings may have been due to the inherent practice limitations of nonpharmacist positions, changes in pharmacy education, and the limitations of survey responses. PMID:20498735

Impact of previous pharmacy work experience on pharmacy school academic performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Mar, Ellena; Barnett, Mitchell J; T-L Tang, Terrill; Sasaki-Hill, Debra; Kuperberg, James R; Knapp, Katherine

2010-04-12

To determine whether students' previous pharmacy-related work experience was associated with their pharmacy school performance (academic and clinical). The following measures of student academic performance were examined: pharmacy grade point average (GPA), scores on cumulative high-stakes examinations, and advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) grades. The quantity and type of pharmacy-related work experience each student performed prior to matriculation was solicited through a student survey instrument. Survey responses were correlated with academic measures, and demographic-based stratified analyses were conducted. No significant difference in academic or clinical performance between those students with prior pharmacy experience and those without was identified. Subanalyses by work setting, position type, and substantial pharmacy work experience did not reveal any association with student performance. A relationship was found, however, between age and work experience, ie, older students tended to have more work experience than younger students. Prior pharmacy work experience did not affect students' overall academic or clinical performance in pharmacy school. The lack of significant findings may have been due to the inherent practice limitations of nonpharmacist positions, changes in pharmacy education, and the limitations of survey responses.

Pediatric Surgical Care in a Dutch Military Hospital in Afghanistan.

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Idenburg, Floris J; van Dongen, Thijs T C F; Tan, Edward C T H; Hamming, Jaap H; Leenen, Luke P H; Hoencamp, Rigo

2015-10-01

From August 2006-August 2010, as part of the ISAF mission, the Armed Forces of the Netherlands deployed a role 2 enhanced Medical Treatment Facility (R2E-MTF) to Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. Although from the principle doctrine not considered a primary task, care was delivered to civilians, including many children. Humanitarian aid accounted for a substantial part of the workload, necessitating medical, infrastructural, and logistical adaptations. Particularly pediatric care demanded specific expertise and equipment. In our pre-deployment preparations this aspect had been undervalued. Because these experiences could be influential in future mission planning, we analyzed our data and compared them with international reports. This is a retrospective, descriptive study. Using the hospital's electronic database, all pediatric cases, defined as patients Afghanistan were analyzed. Of the 2736 admissions, 415 (15.2 %) were pediatric. The majority (80.9 %, 336/415) of these admissions were for surgical, often trauma-related, pathology and required 610 surgical procedures, being 26 % of all procedures. Mean length of stay was 3.1 days. The male to female ratio was 70:30. Girls were significantly younger of age than boys. In-hospital mortality was 5.3 %. Pediatric patients made up a considerable part of the workload at the Dutch R2E-MTF in Uruzgan, Afghanistan. This is in line with other reports from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but used definitions in reported series are inconsistent, making comparisons difficult. Our findings stress the need for a comprehensive, prospective, and coalition-wide patient registry with uniformly applied criteria. Civilian disaster and military operational planners should incorporate reported patient statistics in manning documents, future courses, training manuals, logistic planning, and doctrines, because pediatric care is a reality that cannot be ignored.

Quantifying culture gaps between physicians and managers in Dutch hospitals: a survey

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Meerdink Nienke

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The demands in hospitals for safety and quality, combined with limitations in financing health care require effective cooperation between physicians and managers. The complex relationship between both groups has been described in literature. We aim to add a perspective to literature, by developing a questionnaire which provides an opportunity to quantitatively report and elaborate on the size and content of differences between physicians and managers. Insight gained from use of the questionnaire might enable us to reflect on these differences and could provide practical tools to improve cooperation between physicians and managers, with an aim to enhance hospital performance. Methods The CG-Questionnaire was developed by adjusting, pre-testing, and shortening Kralewski's questionnaire, and appeared suitable to measure culture gaps. It was shortened by exploratory factor analysis, using principal-axis factoring extraction with Varimax rotation. The CG-Questionnaire was sent to all physicians and managers within 37 Dutch general hospitals. ANOVA and paired sample T-tests were used to determine significant differences between perceptions of daily work practices based in both professional cultures; culture gaps. The size and content of culture gaps were determined with descriptive statistics. Results The total response (27% consisted of 929 physicians and 310 managers. The Cronbachs alpha's were 0.70 - 0.79. Statistical analyses showed many differences; culture gaps were found in the present situation; they were even larger in the preferred situation. Differences between both groups can be classified into three categories: (1 culture gaps in the present situation and not in the preferred, (2 culture gaps in the preferred situation and not in the present, and (3 culture gaps in both situations. Conclusions With data from the CG-Questionnaire it is now possible to measure the size and content of culture gaps between physicians and

Outbreak of NDM-1-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Dutch Hospital, with Interspecies Transfer of the Resistance Plasmid and Unexpected Occurrence in Unrelated Health Care Centers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosch, Thijs; Lutgens, Suzanne P M; Hermans, Mirjam H A; Wever, Peter C; Schneeberger, Peter M.; Renders, Nicole H M; Leenders, Alexander C. A. P.; Kluytmans, Jan A. J. W.; Schoffelen, Annelot F; Notermans, Daan; Witteveen, Sandra; Bathoorn, Erik; Schouls, Leo M.

In the Netherlands, the number of cases of infection with New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM)-positive Enterobacteriaceae is low. Here, we report an outbreak of NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in a Dutch hospital with interspecies transfer of the resistance plasmid and unexpected

Outbreak of NDM-1-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a Dutch Hospital, with Interspecies Transfer of the Resistance Plasmid and Unexpected Occurrence in Unrelated Health Care Centers.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosch, Thijs; Lutgens, Suzanne P M; Hermans, Mirjam H A; Wever, Peter C; Schneeberger, Peter M; Renders, Nicole H M; Leenders, Alexander C A P; Kluytmans, Jan A J W; Schoffelen, Annelot; Notermans, Daan; Witteveen, Sandra; Bathoorn, Erik; Schouls, Leo M

In the Netherlands, the number of cases of infection with New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM)-positive Enterobacteriaceae is low. Here, we report an outbreak of NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in a Dutch hospital with interspecies transfer of the resistance plasmid and unexpected

Pharmacists’ journey to clinical pharmacy practice in Ethiopia: Key informants’ perspective

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Alemayehu B Mekonnen

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: Clinical pharmacy practice has developed internationally to expand the role of a pharmacist well beyond the traditional roles of compounding and supplying drugs to roles more directly in caring for patients and providing medication consultation to staff. This area of practice is at the infant stage in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to explore key informants’ perspective in the implementation of clinical pharmacy practice in Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia. Method: A qualitative study was conducted through in-depth interviews with the heads of departments (internal medicine, paediatrics, surgery, nurse, pharmacy, medical director, administration and pharmacy student representatives. Qualitative data analysis was done after audiotapes were transcribed verbatim and notes were compiled. Results: All of the respondents interviewed express diverse and conflicting perspectives on pharmacists’ role, varying from a health-care professional to a business man. Despite this, the current pace of change worldwide takes the professions’ mission to that of a provider of clinical pharmacy services. The data ascertained the change in pharmacy practice, and integrating clinical pharmacy services within the health-care system should be seen as a must. Pharmacists should delineate from a business perspective and focus on widening the scope of the profession of pharmacy and should come close to the patient to serve directly. Conclusions: Although the perception of people on traditional roles of pharmacists was weak, there were promising steps in developing clinical pharmacy practice within the health-care system. Moreover, the results of this study revealed a high demand for this service among health-care providers.

Implementation and quality assessment of a pharmacy services call center for outpatient pharmacies and specialty pharmacy services in an academic health system.

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Rim, Matthew H; Thomas, Karen C; Chandramouli, Jane; Barrus, Stephanie A; Nickman, Nancy A

2018-05-15

The implementation and quality assessment of a pharmacy services call center (PSCC) for outpatient pharmacies and specialty pharmacy services within an academic health system are described. Prolonged wait times in outpatient pharmacies or hold times on the phone affect the ability of pharmacies to capture and retain prescriptions. To support outpatient pharmacy operations and improve quality, a PSCC was developed to centralize handling of all outpatient and specialty pharmacy calls. The purpose of the PSCC was to improve the quality of pharmacy telephone services by (1) decreasing the call abandonment rate, (2) improving the speed of answer, (3) increasing first-call resolution, (4) centralizing all specialty pharmacy and prior authorization calls, (5) increasing labor efficiency and pharmacy capacities, (6) implementing a quality evaluation program, and (7) improving workplace satisfaction and retention of outpatient pharmacy staff. The PSCC centralized pharmacy calls from 9 pharmacy locations, 2 outpatient clinics, and a specialty pharmacy. Since implementation, the PSCC has achieved and maintained program goals, including improved abandonment rate, speed of answer, and first-call resolution. A centralized 24-7 support line for specialty pharmacy patients was also successfully established. A quality calibration program was implemented to ensure service quality and excellent patient experience. Additional ongoing evaluations measure the impact of the PSCC on improving workplace satisfaction and retention of outpatient pharmacy staff. The design and implementation of the PSCC have significantly improved the health system's patient experiences, efficiency, and quality. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Quality indicators to compare accredited independent pharmacies and accredited chain pharmacies in Thailand.

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Arkaravichien, Wiwat; Wongpratat, Apichaya; Lertsinudom, Sunee

2016-08-01

Background Quality indicators determine the quality of actual practice in reference to standard criteria. The Community Pharmacy Association (Thailand), with technical support from the International Pharmaceutical Federation, developed a tool for quality assessment and quality improvement at community pharmacies. This tool has passed validity and reliability tests, but has not yet had feasibility testing. Objective (1) To test whether this quality tool could be used in routine settings. (2) To compare quality scores between accredited independent and accredited chain pharmacies. Setting Accredited independent pharmacies and accredited chain pharmacies in the north eastern region of Thailand. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted in 34 accredited independent pharmacies and accredited chain pharmacies. Quality scores were assessed by observation and by interviewing the responsible pharmacists. Data were collected and analyzed by independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U test as appropriate. Results were plotted by histogram and spider chart. Main outcome measure Domain's assessable scores, possible maximum scores, mean and median of measured scores. Results Domain's assessable scores were close to domain's possible maximum scores. This meant that most indicators could be assessed in most pharmacies. The spider chart revealed that measured scores in the personnel, drug inventory and stocking, and patient satisfaction and health promotion domains of chain pharmacies were significantly higher than those of independent pharmacies (p pharmacies and chain pharmacies in the premise and facility or dispensing and patient care domains. Conclusion Quality indicators developed by the Community Pharmacy Association (Thailand) could be used to assess quality of practice in pharmacies in routine settings. It is revealed that the quality scores of chain pharmacies were higher than those of independent pharmacies.

The Influence of Hospital Volume on Circumferential Resection Margin Involvement: Results of the Dutch Surgical Colorectal Audit.

Science.gov (United States)

Gietelink, Lieke; Henneman, Daniel; van Leersum, Nicoline J; de Noo, Mirre; Manusama, Eric; Tanis, Pieter J; Tollenaar, Rob A E M; Wouters, Michel W J M

2016-04-01

This population-based study evaluates the association between hospital volume and CRM (circumferential resection margin) involvement, adjusted for other confounders, in rectal cancer surgery. A low hospital volume (risk of CRM involvement (odds ratio=1.54; 95% CI: 1.12-2.11). To evaluate the association between hospital volume and CRM (circumferential resection margin) involvement in rectal cancer surgery. To guarantee the quality of surgical treatment of rectal cancer, the Association of Surgeons of the Netherlands has stated a minimal annual volume standard of 20 procedures per hospital. The influence of hospital volume has been examined for different outcome variables in rectal cancer surgery. Its influence on the pathological outcome (CRM) however remains unclear. As long-term outcomes are best predicted by the CRM status, this parameter is of essential importance in the debate on the justification of minimal volume standards in rectal cancer surgery. Data from the Dutch Surgical Colorectal Audit (2011-2012) were used. Hospital volume was divided into 3 groups, and baseline characteristics were described. The influence of hospital volume on CRM involvement was analyzed, in a multivariate model, between low- and high-volume hospitals, according to the minimal volume standards. This study included 5161 patients. CRM was recorded in 86% of patients. CRM involvement was 11% in low-volume group versus 7.7% and 7.9% in the medium- and high-volume group (P≤0.001). After adjustment for relevant confounders, the influence of hospital volume on CRM involvement was still significant odds ratio (OR) = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.12-2.11). The outcomes of this pooled analysis support minimal volume standards in rectal cancer surgery. Low hospital volume was independently associated with a higher risk of CRM involvement (OR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.12-2.11).

Reliability and validation of the Dutch Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score.

Science.gov (United States)

Opdam, K T M; Zwiers, R; Wiegerinck, J I; Kleipool, A E B; Haverlag, R; Goslings, J C; van Dijk, C N

2018-03-01

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have become a cornerstone for the evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment. The Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS) is a PROM for outcome and assessment of an Achilles tendon rupture. The aim of this study was to translate the ATRS to Dutch and evaluate its reliability and validity in the Dutch population. A forward-backward translation procedure was performed according to the guidelines of cross-cultural adaptation process. The Dutch ATRS was evaluated for reliability and validity in patients treated for a total Achilles tendon rupture from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2014 in one teaching hospital and one academic hospital. Reliability was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Cronbach's alpha and minimal detectable change (MDC). We assessed construct validity by calculation of Spearman's rho correlation coefficient with domains of the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS), Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles questionnaire (VISA-A) and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain in rest and during running. The Dutch ATRS had a good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.852) and a high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.96). MDC was 30.2 at individual level and 3.5 at group level. Construct validity was supported by 75 % of the hypothesized correlations. The Dutch ATRS had a strong correlation with NRS for pain during running (r = -0.746) and all the five subscales of the Dutch FAOS (r = 0.724-0.867). There was a moderate correlation with the VISA-A-NL (r = 0.691) and NRS for pain in rest (r = -0.580). The Dutch ATRS shows an adequate reliability and validity and can be used in the Dutch population for measuring the outcome of treatment of a total Achilles tendon rupture and for research purposes. Diagnostic study, Level I.

Consultant's Playbook: A Survey of Pharmacy Consultant Experiences Among Hospitals In the University HealthSystem Consortium.

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Dave; McCarthy, Bryan; Fanikos, John; Emamifar, Amir; Nedved, Andrea; Thompson, Bruce; Bender, Fred; McMahon, Patrick

2013-10-01

Our team surveyed a group of pharmacy directors to learn about their experiences with pharmacy consultants so that the directors might be able to use their consulting resources in a more effective manner. In May 2012, the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) Pharmacy Council Financial Performance Committee developed an electronic survey that collectively measured the characteristics, goals, and methodology of historical pharmacy consultant engagements and level of satisfaction. After e-mailing the initial electronic survey, we conducted follow-up telephone interviews with respondents from July through November 2012. These interviews were designed to include questions about expected outcomes, recommendations for evaluation processes, timelines for implementing the recommendations, consultants' expenses, and insights gained. A total of 23 pharmacy directors responded to the initial electronic survey; their organizations had engaged at least one consultant within the previous 5 years. Data were collected for 28 consultant engagements. Subsequent telephone interviews were conducted with 20 of the 23 pharmacy directors (87%) who completed the initial electronic survey, accounting for 25 of the 28 consultant engagements (89%). Cost reduction along with revenue enhancement was most often the focus of these engagements. These engagements were also mainly within the scope of an organization-wide effort initiated by the executive board or executive team. Consultant experiences varied greatly in terms of (1) the degree to which assistance was provided to the organization, (2) benchmarking methodologies and resources, and (3) timelines for implementing the consultants' recommendations. In general, most respondents rated their consultant experience as positive and were able to provide "pearls of wisdom" or lessons learned.

Hospital pharmacy: what is ethical?

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Veatch, R M

1989-01-01

Characteristics of ethical evaluations as they apply to the dilemmas faced by the pharmacist in the workplace are described, and the general principles and theories of Western normative ethics are discussed. Because ethical dilemmas are commonplace in pharmacy practice, pharmacists must develop a working knowledge of formal and systematic ethical analysis, as well as learn to distinguish ethical issues from social, psychological, political, and legal issues. Ethical evaluations are distinguished by three characteristics: They are ultimate, they possess universality, and they treat the good of everyone alike. Ethical analyses can be thought of as having four different and successive stages. The first stage is ensuring that all parties understand the facts of the specific case. If controversy remains after the facts are clear, parties to the dispute can proceed through three successive stages of general moral reflection: (1) the level of moral rules, (2) the level of ethical principles, and (3) the level of ethical theories. Specific moral rules cover groups of cases, and they generally are regarded as being derived from a shorter list of abstract moral principles. An ethical theory is a systematic position about which principles are morally significant, how the principles relate to each other, and how they should be tested. Pursuit of ethical dilemmas through the full hierarchy of levels of analysis exposes simplistic or irrational moral decisions and clarifies the nature of disputes.

Comparison of patients' expectations and experiences at traditional pharmacies and pharmacies offering enhanced advanced pharmacy practice experiences.

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Kassam, Rosemin; Collins, John B; Berkowitz, Jonathan

2010-06-15

To compare patients' expectations and experiences at pharmacies offering traditional APPE learning opportunities with those offering enhanced APPEs that incorporate pharmaceutical care activities. A survey of anchored measures of patient satisfaction was conducted in 2 groups of APPE- affiliated community pharmacies: those participating in an enhanced APPE model versus those participating in the traditional model. The enhanced intervention included preceptor training, a comprehensive student orientation, and an extended experience at a single pharmacy rather than the traditional 2 x 4-week experience at different pharmacies. While patient expectations were similar in both traditional and enhanced APPE pharmacies, patients in enhanced pharmacies reported significantly higher in-store satisfaction and fewer service gaps. Additionally, satisfaction was significantly higher for patients who had received any form of consultation, from either pharmacist or students, than those reporting no consultations. Including provision of pharmaceutical care services as part of APPEs resulted in direct and measurable improvements in patient satisfaction.

ASHP statement on the pharmacy technician's role in pharmacy informatics.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-02-01

The American Society of Health- System Pharmacists (ASHP) believes that specially trained pharmacy technicians can assume important supportive roles in pharmacy informatics. These roles include automation and technology systems management, management of projects, training and education, policy and governance, customer service, charge integrity, and reporting. Such roles require pharmacy technicians to gain expertise in information technology (IT) systems, including knowledge of interfaces, computer management techniques, problem resolution, and database maintenance. This knowledge could be acquired through specialized training or experience in a health science or allied scientific field (e.g., health informatics). With appropriate safeguards and supervision, pharmacy technician informaticists (PTIs) will manage IT processes in health-system pharmacy services, ensuring a safe and efficient medication-use process.

Pharmacy Education in Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Bedouch, Pierrick; Nguyen, Thi-Hoai; Nguyen, Thi-Lien-Huong; Hoang, Thi-Kim-Huyen; Calop, Jean; Allenet, Benoît

2013-01-01

Pharmacy education programs in Vietnam are complex and offer various career pathways. All include theory and laboratory modules in general, foundation, and pharmaceutical knowledge; placements in health facilities; and a final examination. The various pharmacy degree programs allow specialization in 1 or more of 5 main fields: (1) drug management and supply, (2) drug development and production, (3) pharmacology and clinical pharmacy, (4) traditional medicine and pharmacognosy, and (5) drug quality control, which are offered as main specialization options during the reformed undergraduate and postgraduate programs. However, pharmacy education in Vietnam in general remains product oriented and clinical pharmacy training has not received adequate attention. Only students who have obtained the bachelor of pharmacy degree, which requires a minimum of 5 years of study, are considered as fully qualified pharmacists. In contrast, an elementary diploma in pharmacy awarded after 1 year of pharmacy study permits entry into more junior pharmacy positions. Since the 2000s, there has been a surge in the number and types of schools offering pharmacy qualifications at various levels. PMID:23966717

Is the role as gatekeeper still feasible? A survey among Dutch general practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Wammes, Joost Johan Godert; Jeurissen, Patrick Paulus Theodoor; Verhoef, Lise Maria; Assendelft, Willem J J; Westert, Gert P; Faber, Marjan J

2014-10-01

In the 2012 International Health Policy Survey by the Commonwealth Fund, 57% of Dutch GPs indicated that Dutch patients receive too much health care. This is an unexpected finding, given the clear gatekeeper role of Dutch GPs and recent efforts strengthening this role. The study aims to explore where perceived overuse of care prevails and to identify factors associated with too much care at the entry point of Dutch health care. An American survey exploring perceptions of the amount of care among primary care providers was modified for relevance to the Dutch health system. We further included additional factors possibly related to overuse based on 12 interviews with Dutch GPs. The survey was sent to a random sample of 600 GPs. Dutch GPs (N = 157; response rate 26.2%) indicated that patients receive (much) too much care in general hospitals, primary care, GP cooperatives as well as private clinics. The Dutch responding GPs showed a relatively demand-satisfying attitude, which contributed to the delivery of too much care, often leading to deviation from guidelines and professional norms. The increasing availability of diagnostic facilities was identified as an additional factor contributing to the provision of unnecessary care. Finally, funding gaps between primary care and hospitals impede cooperation and coordination, provoking unnecessary care. Our results--most notably regarding the demand-satisfying attitude of responding GPs--call into question the classical view of the guidance and gatekeeper role of GPs in the Dutch health care system. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Dutch Pancreas Biobank Within the Parelsnoer Institute: A Nationwide Biobank of Pancreatic and Periampullary Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Strijker, Marin; Gerritsen, Arja; van Hilst, Jony; Bijlsma, Maarten F; Bonsing, Bert A; Brosens, Lodewijk A; Bruno, Marco J; van Dam, Ronald M; Dijk, Frederike; van Eijck, Casper H; Farina Sarasqueta, Arantza; Fockens, Paul; Gerhards, Michael F; Groot Koerkamp, Bas; van der Harst, Erwin; de Hingh, Ignace H; van Hooft, Jeanin E; Huysentruyt, Clément J; Kazemier, Geert; Klaase, Joost M; van Laarhoven, Cornelis J; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W; Liem, Mike S; de Meijer, Vincent E; van Rijssen, L Bengt; van Santvoort, Hjalmar C; Suker, Mustafa; Verhagen, Judith H; Verheij, Joanne; Verspaget, Hein W; Wennink, Roos A; Wilmink, Johanna W; Molenaar, I Quintus; Boermeester, Marja A; Busch, Olivier R; Besselink, Marc G

2018-04-01

Large biobanks with uniform collection of biomaterials and associated clinical data are essential for translational research. The Netherlands has traditionally been well organized in multicenter clinical research on pancreatic diseases, including the nationwide multidisciplinary Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group and Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group. To enable high-quality translational research on pancreatic and periampullary diseases, these groups established the Dutch Pancreas Biobank. The Dutch Pancreas Biobank is part of the Parelsnoer Institute and involves all 8 Dutch university medical centers and 5 nonacademic hospitals. Adult patients undergoing pancreatic surgery (all indications) are eligible for inclusion. Preoperative blood samples, tumor tissue from resected specimens, pancreatic cyst fluid, and follow-up blood samples are collected. Clinical parameters are collected in conjunction with the mandatory Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Audit. Between January 2015 and May 2017, 488 patients were included in the first 5 participating centers: 4 university medical centers and 1 nonacademic hospital. Over 2500 samples were collected: 1308 preoperative blood samples, 864 tissue samples, and 366 follow-up blood samples. Prospective collection of biomaterials and associated clinical data has started in the Dutch Pancreas Biobank. Subsequent translational research will aim to improve treatment decisions based on disease characteristics.

Large scale implementation of clinical medication reviews in Dutch community pharmacies: Drug-related problems and interventions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kempen, Thomas G. H.; Van De Steeg-Van Gompel, Caroline H. P. A.; Hoogland, Petra; Liu, Yuqian; Bouvy, Marcel L.

2014-01-01

Background: Research on the benefits of clinical medication reviews (CMRs) performed by pharmacists has been conducted mostly in controlled settings and has been widely published. Less is known of the effects after large scale implementation in community pharmacies. An online CMR tool enabled the

Evaluation of pharmacy generalists performing antimicrobial stewardship services.

Science.gov (United States)

Carreno, Joseph J; Kenney, Rachel M; Bloome, Mary; McDonnell, Jane; Rodriguez, Jennifer; Weinmann, Allison; Kilgore, Paul E; Davis, Susan L

2015-08-01

Improvements in medication use achieved by pharmacy generalists using a care bundle approach to antimicrobial stewardship are reported. A six-month prospective, repeated-treatment, quasi-experimental study involving three month-long intervention periods and three month-long control periods was conducted in the setting of an existing antimicrobial stewardship program at a large hospital. The intervention involved prospective audit and feedback conducted by pharmacy generalists who were trained in an antimicrobial stewardship care bundle approach. During control months, a pharmacy generalist who was not trained in antimicrobial stewardship rounded with the multidisciplinary team and provided standard-of-care pharmacy services. The primary endpoint was compliance with a care bundle of four antimicrobial stewardship metrics: documentation of indication for therapy in the medical record, selection of empirical therapy according to institutional guidelines, documented performance of indicated culture testing, and deescalation of therapy when indicated. Two-hundred eighty-six patients were enrolled in the study: 124 in the intervention group and 162 in the control group. The cumulative rate of full compliance with all care bundle components during the six-month study was significantly greater during intervention months than during control months (68.5% versus 45.7%, p management. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Pharmacy (ISSN 2226-4787) — A Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice

OpenAIRE

Keith A. Wilson; Yvonne Perrie

2013-01-01

Pharmacy (ISSN 2226-4787) — A journal of pharmacy education and practice is an international scientific open access journal on pharmacy education and practice, and is published by MDPI online quarterly. The practice of pharmacy is changing at an unprecedented rate as the profession moves from a focus upon preparation and supply of medicines to a clinical patient-facing role. While an understanding of the science related to medicines remains core to pharmacy education, the changes in practice ...

The Country Profiles of the PHARMINE Survey of European Higher Educational Institutions Delivering Pharmacy Education and Training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey Atkinson

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The PHARMINE (Pharmacy Education in Europe consortium surveyed pharmacy education and practice in 2012. Surveys were updated in 2017 for publication. The PHARMINE consortium was especially interested in specialization in pharmacy education and practice (for community, hospital, and industrial pharmacy, and in the impact of the Bologna agreement and the directive of the European Commission on education and training for the sectoral profession of pharmacy on European degree courses. The surveys underline the varying attitudes of the different European countries to these various aspects. The surveys will now be published in Pharmacy. They will be useful to researchers in education, and to staff and students interested in mobility amongst different European and/or non-European countries. In order to assure a full understanding of the country profiles to be published in the journal Pharmacy, this introductory article describes the general format of the survey questionnaire used.

Pharmacy technician self-efficacies: Insight to aid future education, staff development, and workforce planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Desselle, Shane P; Hoh, Ryan; Holmes, Erin R; Gill, Amanpreet; Zamora, Lemuel

2017-07-15

The roles of pharmacy technicians are increasingly prominent given pharmacy's transition to patient-centered activities and evolving scopes of practice in many U.S. states and throughout the world. The aims of this study were to assess U.S. pharmacy technicians' self-efficacies for and attitudes toward performing current and emerging roles in hospital and in community pharmacy and to identify factors related to pharmacy technician self-efficacies in these roles. A total of 5000 pharmacy technicians from 8 U.S. states were sent an electronic survey eliciting data on current involvement, self-efficacies, and attitudes for practicing in an expansive list of practice activities. The 8 states from which the sample was drawn were selected from a stratified randomized procedure using U.S. Census Bureau geographically defined regions. Pre-notification and response reminders were employed. Data were analyzed descriptively and with univariate, inferential tests, as appropriate, to determine associations with commitment, practice environment, experience level, and other variables. Of the 612 participants who responded, 494 were currently working as a technician and not enrolled in a PharmD program of study. Participants reported various activities in which they were highly engaged. Overall, attitudes toward performing most of the activities and self-efficacies were quite favorable, even for those activities in which technicians were currently less involved. There were some notable differences between technicians practicing in community versus hospital settings. Years of experience, profession commitment, and advanced employee ranking were associated with higher levels of self-efficacy, overall. This initial examination of pharmacy technician self-efficacies identified areas that along with other factors could help employers with further expanding technician practice activities and vocational institutions with considerations for education and development of these key members

Disruptive innovation in community pharmacy - Impact of automation on the pharmacist workforce.

Science.gov (United States)

Spinks, Jean; Jackson, John; Kirkpatrick, Carl M; Wheeler, Amanda J

Pharmacy workforce planning has been relatively static for many decades. However, like all industries, health care is exposed to potentially disruptive technological changes. Automated dispensing systems have been available to pharmacy for over a decade and have been applied to a range of repetitive technical processes which are at risk of error, including record keeping, item selection, labeling and dose packing. To date, most applications of this technology have been at the local level, such as hospital pharmacies or single-site community pharmacies. However, widespread implementation of a more centralized automated dispensing model, such as the 'hub and spoke' model currently being debated in the United Kingdom, could cause a 'technology shock,' delivering industry-wide efficiencies, improving medication accessibility and lowering costs to consumers and funding agencies. Some of pharmacists' historical roles may be made redundant, and new roles may be created, decoupling pharmacists to a certain extent from the dispensing and supply process. It may also create an additional opportunity for pharmacists to be acknowledged and renumerated for professional services that extend beyond the dispensary. Such a change would have significant implications for the organization and funding of community pharmacy services as well as pharmacy workforce planning. This paper discusses the prospect of centralized automated dispensing systems and how this may impact on the pharmacy workforce. It concludes that more work needs to be done in the realm of pharmacy workforce planning to ensure that the introduction of any new technology delivers optimal outcomes to consumers, insurers and the pharmacy workforce. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Value of community pharmacy residency programs: college of pharmacy and practice site perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Schommer, Jon C; Bonnarens, Joseph K; Brown, Lawrence M; Goode, Jean-Venable Kelly R

2010-01-01

To describe and compare perceptions of key informants representing U.S. colleges/schools of pharmacy and community pharmacy practice sites regarding (1) value associated with community pharmacy residency programs (CPRPs) and (2) barriers to offering CPRPs . Descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional study. United States, June 13, 2009, through July 13, 2009. 554 respondents to a Web-based survey. Key informants representing the following four organizational groups were surveyed: (1) colleges/schools of pharmacy participating in CPRPs, (2) colleges/schools of pharmacy not participating in CPRPs, (3) CPRP community pharmacy practice sites, and (4) non-CPRP community pharmacy practice sites. Value of CPRPs to participating pharmacies, value of CPRPs to participating colleges/schools of pharmacy, and barriers to offering CPRPs. Overall, 267 key informants from colleges/schools of pharmacy and 287 key informants from pharmacy practice sites responded to the survey (n = 554 total respondents). Of these, 334 responders provided data that were usable for analysis. The most important types of value to the respondents were altruistic in nature (e.g., pharmacy education development, pharmacy profession development, community engagement). However, barriers to offering CPRPs were more practical and included challenges related to accreditation and operational issues. Further, evidence indicated that (1) lack of leadership, (2) lack of revenue generated from such programs, and (3) the cost of reimbursement for residents may be fundamental, multidimensional barriers to implementing CPRPs. Guidelines for starting and continuing CPRPs, "industry norms" that would require CPRP training for certain types of employment, and creation of models for patient care revenue would help develop and position CPRPs in the future.

Effects of mental demands during dispensing on perceived medication safety and employee well-being: a study of workload in pediatric hospital pharmacies.

Science.gov (United States)

Holden, Richard J; Patel, Neal R; Scanlon, Matthew C; Shalaby, Theresa M; Arnold, Judi M; Karsh, Ben-Tzion

2010-12-01

Pharmacy workload is a modifiable work system factor believed to affect both medication safety outcomes and employee outcomes, such as job satisfaction. This study sought to measure the effect of workload on safety and employee outcomes in 2 pediatric hospitals and to do so using a novel approach to pharmacy workload measurement. Rather than measuring prescription volume or other similar indicators, this study measured the type and intensity of mental demands experienced during the medication dispensing tasks. The effects of external (interruptions, divided attention, and rushing) and internal (concentration and effort) task demands on perceived medication error likelihood, adverse drug event likelihood, job dissatisfaction, and burnout were statistically estimated using multiple linear and logistic regression. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians reported high levels of external and internal mental demands during dispensing. The study supported the hypothesis that external demands (interruptions, divided attention, and rushing) negatively impacted medication safety and employee well-being outcomes. However, as hypothesized, increasing levels of internal demands (concentration and effort) were not associated with greater perceived likelihood of error, adverse drug events, or burnout and even had a positive effect on job satisfaction. Replicating a prior study in nursing, this study shows that new conceptualizations and measures of workload can generate important new findings about both detrimental and beneficial effects of workload on patient safety and employee well-being. This study discusses what those findings imply for policy, management, and design concerning automation, cognition, and staffing. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of mental demands during dispensing on perceived medication safety and employee well being: A study of workload in pediatric hospital pharmacies

Science.gov (United States)

Holden, Richard J.; Patel, Neal R.; Scanlon, Matthew C.; Shalaby, Theresa M.; Arnold, Judi M.; Karsh, Ben-Tzion

2009-01-01

Background Pharmacy workload is a modifiable work system factor believed to affect both medication safety outcomes and employee outcomes such as job satisfaction. Objectives This study sought to measure the effect of workload on safety and employee outcomes in two pediatric hospitals and to do so using a novel approach to pharmacy workload measurement. Methods Rather than measuring prescription volume or other similar indicators, this study measured the type and intensity of mental demands experienced during the medication dispensing tasks. The effects of external (interruptions, divided attention, rushing) and internal (concentration, effort) task demands on perceived medication error likelihood, adverse drug event likelihood, job dissatisfaction, and burnout were statistically estimated using multiple linear and logistic regression. Results Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians reported high levels of external and internal mental demands during dispensing. The study supported the hypothesis that external demands (interruptions, divided attention, rushing) negatively impacted medication safety and employee well being outcomes. However, as hypothesized, increasing levels of internal demands (concentration and effort) were not associated with greater perceived likelihood of error, adverse drug events, or burnout, and even had a positive effect on job satisfaction. Conclusion Replicating a prior study in nursing, this study shows that new conceptualizations and measures of workload can generate important new findings about both detrimental and beneficial effects of workload on patient safety and employee well being. This study discusses what those findings imply for policy, management, and design concerning automation, cognition, and staffing. PMID:21111387

Evaluation of the Pharmacy Safety Climate Questionnaire in European community pharmacies.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Phipps, D.L.; Bie, J. de; Herborg, H.; Guerreiro, M.; Eickhoff, C.; Fernandes-Llimos, F.; Bouvy, M.L.; Rossing, C.; Mueller, U.; Ashcroft, D.M.

2012-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the internal reliability, factor structure and construct validity of the Pharmacy Safety Climate Questionnaire (PSCQ) when applied to a pan-European sample of community pharmacies. Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used. Setting: Community pharmacies in Denmark,

Targeting outpatient drug safety: recommendations of the Dutch HARM-Wrestling Task Force.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warle-van Herwaarden, M.F.; Kramers, C.; Sturkenboom, M.C.; Bemt, P.M. van den; Smet, P.A.G.M. de

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND: Two Dutch observational studies (HARM [Hospital Admissions Related to Medication] and IPCI [Integrated Primary Care Information]) have shown that approximately 5% of all unplanned hospital admissions are associated with adverse drug events (ADEs), of which 40-46% are potentially

Marketing of rural and remote pharmacy practice via the digital medium.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, G M; Fitzmaurice, K D; Rasiah, R L; Kruup, H

2010-08-01

The shortage of community and hospital pharmacists is particularly acute in rural and remote areas of Australia. Pharmacy students, in particular, as those who may be able to alleviate this shortage, need to be made more aware of the challenges and rewards of rural pharmacy practice. A marketing tool was developed to promote rural and remote pharmacy practice as a career option. A DVD was produced from interviews with health professionals working in rural and remote areas of Australia. This DVD will complement current rural practical placements, which have been incorporated into the curriculum of Australian schools of pharmacy. Interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals from areas in Tasmania, Northern Queensland and the Northern Territory. Interviewees included pharmacists, graduate pharmacists, pharmacy students, aboriginal health workers and a general practitioner. Each of the interviewees was able to provide personal accounts of experiences in rural and remote healthcare, and roles and opportunities for pharmacists. A final draft of the DVD was shown to University of Tasmania students to assess the impact and quality of the production. A number of common themes arose from interviewing and these were subsequently converted into five key chapters of the DVD - Lifestyle, Belonging, Diversity, Indigenous Health and 'Give it a go'. The final DVD, produced from over 15 h of footage, runs for 35 min. Students reported positive feedback on both the technical quality and the information contained within the DVD; 37% of students who viewed the DVD felt that it increased their awareness of what rural pharmacy has to offer. The rural pharmacy, 'Enjoy the Lifestyle' DVD can be used to increase awareness of rural and remote pharmacy practice to students and other pharmacists, and complements other pharmacy workforce strategies for rural and remote areas of Australia. It could also be a useful approach for adaptation in other countries.

Clinical support role for a pharmacy technician within a primary care resource center.

Science.gov (United States)

Fera, Toni; Kanel, Keith T; Bolinger, Meghan L; Fink, Amber E; Iheasirim, Serah

2018-02-01

The creation of a clinical support role for a pharmacy technician within a primary care resource center is described. In the Primary Care Resource Center (PCRC) Project, hospital-based care transition coordination hubs staffed by nurses and pharmacist teams were created in 6 independent community hospitals. At the largest site, patient volume for targeted diseases challenged the ability of the PCRC pharmacist to provide expected elements of care to targeted patients. Creation of a new pharmacy technician clinical support role was implemented as a cost-effective option to increase the pharmacist's efficiency. The pharmacist's work processes were reviewed and technical functions identified that could be assigned to a specially trained pharmacy technician under the direction of the PCRC pharmacist. Daily tasks performed by the pharmacy technician included maintenance of the patient roster and pending discharges, retrieval and documentation of pertinent laboratory and diagnostic test information from the patient's medical record, assembly of patient medication education materials, and identification of discrepancies between disparate systems' medication records. In the 6 months after establishing the PCRC pharmacy technician role, the pharmacist's completion of comprehensive medication reviews (CMRs) for target patients increased by 40.5% ( p = 0.0223), driven largely by a 42.4% ( p technician to augment pharmacist care in a PCRC team extended the reach of the pharmacist and allowed more time for the pharmacist to engage patients. Technician support enabled the pharmacist to complete more CMRs and reduced the time required for chart reviews. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

APPLICATION OF SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY TO REDUCE MEDICATION ERRORS IN THE OUTPATIENT PHARMACY UNIT: A CASE STUDY FROM THE KING FAHD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, SAUDI ARABIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Al Kuwaiti

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Medication errors will affect the patient safety and quality of healthcare. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of Six Sigma (DMAIC methodology in reducing medication errors in the outpatient pharmacy of King Fahd Hospital of the University, Saudi Arabia. It was conducted through the five phases of Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC model using various quality tools. The goal was fixed as to reduce medication errors in an outpatient pharmacy by 20%. After implementation of improvement strategies, there was a marked reduction of defects and also improvement of their sigma rating. Especially, Parts per million (PPM of prescription/data entry errors reduced from 56,000 to 5,000 and its sigma rating improved from 3.09 to 4.08. This study concluded that the Six Sigma (DMAIC methodology is found to be more significant in reducing medication errors and ensuring patient safety.

Epidemiology of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing E. coli and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci in the Northern Dutch-German Cross-Border Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xuewei; García-Cobos, Silvia; Ruijs, Gijs J H M; Kampinga, Greetje A; Arends, Jan P; Borst, Dirk M; Möller, Lieke V; Holman, Nicole D; Schuurs, Theo A; Bruijnesteijn van Coppenraet, Lesla E; Weel, Jan F; van Zeijl, Jan H; Köck, Robin; Rossen, John W A; Friedrich, Alexander W

2017-01-01

Objectives: To reveal the prevalence and epidemiology of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)- and/or plasmid AmpC (pAmpC)- and carbapenemase (CP) producing Enterobacteriaceae and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) across the Northern Dutch-German border region. Methods: A point-prevalence study on ESBL/pAmpC/CP producing Enterobacteriaceae and VRE was carried out in hospitalized patients in the Northern Netherlands ( n = 445, 2012-2013) and Germany ( n = 242, 2012). Healthy individuals from the Dutch community ( n = 400, 2010-2012) were also screened. In addition, a genome-wide gene-by-gene approach was applied to study the epidemiology of ESBL- Escherichia coli and VRE. Results: A total of 34 isolates from 27 patients (6.1%) admitted to Dutch hospitals were ESBL/pAmpC positive and 29 ESBL- E. coli , three pAmpC- E. coli , one ESBL- Enterobacter cloacae , and one pAmpC- Proteus mirabilis were found. In the German hospital, 18 isolates (16 E. coli and 2 Klebsiella pneumoniae ) from 17 patients (7.7%) were ESBL positive. In isolates from the hospitalized patients CTX-M-15 was the most frequently detected ESBL-gene. In the Dutch community, 11 individuals (2.75%) were ESBL/pAmpC positive: 10 ESBL - E. coli (CTX-M-1 being the most prevalent gene) and one pAmpC E. coli . Six Dutch (1.3%) and four German (3.9%) hospitalized patients were colonized with VRE. Genetic relatedness by core genome multi-locus sequence typing (cgMLST) was found between two ESBL- E. coli isolates from Dutch and German cross-border hospitals and between VRE isolates from different hospitals within the same region. Conclusion: The prevalence of ESBL/pAmpC- Enterobacteriaceae was similar in hospitalized patients across the Dutch-German border region, whereas VRE prevalence was slightly higher on the German side. The overall prevalence of the studied pathogens was lower in the community than in hospitals in the Northern Netherlands. Cross-border transmission of ESBL- E. coli and VRE seems

High fatigue scores among older Dutch nurse anesthetists.

Science.gov (United States)

Meeusen, Vera; Hoekman, Jaap; van Zundert, André

2014-06-01

In The Netherlands, hospital care production pressure recently increased substantially, while the number of nurse anesthetists available did not match this rise. The longtime existing norm of no night shifts for nurses beyond the age of 55 years was increased to age 57 to meet the demand for more nurse anesthetists. In this pilot study, we aimed to determine the level of fatigue and its correlation with demographic items among this category of employees. A validated questionnaire was distributed to all Dutch nurse anesthetists above 50 years of age working in Dutch hospitals, which asked for their level of fatigue. The Checklist Individual Strength Questionnaire was used to measure fatigue. Overall, 105 of 115 potential participants completed the questionnaire (response rate, 91%). The mean scores (+/- standard deviation) were as follows: total fatigue, 81.3 +/- 8.3; subjective fatigue, 31.4 +/- 3.2; physical activity, 13.1 +/- 2.2; motivation, 16.8 +/- 2.6; and concentration, 20.0 +/- 3.8. No correlation could be demonstrated between demographic characteristics and fatigue. Dutch nurse anesthetists above the age of 50 years show a high fatigue score and therefore need special attention to prevent them from harmful physical and psychological effects and to sustain maximal patient safety.

Strategic planning for clinical services: St. Joseph Hospital and Health Care Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Linggi, A; Pelham, L D

1986-09-01

A pharmacy department at a 340-bed community hospital based its strategic plan for developing patient-oriented services on a sound drug distribution system, a credible work-measurement program, and fiscal responsibility. In 1982 the department of pharmacy and i.v. therapy implemented a strategic plan for improving pharmaceutical services. The plan involved developing goals and objectives for the department; marketing the department's services and fiscal management to hospital administrators, medical staff, and nursing staff; building teamwork among the pharmacy staff; and improving the drug distribution system before instituting clinical services. Hiring of additional pharmacy staff was justified on the basis of work-measurement data. By adjusting staffing levels every two weeks based on work-measurement data, the department increased the efficiency of drug distribution activities; the pharmacy also implemented cost-saving programs like selection of therapeutic alternates and formulary restrictions. The savings were then reinvested in labor-intensive patient-oriented pharmaceutical services. A staff development program using staff pharmacists as preceptors expanded the breadth and depth of pharmacists' clinical skills. The planning efforts were successful because the needs of hospital administrators, the pharmacy department, and staff members were addressed.

Before-and-After Study of Interruptions in a Pharmacy Department.

Science.gov (United States)

Guérin, Aurélie; Caron, Elaine; Lebel, Denis; Bussières, Jean-François

2013-01-01

Few data exist on interruptions in the drug-use process in hospital pharmacies and their effects on patient care. The primary objective was to compare the hourly number of stimuli received and emitted (i.e., generated) by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians before and after implementation of measures intended to reduce interruptions. The secondary objective was to evaluate the impact of the corrective measures on 4 specific stimuli. This before-and-after cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the main dispensing area of the pharmacy department of a Canadian university hospital centre. Stimuli received and emitted by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians were counted before (2010) and after (2012) implementation of corrective measures designed to limit interruptions. The effect of corrective measures on targeted stimuli was measured with a t test. Data were collected during a total of 93 randomly scheduled 30-min observation periods: 62 periods in 2010 (n = 2663 stimuli) and 31 periods in 2012 (n = 1217 stimuli). The average hourly stimulus rate (± standard deviation) was unchanged after implementation of corrective measures: 85.9 ± 22.2 in 2010 and 78.5 ± 20.1 in 2012 (p = 0.06). However, a significant decline was observed for many individual stimuli, including the number of face-to-face nonprofessional conversations among pharmacists (4.4 ± 4.2 in 2010 versus 1.2 ± 1.8 in 2012, p = 0.003). Despite the implementation of corrective measures, there was no statistically significant change in the hourly stimulus rates from 2010 to 2012. Other studies are needed to better characterize the nature and repercussions of stimuli, distractions, and interruptions.

Specifics of marketing tools application in pharmacies: Case study Pharmacies Subotica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stojkov Svetlana

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The role of pharmacies in the social and health systems has gone through significant changes in the last decades of the twentieth century. From the place for the production of medicines, through procurement and distribution, pharmacy eventually became the modern health care facilities that participates in the health system and the retail pharmaceutical market. The dualistic role of pharmacy requires adjustment to the demands of contemporary health policy and market principles. Implementation of modern tools of business, such as marketing, was not present to a greater extent until recently in pharmacies, so this study is focused on the example of Pharmacy Subotica, which emphasizes the practical importance and specifics of marketing in pharmaceutical practice. Activities in the implementation of the marketing mix in the period 2009-2012 will be shown in this paper, as well as indicators of business success of Pharmacies Subotica in the same period. Following a four-year period in which strategy related to elements of the marketing mix strategy (4P, was implemented the growth of financial performance indicators (number of issued fiscal receipt and financially volume of business. At the same time, due to the more rigid regulations, the number of prescriptions in 2012 declined in amount. Pharmacy Subotica is one of the first pharmacies in Serbia, which has structured and implemented marketing planning tools for the purpose of positioning in the retail pharmaceutical market. By modeling business policy in line with modern market principles, developments of information technology and the ethics of health care workers, this institution has made pioneering steps in pharmaceutical marketing in the Serbian pharmacy.

Leadership and effective succession planning in health-system pharmacy departments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellinger, Lara Kathryn; Trapskin, Philip J; Black, Raymond; Kotis, Despina; Alexander, Earnest

2014-04-01

Leadership succession planning is crucial to the continuity of the comprehensive vision of the hospital pharmacy department. Leadership development is arguably the main component of training and preparing pharmacists to assume managerial positions. Succession planning begins with a review of the organizational chart in the context of the institution's strategic plan. Then career ladders are developed and key positions that require succession plans are identified. Employee profiles and talent inventory should be performed for all employees to identify education, talent, and experience, as well as areas that need improvement. Employees should set objective goals that align with the department's strategic plan, and management should work collaboratively with employees on how to achieve their goals within a certain timeframe. The succession planning process is dynamic and evolving, and periodic assessments should be conducted to determine how improvements can be made. Succession planning can serve as a marker for the success of hospital pharmacy departments.

Pharmaceutical Education in Japan--Past, Present--, and Human Social Pharmacy Education in the Near Future.

Science.gov (United States)

Okuda, Jun

2015-01-01

In this paper, the foundation of the 74 Japanese pharmacy schools was reviewed. From the early Meiji era until the beginning World War II, 21 schools including Tokyo University were established. After the war, the new four-year university system was introduced from America, and the above 21 schools became universities and 25 universities were newly founded. In 2006, clinical pharmacy was introduced from America, and the six-year undergraduate system began. This system was divided into 2 groups, 1) 6 year system of clinical pharmacy plus 4 years doctor course and 2) 4 years system of pharmaceutical sciences and a master degree lasting 2 years plus a 3 year doctor course. These two systems started in 2006. The students of clinical pharmacy course must take the 22 weeks of clerkships in a community pharmacy and hospital pharmacy. The graduates (8,446) in 2015 March took the National License Examination for pharmacist, and the pass rate was 72.65%. The entrance into pharmacy school is not easy; however, the passing of the National License Examination is more difficult. The aim of pharmacy education should be to foster pharmacists with a deeper understanding of society and with richer humanity for the patient. To achieve this, what needs to be included in the curriculum are the subjects of the human social pharmacy, such as philosophy of pharmacy, ethics, religions, history of pharmacy, pharmaceutical affairs law, economics, management, and social pharmacy. The inclusion of such subjects needs to be implemented in the near future. Of course, the study of pharmaceutical sciences is a life-long endeavor.

Cancer patients use hospital-based care until death: a further analysis of the Dutch Bone Metastasis Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Meeuse, Jan J; van der Linden, Yvette M; Post, Wendy J; Wanders, Rinus; Gans, Rijk O B; Leer, Jan Willem H; Reyners, Anna K L

2011-10-01

To describe health care utilization (HCU) at the end of life in cancer patients. These data are relevant to plan palliative care services, and to develop training programs for involved health care professionals. The Dutch Bone Metastasis Study (DBMS) was a nationwide study proving equal effectiveness of single fraction palliative radiotherapy compared with multiple fractions for painful bone metastases in 1157 patients. The 860 (74%) patients who died during follow-up were included in the current analysis. The main outcome was the frequency of hospital-based (outpatient contact or admission) and/or general practitioner (GP) contact during the last 12 weeks of life. Changes in HCU towards death were related to data on quality of life and pain intensity using a multilevel regression model. Hospital-based HCU was reported in 1801 (63%) returned questionnaires, whereas GP contact was stated in 1246 (43%). In 573 (20%) questionnaires, both types of HCU were reported. In multilevel regression analyses, the frequency of outpatient contacts remained constant during the weeks towards death, whereas the frequency of GP contacts increased. Lower valuation of quality of life was related to both GP- and hospital-based HCU. There was a high consumption of hospital-based HCU in the last 12 weeks of life of cancer patients with bone metastases. Hospital-based HCU did not decrease during the weeks towards death, despite an increase in GP contacts. Future planning of palliative care and training programs should encompass close collaboration between medical specialists and GPs to optimize end-of-life care.

Current status and future prospects of the development of clinical Pharmacy in China: A SWOT analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Yuefeng; Zhao, Qingwei; Zhang, Xiangyi; Yang, Hongyu; Lou, Yan; Zhang, Xingguo

2016-03-01

In many industrialized countries, clinical pharmacy has developed into a separate discipline and become a vital part of inpatient care in hospitals. However, as compared to many established branches of medicine, clinical pharmacy is still in its infancy, with much room for growth, improvement, and recognition by both the medical community and patients. In this study, a widely-recognized development strategy analysis tool, Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat (SWOT), was used to systematically address several key issues to the development of clinical pharmacy in China. This analysis aims to provide feasible recommendations for the development of clinical pharmacy in China by identifying current problems and growth opportunities. Full development of clinical pharmacy as a mature clinical discipline will help promote the rational use of drugs by both clinicians and patients and lead to enhanced drug efficacy and safety.

Medication Adherence Survey: A First Year Pharmacy Immersion Students’ Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia F Ortiz Lopez

2016-09-01

Full Text Available First year pharmacy Immersion students from University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy used a three question survey during their rotation at Moses H. Cone Hospital that analyzed patients’ medication adherence. Data collection revealed common trends that have been shown in the literature and areas for improvement. This method of evaluation was used by Phase I Immersion students to gain perspective on the problems we continue to have with medication adherence. Conflict of Interest We do not have any potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.   Type: Student Project

Patient satisfaction with community pharmacy: comparing urban and suburban chain-pharmacy populations.

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Malewski, David F; Ream, Aimrie; Gaither, Caroline A

2015-01-01

Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical care can be a strong predictor of medication and other health-related outcomes. Less understood is the role that location of pharmacies in urban or suburban environments plays in patient satisfaction with pharmacy and pharmacist services. The purpose of this study was to serve as a pilot examining urban and suburban community pharmacy populations for similarities and differences in patient satisfaction. Community pharmacy patients were asked to self-administer a 30-question patient satisfaction survey. Fifteen questions addressed their relationship with the pharmacist, 10 questions addressed satisfaction and accessibility of the pharmacy, and five questions addressed financial concerns. Five urban and five suburban pharmacies agreed to participate. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis. Most patients reported high levels of satisfaction. Satisfaction with pharmacist relationship and service was 70% or higher with no significant differences between locations. There were significant differences between the urban and suburban patients regarding accessibility of pharmacy services, customer service and some patient/pharmacist trust issues. The significant differences between patient satisfaction in the suburban and urban populations warrant a larger study with more community pharmacies in other urban, suburban and rural locations to better understand and validate study findings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A survey for assessment of the role of pharmacist in community pharmacy services

OpenAIRE

H Sharma; D Jindal; M Aqil; M S Alam; S Karim; P Kapur

2009-01-01

Objective : To assess the role of a pharmacist in a community setting and the consumer′s perception in the National Capital Region. Setting : The study was conducted in the National Capital Region of India during the year 2003 - 2004. Materials and Methods : Four pharmacies were selected for this study, which were not attached to any hospital or clinic. Seventy-seven consumers, who visited these pharmacies during the study period, were selected for this study and interviewed just after they v...

Critérios e indicadores de resultados para a farmácia hospitalar brasileira utilizando o método Delfos Establishment of criteria and outcome indicators for hospital pharmacies in Brazil using Delphos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Magarinos-Torres

2007-08-01

Full Text Available A farmácia hospitalar é responsável por diversas atividades com influência no cuidado à saúde de pacientes hospitalizados. Este artigo descreve a construção de critérios e indicadores de resultado para a farmácia hospitalar brasileira utilizando Delfos, um método de consenso que dispensa contato presencial. Participaram do estudo 22 especialistas de quatro regiões brasileiras. Todo processo ancorou-se no modelo lógico da farmácia hospitalar brasileira, previamente construído. Foram enviados por correio eletrônico quatro documentos de trabalho. A primeira rodada identificou 103 possíveis resultados. O julgamento quanto à adequação, relevância e possibilidade de mensuração permitiu selecionar 22 critérios que originaram 20 indicadores, agrupados em 7 aspectos da qualidade do serviço. As contribuições iniciais permitiram explicitar melhor o objetivo de quatro componentes do modelo lógico. Observa-se que todos os itens considerados como resultado pelos especialistas neste estudo encontram-se descritos na literatura, seja como indicadores de estrutura ou processo da farmácia hospitalar. Estima-se que a construção de indicadores compostos para a farmácia hospitalar, com base nos aspectos de qualidade observados, permitiria traduzir melhor sua contribuição na avaliação do cuidado a pacientes hospitalizados.The hospital pharmacy is responsible for several services which influence inpatient outcomes. This paper describes the construction of criteria and outcome indicators for Brazilian hospital pharmacies using Delphos, a consensus technique in which physical presence of specialists is not necessary. 22 specialists from 4 Brazilian regions participated. The entire process was anchored on the logical model previously constructed for the Brazilian hospital pharmacy. The four phases were conducted through e-mail contact. The first round of contributions identified 103 possible outcomes. These were screened and classified

The concordance between self-reported medication use and pharmacy records in pregnant women.

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Cheung, K; El Marroun, H; Elfrink, M E; Jaddoe, V W V; Visser, L E; Stricker, B H Ch

2017-09-01

Several studies have been conducted to assess determinants affecting the performance or accuracy of self-reports. These studies are often not focused on pregnant women, or medical records were used as a data source where it is unclear if medications have been dispensed. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the concordance between self-reported medication data and pharmacy records among pregnant women and its determinants. We conducted a population-based cohort study within the Generation R study, in 2637 pregnant women. The concordance between self-reported medication data and pharmacy records was calculated for different therapeutic classes using Yule's Y. We evaluated a number of variables as determinant of discordance between both sources through univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The concordance between self-reports and pharmacy records was moderate to good for medications used for chronic conditions, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or anti-asthmatic medications (0.88 and 0.68, respectively). Medications that are used occasionally, such as antibiotics, had a lower concordance (0.51). Women with a Turkish or other non-Western background were more likely to demonstrate discordance between pharmacy records and self-reported data compared with women with a Dutch background (Turkish: odds ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-2.29; other non-Western: odds ratio, 1.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.71). Further research is needed to assess how the cultural or ethnic differences may affect the concordance or discordance between both medication sources. The results of this study showed that the use of multiple sources is needed to have a good estimation of the medication use during pregnancy. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Bacteriological Evaluation of Kwale General Hospital Environment ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... Pharmacy (40.7%) and Theatre (18.5%). This study showed that Kwale General Hospital environment is heavily contaminated and therefore underlies the necessity for regular evaluation of the hospital environment. Keywords: Bacteriological evaluation, hospital, environment. Journal of Medical Laboratory Sciences Vol.

Creating pharmacy staffing-to-demand models: predictive tools used at two institutions.

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Krogh, Paul; Ernster, Jason; Knoer, Scott

2012-09-15

The creation and implementation of data-driven staffing-to-demand models at two institutions are described. Predictive workload tools provide a guideline for pharmacy managers to adjust staffing needs based on hospital volume metrics. At Abbott Northwestern Hospital, management worked with the department's staff and labor management committee to clearly outline the productivity monitoring system and the process for reducing hours. Reference charts describing the process for reducing hours and a form to track the hours of involuntary reductions for each employee were created to further enhance communication, explain the rationale behind the new process, and promote transparency. The University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview, found a strong correlation between measured pharmacy workload and an adjusted census formula. If the daily census and admission report indicate that the adjusted census will provide enough workload for the fully staffed department, no further action is needed. If the census report indicates the adjusted census is less than the breakeven point, staff members are asked to leave work, either voluntarily or involuntarily. The opposite holds true for days when the adjusted census is higher than the breakeven point, at which time additional staff are required to synchronize worked hours with predicted workload. Successful staffing-to- demand models were implemented in two hospital pharmacies. Financial savings, as indicated by decreased labor costs secondary to reduction of staffed shifts, were approximately $42,000 and $45,500 over a three-month period for Abbott Northwestern Hospital and the University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview, respectively. Maintenance of 100% productively allowed the departments to continue to replace vacant positions and avoid permanent staff reductions.

International Social Pharmacy Workshop

OpenAIRE

Cordina, Maria; Journal of the Malta College of Pharmacy Practice Editorial Board

2003-01-01

The Malta College of Pharmacy Practice, will be hosting the 13th International Social Pharmacy Workshop next summer. The concept of social pharmacy is very clearly explained in the article by Professor Ellen West Sørensen and colleagues, who are considered to be pioneers in this field. Malta has successfully hosted a number of pharmacy conferences, however this one is somewhat different and rather special.

How space design and technology can support the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative through interprofessional collaboration

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Lindsay Hahn

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI calls pharmacists to more direct patient care and increased responsibility for medication-related outcomes, as a means of achieving greater safety, improving outcomes and reducing costs. This article acknowledges the value of interprofessional collaboration to the PPMI and identifies the implications of the Initiative for space design and technology, both of which stand to help the Initiative gather additional support. Summary: The profession of pharmacy has for some time now become increasingly vocal about its desire to take on greater responsibility for patient outcomes. With drug costs representing the largest portion of a hospital's pharmacy budget and reimbursements becoming more contingent on readmission avoidance, the pharmacy's influence on a hospital's bottom line is significant. More importantly, study after study is showing that with greater pharmacist intervention, patient outcomes improve. This article addresses the ways in which developments in the fields of technology and facility design can assist in the deployment of the PPMI. Conclusion: As the PPMI achieves a critical level of support from inside and outside the pharmacy, and more empirical research emerges regarding the improved outcomes and cost savings of increasing the roles of both clinical pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, the industry sectors of healthcare technology and healthcare design stand ready to assist in the execution of this new model. By encouraging pharmacists, doctors and nurses to work together - and all caregivers to work with facility designers, biomedical engineers and IT specialists, there is the increased likelihood of these fields turning to each other to problem-solve together, all for the ultimate benefit to patients and their families.   Type: Commentary

Improving pharmacy practice through public health programs: experience from Global HIV/AIDS initiative Nigeria project.

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Oqua, Dorothy; Agu, Kenneth Anene; Isah, Mohammed Alfa; Onoh, Obialunamma U; Iyaji, Paul G; Wutoh, Anthony K; King, Rosalyn C

2013-01-01

The use of medicines is an essential component of many public health programs (PHPs). Medicines are important not only for their capacity to treat and prevent diseases. The public confidence in healthcare system is inevitably linked to their confidence in the availability of safe and effective medicines and the measures for ensuring their rational use. However, pharmacy services component receives little or no attention in most public health programs in developing countries. This article describes the strategies, lessons learnt, and some accomplishments of Howard University Pharmacists and Continuing Education (HU-PACE) Centre towards improving hospital pharmacy practice through PHP in Nigeria. In a cross-sectional survey, 60 hospital pharmacies were randomly selected from 184 GHAIN-supported health facilities. The assessment was conducted at baseline and repeated after at least 12 months post-intervention using a study-specific instrument. Interventions included engagement of stakeholders; provision of standards for infrastructural upgrade; development of curricula and modules for training of pharmacy personnel; provision of job aids and tools amongst others. A follow-up hands-on skill enhancement based on identified gaps was conducted. Chi-square was used for inferential statistics. All reported p-values were 2-tailed at 95% confidence interval. The mean duration of service provision at post-intervention assessment was 24.39 (95% CI, 21.70-27.08) months. About 16.7% of pharmacies reported been trained in HIV care at pre-intervention compared to 83.3% at post-intervention. The proportion of pharmacies with audio-visual privacy for patient counseling increased significantly from 30.9% at pre-intervention to 81.4% at post-intervention. Filled prescriptions were cross-checked by pharmacist (61.9%) and pharmacy technician (23.8%) before dispensing at pre-intervention compared to pharmacist (93.1%) and pharmacy technician (6.9%) at post intervention. 40.0% of

Should Pharmacies Be Included in Medication Reconciliation? A Report of Recurrent Valproic Acid Toxicity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Tate Cutshall

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Including outpatient pharmacies in the medication reconciliation process upon hospital discharge is not commonly performed. This case highlights the consequences of a patient refilling a discontinued prescription for valproic acid (VPA. We present a 32-year old male found unresponsive after ingesting delayed release divalproex sodium. Cerebral edema was visualized on magnetic resonance imaging. Hemodialysis and levo-carnitine treatment led to improved mental status, and VPA was discontinued. The same patient presented with VPA overdose eight months later after he continued to fill an outdated prescription. This case highlights consequences of VPA toxicity; it also demonstrates an opportunity to improve patient safety and high-value care by collaborating with outpatient pharmacies in the medication reconciliation process upon hospital discharge.

Pharmacy practice and injection use in community pharmacies in Pokhara city, Western Nepal.

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Gyawali, Sudesh; Rathore, Devendra Singh; Adhikari, Kishor; Shankar, Pathiyil Ravi; K C, Vikash Kumar; Basnet, Suyog

2014-04-28

Community pharmacies in Nepal serve as the first point of contact for the public with the health care system and provide many services, including administering injections. However, there is a general lack of documented information on pharmacy practice and injection use in these pharmacies. This study aims to provide information about pharmacy practice in terms of service and drug information sources, and injection use, including the disposal of used injection equipment. A mixed method, cross-sectional study was conducted in 54 community pharmacies in Pokhara city. Data was collected using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire, and also by the direct observation of pharmacy premises. Interviews with pharmacy supervisors (proprietors) were also conducted to obtain additional information about certain points. Interviews were carried out with 54 pharmacy supervisors/proprietors (47 males and 7 females) with a mean age and experience of 35.54 and 11.73 years, respectively. Approximately a half of the studied premises were operated by legally recognized pharmaceutical personnel, while the remainder was run by people who did not have the legal authority to operate pharmacies independently. About a quarter of pharmacies were providing services such as the administration of injections, wound dressing, and laboratory and consultation services in addition to medicine dispensing and counseling services. The 'Current Index of Medical Specialties' was the most commonly used source for drug information. Almost two-thirds of patients visiting the pharmacies were dispensed medicines without a prescription. Tetanus Toxoid, Depot-Medroxy Progesterone Acetate, and Diclofenac were the most commonly-used/administered injections. Most of the generated waste (including sharps) was disposed of in a municipal dump without adhering to the proper procedures for the disposal of hazardous waste. Community pharmacies in Pokhara offer a wide range of services including, but not limited to

Pharmacy education in India: strategies for a better future.

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Jishnu, V; Gilhotra, Rm; Mishra, Dn

2011-10-01

In this world of specialization and globalization the pharmacy education in India is suffering from serious backdrops and flaws. There is an urgent need to initiate an academic exercise aimed at attaining revamping of curriculum, keeping in pace with current and emerging trends in the field of pharmacy. Unfortunately all these years, enough emphasis was not laid on strengthening the components of Community Pharmacy, Hospital and Clinical pharmacy, while designing curriculum at diploma and degree levels of teaching. The curriculum followed by almost all universities in India are no were up to the world standards and students are still getting the 20-30 yrs older compounding practical exposure in labs during the graduation level. The article emphasises the concept of innovation ecosystems and quality management. Application of TQM to the educational system improves the present situation. The counseling system which serves to be the gateway of the students for entry into the profession should be brought under the scanner. Introducing specializations at the graduation level will result in professional expertise and excellence. Education is a customer focused industry and every student should be capable of evaluating themselves for continuously improving their quality and professionalism. Teacher focused mastery learning should give away to student focused smart learning. An educational institution should provide the student with a stress-free atmosphere for learning and developing his intellectual capabilities. Every college should have a counseling centre to address the problems of students in their academic and personal life. An emphasis on the concept of quality teacher is included. Revival of the pharmacy education in India is the need of the hour which in turn will pave the way for the up gradation of the pharmacy profession in the country.

Quality of Austrian and Dutch Falls-Prevention Information: A Comparative Descriptive Study

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Schoberer, Daniela; Mijnarends, Donja M.; Fliedner, Monica; Halfens, Ruud J. G.; Lohrmann, Christa

2016-01-01

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the quality of written patient information material available in Austrian and Dutch hospitals and nursing homes pertaining to falls prevention. Design: Comparative descriptive study design Setting: Hospitals and nursing homes in Austria and the Netherlands. Method: Written patient…

Cross-sectional study on factors hampering implementation of measles pre- and postexposure measures in Dutch hospitals during the 2013-2014 measles outbreak.

Science.gov (United States)

Fievez, L C R; Wong, A; Ruijs, W L M; Meerstadt-Rombach, F S; Timen, A

2017-07-01

This study examined adherence to national recommendations on measles pre- and postexposure measures, including immunization of health care workers (HCWs) in Dutch hospitals, during a national outbreak of measles in The Netherlands. This study also investigated which hospital characteristics and organizational issues hamper implementation. This was a cross-sectional survey among all general and academic hospitals in The Netherlands. An online structured questionnaire (48 questions) was administered. Analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Of 88 hospitals, 70 (79.5%) were included. Of 68 hospitals, 48 (70.6%) assessed susceptibility to measles in HCWs. Of 70 hospitals, 61 (87.1%) offered vaccination to susceptible HCWs. Of 63 hospitals, 42 (66.7%) had postexposure policies consistent with national recommendations. Of 62 hospitals, 30 (48.4%) implemented all these measures, which is the minimum set of measures considered necessary to adequately prevent measles in HCWs. Logistic regression suggests that hospitals with several locations, hospitals with more employees, and hospitals where infectious disease experts designed infection prevention policies while occupational health experts implemented the policy less often implemented this minimum set of measures (P measles outbreak, most hospitals took measures to prevent measles in HCWs, but less than half implemented the minimum set of measures required. Implementation strategies in hospitals need to be improved, especially in large-sized hospitals and hospitals with several locations, and with respect to the assignment of responsibilities for infection prevention policies. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pharmacy Service Orientation: a measure of organizational culture in pharmacy practice sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Bartholomew E; Mount, Jeanine K

2006-03-01

The importance of organizational culture in shaping everyday organizational life is well accepted, but little work has focused on organizational culture in pharmacy. Examining new pharmacists' experiences at various practice sites may help us to understand how these shape their professional ethos and practice habits. (1) Present development and assessment of the Pharmacy Service Orientation (PSO) measure, a tool for assessing pharmacists' impressions of pharmacy practice sites. (2) Use data gathered from a sample of new pharmacists to explore potential predictors of PSO, including type of practice site, type of pharmacy work experience, and type of pharmacy degree. Mail survey of randomly selected class of 1999 pharmacy graduates within 3 months of graduation (response rate: 259 of 1,850; 14%), each of whom reported on up to 6 different pharmacy practice sites for a total of 1,192 pharmacy observations. Pharmacy Service Orientation is scored on a 1-10 semantic differential scale and reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Predictors of PSO were explored using t test and ordinary least squares regression procedures. Reliability of the PSO across all observations was 0.86. When divided according to recency of experience and type of experience, reliabilities ranged from 0.78 to 0.87. Analysis of potential predictors of PSO showed that non-corporate-community sites had significantly greater pharmaceutical care-oriented cultures (mean PSOs of 7.42 and 5.13, respectively; PService Orientation is a reliable measure. Statistically significant differences in PSO comparisons by degree and by experience type are explained by significant differences between the PSOs of corporate-community and non-corporate-community sites.

Validation of the Dutch language version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ-NL).

Science.gov (United States)

Haerkens, Marck Htm; van Leeuwen, Wouter; Sexton, J Bryan; Pickkers, Peter; van der Hoeven, Johannes G

2016-08-15

As the first objective of caring for patients is to do no harm, patient safety is a priority in delivering clinical care. An essential component of safe care in a clinical department is its safety climate. Safety climate correlates with safety-specific behaviour, injury rates, and accidents. Safety climate in healthcare can be assessed by the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), which provides insight by scoring six dimensions: Teamwork Climate, Job Satisfaction, Safety Climate, Stress Recognition, Working Conditions and Perceptions of Management. The objective of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Dutch language version of the SAQ in a variety of clinical departments in Dutch hospitals. The Dutch version (SAQ-NL) of the SAQ was back translated, and analyzed for semantic characteristics and content. From October 2010 to November 2015 SAQ-NL surveys were carried out in 17 departments in two university and seven large non-university teaching hospitals in the Netherlands, prior to a Crew Resource Management human factors intervention. Statistical analyses were used to examine response patterns, mean scores, correlations, internal consistency reliability and model fit. Cronbach's α's and inter-item correlations were calculated to examine internal consistency reliability. One thousand three hundred fourteen completed questionnaires were returned from 2113 administered to health care workers, resulting in a response rate of 62 %. Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed the 6-factor structure fit the data adequately. Response patterns were similar for professional positions, departments, physicians and nurses, and university and non-university teaching hospitals. The SAQ-NL showed strong internal consistency (α = .87). Exploratory analysis revealed differences in scores on the SAQ dimensions when comparing different professional positions, when comparing physicians to nurses and when comparing university to non-university hospitals. The SAQ

Tobacco and alcohol sales in community pharmacies: policy statements from U.S. professional pharmacy associations.

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Corelli, Robin L; Chai, Tiffany; Karic, Alda; Fairman, Melinda; Baez, Karina; Hudmon, Karen Suchanek

2014-01-01

To characterize the extent to which state and national professional pharmacy associations have implemented formal policies addressing the sale of tobacco and alcohol products in community pharmacies. To determine existence of tobacco and alcohol policies, national professional pharmacy associations (n = 10) and state-level pharmacy associations (n = 86) affiliated with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and/or the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) were contacted via telephone and/or e-mail, and a search of the association websites was conducted. Of 95 responding associations (99%), 14% have a formal policy opposing the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies and 5% have a formal policy opposing the sale of alcohol in pharmacies. Of the associations representing major tobacco-producing states, 40% have a formal policy against tobacco sales in pharmacies, significantly more than the 8% of non-tobacco state associations with such policies. Among national professional pharmacy associations, only APhA and ASHP have formal policy statements opposing the sale of both tobacco and alcohol in pharmacies. Most state-level professional pharmacy associations affiliated with these two national organizations have no formal policy statement or position.

Completeness of retail pharmacy claims data: implications for pharmacoepidemiologic studies and pharmacy practice in elderly patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Polinski, Jennifer M; Schneeweiss, Sebastian; Levin, Raisa; Shrank, William H

2009-09-01

In the elderly (those aged >or=65 years), retail pharmacy claims are used to study drug use among the uninsured after drug policy changes, to prevent drug-drug interactions and duplication of therapy, and to guide medication therapy management. Claims include only prescriptions filled at 1 pharmacy location or within 1 pharmacy chain and do not include prescriptions filled at outside pharmacies, potentially limiting research accuracy and pharmacy-based safety interventions. The aims of this study were to assess elderly patients' pharmacy loyalty and to identify predictors of using multiple pharmacies. Patients enrolled in the Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) pharmacy benefit program with corresponding Medicare claims in the state of Pennsylvania comprised the study cohort. Among patients with pharmacy claims from all pharmacies used in 2004-2005, a primary pharmacy was defined as the pharmacy where at least 50% of a patient's prescriptions were filled. The number of pharmacies/chains used and prescriptions filled in 2005 was calculated. Predictors of using multiple pharmacies in 2005 were age, female gender, white race, urban residency, comorbidities, number of distinct chemical drugs (unique medications) used, and number of prescriptions filled, which were all assessed in 2004. In total, pharmacy claims data from 182,116 patients (147,718 women [81.1%]; mean [SD] age, 78.8 [7.1] years; 168,175 white [92.3%]; 76,580 [42.1%] residing in an urban zip code area) were included. Of the 182,116 PACE patients in the study, a primary pharmacy was identified for 180,751 patients (99.3%). In 2005, patients filled an average of 59.3 prescriptions, with 57.0 prescriptions (96.1%) having been filled at the primary pharmacy. Compared with patients who used or=15 unique medications had a 2.66 times (95% CI, 2.53-2.80) greater likelihood of using multiple pharmacies in 2005. Patients aged >or=85 years were 1.07 times (95% CI, 1.04-1.11) as likely to use

Factors Influencing the Total Inpatient Pharmacy Cost at a Tertiary Hospital in Malaysia: A Retrospective Study

Science.gov (United States)

Ali Jadoo, Saad Ahmed

2018-01-01

The steady growth of pharmaceutical expenditures is a major concern for health policy makers and health care managers in Malaysia. Our study examined the factors affecting the total inpatient pharmacy cost (TINPC) at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). In this retrospective study, we used 2011 administration electronic prescriptions records and casemix databases at UKMMC to examine the impact of sociodemographic, diagnostic, and drug variables on the TINPC. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of the factors associated with TINPC were conducted. The mean inpatient pharmacy cost per patient was USD 102.07 (SD = 24.76). In the multivariate analysis, length of stay (LOS; B = 0.349, P < .0005) and severity level III (B = 0.253, P < .0005) were the primary factors affecting the TINPC. For each day increase in the LOS and each increase of a case of severity level III, there was an increase of approximately USD 11.97 and USD 171.53 in the TINPC per year, respectively. Moreover, the number of prescribed items of drugs and supplies was positively associated with the TINPC (B = 0.081, P < .0005). Gender appears to have affected the TINPC; male patients seem to be associated with a higher TINPC than females (mean = 139.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 112.97-166.13, P < .001). Surgical procedures were associated with higher cost than medical cases (mean = 87.93, 95% CI: 61.00-114.85, P < .001). Malay (MYR 242.02, SD = 65.37) and Chinese (MYR 214.66, SD = 27.99) ethnicities contributed to a lower TINPC compared with Indian (MYR 613.93, SD = 98.41) and other ethnicities (MYR 578.47, SD = 144.51). A longer hospitalization period accompanied by major complications and comorbidities had the greatest influence on the TINPC. PMID:29436248

Completeness of Retail Pharmacy Claims Data: Implications for Pharmacoepidemiologic Studies and Pharmacy Practice in Elderly Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Polinski, Jennifer M.; Schneeweiss, Sebastian; Levin, Raisa; Shrank, William H.

2009-01-01

Background In the elderly (those aged ≥65 years), retail pharmacy claims are used to study drug use among the uninsured after drug policy changes, to prevent drug drug interactions and duplication of therapy, and to guide medication therapy management. Claims include only prescriptions filled at one pharmacy location or within one pharmacy chain and do not include prescriptions filled at outside pharmacies, potentially limiting research accuracy and pharmacy-based safety interventions. Objectives The aims of this study were to assess elderly patients’ pharmacy loyalty and to identify predictors of using multiple pharmacies. Methods Patients enrolled in the Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly pharmacy benefit program with corresponding Medicare claims in the state of Pennsylvania comprised the study cohort. Among patients with pharmacy claims from all pharmacies used in 2004–2005, a primary pharmacy was defined as the pharmacy where >50% of a patient’s prescriptions were filled. The number of pharmacies/chains used and prescriptions filled in 2005 was calculated. Predictors of using multiple pharmacies in 2005 were age, gender, race, urban residency, comorbidities, number of unique medications used, and number of prescriptions, which were all assessed in 2004. Results In total, pharmacy claims data from 182,235 patients (147,718 [81.1%] women; mean [SD] age 78.8 [7.1] years; 168,175 white; 76,580 residing in an urban zip code area) were included. In 2005, patients filled an average of 59.3 prescriptions, with 57.0 (96.1%) prescriptions having been filled at the primary pharmacy. Compared with patients who used <5 unique medications in 2004, patients who used 6 to 9 unique medications had 1.39 times (95% CI, 1.34–1.44), and patients who used 15 unique medications had 2.68 times (95% CI, 2.55–2.82) greater likelihood of using multiple pharmacies in 2005. Patients aged ≥85 years were 1.07 times (95% CI, 1.03–1.11) as likely to use

A global picture of pharmacy technician and other pharmacy support workforce cadres.

Science.gov (United States)

Koehler, Tamara; Brown, Andrew

Understanding how pharmacy technicians and other pharmacy support workforce cadres assist pharmacists in the healthcare system will facilitate developing health systems with the ability to achieve universal health coverage as it is defined in different country contexts. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the present global variety in the technician and other pharmacy support workforce cadres considering; their scope, roles, supervision, education and legal framework. A structured online survey instrument was administered globally using the Survey Monkey platform, designed to address the following topic areas: roles, responsibilities, supervision, education and legislation. The survey was circulated to International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) member organisations and a variety of global list serves where pharmaceutical services are discussed. 193 entries from 67 countries and territories were included in the final analysis revealing a vast global variety with respect to the pharmacy support workforce. From no pharmacy technicians or other pharmacy support workforce cadres in Japan, through a variety of cadre interactions with pharmacists, to the autonomous practice of pharmacy support workforce cadres in Malawi. From strictly supervised practice with a focus on supply, through autonomous practice for a variety of responsibilities, to independent practice. From complete supervision for all tasks, through geographical varied supervision, to independent practice. From on the job training, through certificate level vocational courses, to 3-4 year diploma programs. From well-regulated and registered, through part regulation with weak implementation, to completely non-regulated contexts. This paper documents wide differences in supervision requirements, education systems and supportive legislation for pharmacy support workforce cadres globally. A more detailed understanding of specific country practice settings is required if the use of pharmacy

Monitoring and use of antimycotic (micafungin for systemic use provided by the pharmacy of Marsala Hospital, Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Venturella

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Micafungin is an antimycotic drug and represents an important addition to the available therapies for the treatment of systemic fungal infections. Micafungin is used: in the treatment of invasive candidiasis, oesophageal and prophylaxis of Candida infections. It inhibits, in a non-competitive way, the synthesis of 1,3-β-D-glucan, a component of fungal cell wall and is rapidly distributed into the tissues. It has a high-rate respectful bond with plasma protein, which is independent from the concentration of the drug. It is metabolized through the liver, being not subject to intense metabolic transformations until the excretion. There is no evidence of systemic accumulation after repeated use. The steady-state is reached in 4-5 days. Medical records examined at the pharmacy of Marsala Hospital highlight that, from 01/06/2014 to 01/08/2014, in this hospital 12 vials were used by the hospitalized patients in the Department of Intensive Care: 8 patients between 75 and 83 years old had a body weight (BW higher than 40 kg; 3 patients between 40 and 60 years of age had a BW higher than 40 kg, and one 17 year-old patient had a BW of 40 kg. Two patients needed a dose increase, while for the other 10 patients the first dose resulted sufficient. Mycamine® was used for the treatment of hypovolemic post-operative shock. The most recorded adverse reactions were anemia, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, phlebitis, nausea, liver problems. Given the different weight of the subjects, the dosage was different.

Development of MY-DRG casemix pharmacy service weights in UKM Medical Centre in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali Jadoo, Saad Ahmed; Aljunid, Syed Mohamed; Nur, Amrizal Muhammad; Ahmed, Zafar; Van Dort, Dexter

2015-02-10

The service weight is among several issues and challenges in the implementation of case-mix in developing countries, including Malaysia. The aim of this study is to develop the Malaysian Diagnosis Related Group (MY-DRG) case-mix pharmacy service weight in University Kebangsaan Malaysia-Medical Center (UKMMC) by identifying the actual cost of pharmacy services by MY-DRG groups in the hospital. All patients admitted to UKMMC in 2011 were recruited in this study. Combination of Step-down and Bottom-up costing methodology has been used in this study. The drug and supplies cost; the cost of staff; the overhead cost; and the equipment cost make up the four components of pharmacy. Direct costing approach has been employed to calculate Drugs and supplies cost from electronic-prescription system; and the inpatient pharmacy staff cost, while the overhead cost and the pharmacy equipments cost have been calculated indirectly from MY-DRG data base. The total pharmacy cost was obtained by summing the four pharmacy components' cost per each MY-DRG. The Pharmacy service weight of a MY-DRG was estimated by dividing the average pharmacy cost of the investigated MY-DRG on the average of a specified MY-DRG (which usually the average pharmacy cost of all MY-DRGs). Drugs and supplies were the main component (86.0%) of pharmacy cost compared o overhead cost centers (7.3%), staff cost (6.5%) and pharmacy equipments (0.2%) respectively. Out of 789 inpatient MY-DRGs case-mix groups, 450 (57.0%) groups were utilized by the UKMMC. Pharmacy service weight has been calculated for each of these 450 MY-DRGs groups. MY-DRG case-mix group of Lymphoma & Chronic Leukemia group with severity level three (C-4-11-III) has the highest pharmacy service weight of 11.8 equivalents to average pharmacy cost of RM 5383.90. While the MY-DRG case-mix group for Circumcision with severity level one (V-1-15-I) has the lowest pharmacy service weight of 0.04 equivalents to average pharmacy cost of RM 17.83. A mixed

76 FR 51415 - Ideal Pharmacy Care, Inc., D/B/A Esplanade Pharmacy; Revocation of Registration

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-18

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration Ideal Pharmacy Care, Inc., D/B/A Esplanade Pharmacy; Revocation of Registration On November 12, 2010, I, the then Deputy Administrator of the Drug... Pharmacy Care, Inc., d/b/a Esplanade Pharmacy (Registrant), of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Show Cause Order...

[Problems encountered by hospital pharmacists with information systems: Analysis of exchanges within social networks].

Science.gov (United States)

Charpiat, B; Mille, F; Fombeur, P; Machon, J; Zawadzki, E; Bobay-Madic, A

2018-05-21

The development of information systems in French hospitals is mandatory. The aim of this work was to analyze the content of exchanges carried out within social networks, dealing with problems encountered with hospital pharmacies information systems. Messages exchanged via the mailing list of the Association pour le Digital et l'Information en Pharmacie and abstracts of communications presented at hospital pharmacists trade union congresses were analyzed. Those referring to information systems used in hospital pharmacies were selected. From March 2015 to June 2016, 122 e-mails sent by 80 pharmacists concerned information systems. From 2002 to 2016, 45 abstracts dealt with this topic. Problems most often addressed in these 167 documents were "parameterization and/or functionalities" (n=116), interfaces and complexity of the hospital information systems (n=52), relationship with health information technologies vendors and poor reactivity (n=32), additional workload (n=32), ergonomics (n=30), insufficient user training (n=22). These problems are interdependent, lead to errors and in order to mitigate their consequences, they compel pharmacy professionals to divert a significant amount of working hours to the detriment of pharmaceutical care and dispensing and preparing drugs. Hospital pharmacists are faced with many problems of insecurity and inefficiency generated by information systems. Researches are warranted to determine their cost, specify their deleterious effects on care and identify the safest information systems. Copyright © 2018 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Management of children’s acute diarrhea by community pharmacies in five towns of Ethiopia: simulated client case study

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Abegaz TM

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Tadesse Melaku Abegaz,1 Sewunet Admasu Belachew,1 Tamrat Befekadu Abebe,1 Begashaw Melaku Gebresilassie,1 Fitsum Sebsibe Teni,2 Habtamu Gebremeskel Woldie3 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Gondar University, Gondar, 2Department of Pharmaceutics and Social Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, 3Department of Hospital Pharmacy, Debremarkos Teaching and Referral Hospital, Debremarkos, Ethiopia Background: Acute diarrhea is the major cause of child morbidity and mortality in low-income nations. It is the second most common cause of death among children <5 years of age globally. The indispensable role of community pharmacists is clearly observed in the prevention and treatment of diarrhea. However, there is a paucity of data on how community pharmacies manage acute childhood diarrhea cases in Ethiopia. This study aimed to evaluate the experience of community pharmacies in the management of acute diarrhea in northern Ethiopia.Methods: A simulated case-based cross-sectional study was conducted in community pharmacies from five towns of northern Ethiopia between April 2015 and September 2015. Convenience sampling technique was used to select sample towns. A structured questionnaire was organized to collect the information. Descriptive statistics, chi-squared test, one-way analysis of variance, and binary logistic regression were performed to describe, infer, and test for association between the variables. SPSS for Windows Version 21 was used to enter and analyze the data. A 95% confidence interval and P-value of 0.05 were set to test the level of significance.Results: Approximately 113 community pharmacies were visited to collect the required data from five towns. Majority (78, 69% of them were located away from hospitals and health care areas. Nine components of history taking were presented for dispensers. Regarding the patient history, “age” was frequently taken, (90

The effect of an active on-ward participation of hospital pharmacists in Internal Medicine teams on preventable Adverse Drug Events in elderly inpatients: protocol of the WINGS study (Ward-oriented pharmacy in newly admitted geriatric seniors)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klopotowska, J.E.; Wierenga, P.C.; de Rooij, S.E.; Stuijt, C.C.; Arisz, L.; Kuks, P.F.; Dijkgraaf, M.G.; Lie-A-Huen, L.; Smorenburg, S.M.

2011-01-01

The potential of clinical interventions, aiming at reduction of preventable Adverse Drug Events (preventable ADEs) during hospital stay, have been studied extensively. Clinical Pharmacy is a well-established and effective service, usually consisting of full-time on-ward participation of clinical

Opportunities and challenges in social pharmacy and pharmacy practice research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Almarsdóttir, Anna Birna; Kaae, Susanne; Traulsen, Janine M

2014-01-01

Pharmacy practice and social pharmacy are two important research areas within pharmaceutical and health sciences. As the disciplines have undergone and are still undergoing changes, it is useful to reflect on the current state of their research as the basis for discussing further development....... The two areas are currently beset by a lack of consensus and charged all too often with evaluating narrowly focused pharmacy services. With the added challenge of diminished funding for research and the pressures to publish results, these fields have to accommodate a much broader research framework than...

The merits of a robot: a Dutch experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Mobach, Mark P

2006-01-01

To determine the merits of a robot at the community pharmacy in a quasi-experiment. The applied methods for data-collection were barcode-time measurements, direct observations, time-interval studies, and tally at a Dutch community pharmacy. The topics consisted of workload, waiting times, congestion, slack, general work, counter work, and work at the consultation room. The topics were studied in pre-test and post-test stages, each stage during six weeks. By using these topics and some additional data from the pharmacy, the economics of the robot were also assessed. The workload decreased with 15 prescriptions per person per day. The waiting times decreased with one minute and 18 seconds per dispensing process, reducing the wait until counter contact. The day congestion decreased with one hour 27 minutes and 36 seconds, and the day slack increased with 28 minutes. The analysis of the general work showed no appreciable difference in the bulk of the care-related activities and the other activities. However, some work was re-shuffled: 7% increase at counter work and 7% decrease at logistics. Moreover, statistically significant increases were observed at counter work (5%) and robot work (4%), and significant decreases at telephone (3%) and filling work in presence of the patient (4%). The counter tally study showed a rise in care-related activities with 8%. Moreover, it also illuminated a statistically significant decrease at no information (11%) and an increase at only social (2%). The consultation room was never used during the study. The pharmacy economics of the robot showed that the robot had high estimated costs for purchase, depreciation, and maintenance: EUR 187,024 in the first year. Moreover, the robot had positive impact on waiting times, congestion, staffing, logistics, and care-related work, which was estimated on EUR 91,198 in the first year. The estimated payback time of the robot was three years. An introduction of the robot may indeed have the often

Community pharmacy incident reporting: a new tool for community pharmacies in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Certina; Hung, Patricia; Lee, Gary; Kadija, Medina

2010-01-01

Incident reporting offers insight into a variety of intricate processes in healthcare. However, it has been found that medication incidents are under reported in the community pharmacy setting. The Community Pharmacy Incident Reporting (CPhIR) program was created by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada specifically for incident reporting in the community pharmacy setting in Canada. The initial development of key elements for CPhIR included several focus-group teleconferences with pharmacists from Ontario and Nova Scotia. Throughout the development and release of the CPhIR pilot, feedback from pharmacists and pharmacy technicians was constantly incorporated into the reporting program. After several rounds of iterative feedback, testing and consultation with community pharmacy practitioners, a final version of the CPhIR program, together with self-directed training materials, is now ready to launch. The CPhIR program provides users with a one-stop platform to report and record medication incidents, export data for customized analysis and view comparisons of individual and aggregate data. These unique functions allow for a detailed analysis of underlying contributing factors in medication incidents. A communication piece for pharmacies to share their experiences is in the process of development. To ensure the success of the CPhIR program, a patient safety culture must be established. By gaining a deeper understanding of possible causes of medication incidents, community pharmacies can implement system-based strategies for quality improvement and to prevent potential errors from occurring again in the future. This article highlights key features of the CPhIR program that will assist community pharmacies to improve their drug distribution system and, ultimately, enhance patient safety.

DutchParl: A corpus of parliamentary documents in Dutch

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marx, M.; Schuth, A.

2010-01-01

A corpus called DutchParl is created which aims to contain all digitally available parliamentary documents written in the Dutch language. The first version of DutchParl contains documents from the parliaments of The Netherlands, Flanders and Belgium. The corpus is divided along three dimensions: per

Risk assessment of look‒alike, sound‒alike (LASA medication errors in an Italian hospital pharmacy: A model based on the ‘Failure Mode and Effect Analysis’

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Nestor Ciociano

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Look alike/sound alike (LASA drugs errors can take place in hospital wards, and they can place patients at risk for adverse events and death. This study was aimed to realize a risk assessment model for preventing LASA drugs distribution errors by the ‘S.Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona’ hospital pharmacy, in Salerno, Italy. Methods: We used the ‘Failure Mode and Effect Analysis’ (FMEA technique in combination with the Recommendations released by the Italian Ministry of Health in 2010. Our analysis led to the identification of the potential failure modes, together with their causes and effects, using the risk priority number (RPN scoring system. A paired T test was used to compare means of RPN 1 and RPN 2, respectively before and after their application, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of corrective actions. Results: In total, 6 phases, 16 steps, and 13 different potential failure modes were identified. The highest ranked failure modes, with an RPN score of 48 pertained to wrong drug dosage selection. Some of the critical failure modes in sample processing (phases n.1, 2, 3, and 4 were improved by 69.7% in the RPN by focusing on automated technology systems. T test showed that the difference between RPN 1 and RPN 2 was statistically significant for all corrective measures provided by our action plan. Conclusions: Our study showed a lot of potential failure modes related to LASA drugs distribution system provided by the hospital pharmacy. Information technology solutions can be effective to reduce this risk, but the potential for error will remain unless these systems are carefully implemented.

Pharmaceutical policy and the pharmacy profession

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Traulsen, Janine Marie; Almarsdóttir, Anna Birna

2005-01-01

In this article, the authors look at the relationship between pharmaceutical policy and the pharmacy profession with focus on pharmacy practice and pharmacists in the health care sector. Pharmaceutical policy encompasses three major policy inputs: public health policy, health care policy and indu......In this article, the authors look at the relationship between pharmaceutical policy and the pharmacy profession with focus on pharmacy practice and pharmacists in the health care sector. Pharmaceutical policy encompasses three major policy inputs: public health policy, health care policy...... and industrial policy. In order to analyse and understand pharmaceutical policy, it is important to know how policymakers view pharmacy and pharmacists. The authors look at the issues that arise when policy regulates pharmacy as a business, and what this means for the profession. The perspective of pharmacy...... in managerialism, and how the division of labour with other health professionals such as physicians and pharmacy assistants is affecting the pharmacy profession's position in the labour market. Next the authors look at ways in which the pharmacy profession has affected policy. Pharmacists have been instrumental...

Exploring the intentions of pharmacy students towards pharmacy ownership by using theory of planned behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Muhammad Umair; Ahmad, Akram; Fayyaz, Muhammad; Ashraf, Nida; Bhagavathula, Akshaya

2016-03-22

The objective of this study was to assess the association of the constructs of theory of planned behaviour (behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs, control beliefs) and demographic variables with the intentions of pharmacy students to become pharmacy owner. A cross sectional study was conducted between October and November, 2014, using a pretested, self-administered questionnaire delivered to a sample of 350 pharmacy students at a private university of Pakistan. Behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs and control beliefs were assessed on four point Likert scale of agreement. The scores were summed and dichotomized based on an arbitrary 50% cut-off score to assess positive and negative beliefs. Binary logistic regression was used to analyse the data. A total of 313 participants (89.4%) responded to the questionnaire. Participants' behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs and control beliefs were negative towards pharmacy ownership with the mean scores of 13.90 ± 0.41 (score range: 6-24), 9.66 ± 0.49 (score range: 4-16) and 16.88 ± 0.40 (score range: 7-28) respectively. Professional year and family business were significantly associated with intentions of pharmacy students to own a pharmacy (p entrepreneurship course in pharmacy school may transform the beliefs of pharmacy students towards pharmacy ownership.

The use of nationwide on-line prescription records improves the drug history in hospitalized patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glintborg, Bente; Poulsen, Henrik E; Dalhoff, Kim P

2008-01-01

What is already known about this subject: Structured medication interviews improve the medication history upon hospitalization. Pharmacy records are valid lists of the prescribed medications available to individual patients. In Denmark, treating doctors now have access to their patients' pharmacy...... records through a real-time online electronic database What this study adds: Omission errors are frequent among hospitalized patients despite structured drug interviews and home visits. Pharmacy records may be used to minimize patients' recall bias and improve the medication lists....

Hospital evacuation : Exercise versus reality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haverkort, J. J Mark; Biesheuvel, Tessa H.; Bloemers, Frank W.; de Jong, MB; Hietbrink, Falco; van Spengler, Lukas L.; Leenen, Luke P H

Introduction: The Dutch Major Incident Hospital (MIH) is a standby, highly prepared, 200-bed hospital strictly reserved to provide immediate, large-scale, and emergency care for victims of disasters and major incidents. It has long-standing experience training for various major incident scenarios,

Classification of medication incidents associated with information technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Ka-Chun; van der Veen, Willem; Bouvy, Marcel L; Wensing, Michel; van den Bemt, Patricia M L A; de Smet, Peter A G M

2014-02-01

Information technology (IT) plays a pivotal role in improving patient safety, but can also cause new problems for patient safety. This study analyzed the nature and consequences of a large sample of IT-related medication incidents, as reported by healthcare professionals in community pharmacies and hospitals. The medication incidents submitted to the Dutch central medication incidents registration (CMR) reporting system were analyzed from the perspective of the healthcare professional with the Magrabi classification. During classification new terms were added, if necessary. The principal source of the IT-related problem, nature of error. Additional measures: consequences of incidents, IT systems, phases of the medication process. From March 2010 to February 2011 the CMR received 4161 incidents: 1643 (39.5%) from community pharmacies and 2518 (60.5%) from hospitals. Eventually one of six incidents (16.1%, n=668) were related to IT; in community pharmacies more incidents (21.5%, n=351) were related to IT than in hospitals (12.6%, n=317). In community pharmacies 41.0% (n=150) of the incidents were about choosing the wrong medicine. Most of the erroneous exchanges were associated with confusion of medicine names and poor design of screens. In hospitals 55.3% (n=187) of incidents concerned human-machine interaction-related input during the use of computerized prescriber order entry. These use problems were also a major problem in pharmacy information systems outside the hospital. A large sample of incidents shows that many of the incidents are related to IT, both in community pharmacies and hospitals. The interaction between human and machine plays a pivotal role in IT incidents in both settings.

Dutch Lung Surgery Audit: A National Audit Comprising Lung and Thoracic Surgery Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Berge, Martijn Ten; Beck, Naomi; Heineman, David Jonathan; Damhuis, Ronald; Steup, Willem Hans; van Huijstee, Pieter Jan; Eerenberg, Jan Peter; Veen, Eelco; Maat, Alexander; Versteegh, Michel; van Brakel, Thomas; Schreurs, Wilhemina Hendrika; Wouters, Michel Wilhelmus

2018-04-21

The nationwide Dutch Lung Surgery Audit (DLSA) started in 2012 to monitor and evaluate the quality of lung surgery in the Netherlands as an improvement tool. This outline describes the establishment, structure and organization of the audit by the Dutch Society of Lung Surgeons (NVvL) and the Dutch Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons (NVT), in collaboration with the Dutch Institute for Clinical Auditing (DICA). In addition, first four-year results are presented. The NVvL and NVT initiated a web-based registration including weekly updated online feedback for participating hospitals. Data verification by external data managers is performed on regular basis. The audit is incorporated in national quality improvement programs and participation in the DLSA is mandatory by health insurance organizations and the National Healthcare Inspectorate. Between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2015, all hospitals performing lung surgery participated and a total of 19,557 patients were registered from which almost half comprised lung cancer patients. Nationwide the guideline adherence increased over the years and 96.5% of lung cancer patients were discussed in preoperative multidisciplinary teams. Overall postoperative complications and mortality after non-small cell lung cancer surgery were 15.5% and 2.0%, respectively. The audit provides reliable benchmarked information for caregivers and hospital management with potential to start local, regional or national improvement initiatives. Currently, the audit is further completed with data from non-surgical lung cancer patients including treatment data from pulmonary oncologists and radiation oncologists. This will ultimately provide a comprehensive overview of lung cancer treatment in The Netherlands. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Development and validation of Dutch version of Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric in hospital practice: An instrument design study.

Science.gov (United States)

Vreugdenhil, Jettie; Spek, Bea

2018-03-01

Clinical reasoning in patient care is a skill that cannot be observed directly. So far, no reliable, valid instrument exists for the assessment of nursing students' clinical reasoning skills in hospital practice. Lasater's clinical judgment rubric (LCJR), based on Tanner's model "Thinking like a nurse" has been tested, mainly in academic simulation settings. The aim is to develop a Dutch version of the LCJR (D-LCJR) and to test its psychometric properties when used in a hospital traineeship context. A mixed-model approach was used to develop and to validate the instrument. Ten dedicated educational units in a university hospital. A well-mixed group of 52 nursing students, nurse coaches and nurse educators. A Delphi panel developed the D-LCJR. Students' clinical reasoning skills were assessed "live" by nurse coaches, nurse educators and students who rated themselves. The psychometric properties tested during the assessment process are reliability, reproducibility, content validity and construct validity by testing two hypothesis: 1) a positive correlation between assessed and self-reported sum scores (convergent validity) and 2) a linear relation between experience and sum score (clinical validity). The obtained D-LCJR was found to be internally consistent, Cronbach's alpha 0.93. The rubric is also reproducible with intraclass correlations between 0.69 and 0.78. Experts judged it to be content valid. The two hypothesis were both tested significant, supporting evidence for construct validity. The translated and modified LCJR, is a promising tool for the evaluation of nursing students' development in clinical reasoning in hospital traineeships, by students, nurse coaches and nurse educators. More evidence on construct validity is necessary, in particular for students at the end of their hospital traineeship. Based on our research, the D-LCJR applied in hospital traineeships is a usable and reliable tool. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Catch-22 of Pharmacy Practice in Pakistan’s Pharmacy Education

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Atta Abbas

2014-07-01

Full Text Available New developments in the pharmacy education structure in Pakistan led to the formation of a separate department grouping high specialized services/subjects. However, inadequate planning has exposed a vacuity, as the educational authorities failed to develop a workforce before creating the specialized department. As a result, this vacuum is on the verge of being impinged by pharmacy professionals specialized in entirely different domains which would be detrimental to the future prospects of the development of pharmacy practice in Pakistan.

Opening A New Independent Pharmacy 101

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Azam Elabed

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Opening an independent pharmacy is a process that involves multiple components. The rationale of this project is to discuss different issues that must be investigated prior to opening a new independency pharmacy. This includes the location, structure of the corporation, start-up cost, picking a wholesaler, fulfilling state board requirements and Philadelphia requirements, having a valid license, making professional relationships, and knowing basic marketing research. Methods used include using the knowledge and expertise from an independent pharmacy owner, visiting pharmacies, and interviewing neighbors for basic marketing research. Many aspects of opening an independent pharmacy differ significantly from a retail pharmacy, as there are various issues within the pharmacy and outside the pharmacy that must be extensively researched prior to opening in order to be successful.   Type: Student Project

Utilization of market research in managing hospital pharmacy resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, L; McNamara, E J

1984-10-01

A market research survey of staff physicians and nurses was completed to obtain information on customer preference to be used in making planning and development decisions about the allocation of the pharmacy department's resources. Survey questionnaires were mailed to representative samples of each professional group and included the optimum mix of open-ended and closed-ended questions that would result in the highest response rate. The survey responses identified differences in wants and needs between the nurses and physicians that demonstrate the value of market research. Data obtained from the survey are being used by a staff advisory committee and management to develop departmental goals and objectives that will reduce costs and increase profit margins under the ever-increasing restrictions of prospective reimbursement.

Promoting weight management services in community pharmacy: perspectives of the pharmacy team in Scotland.

Science.gov (United States)

Weidmann, Anita Elaine; MacLure, Katie; Marshall, Sarah; Gray, Gwen; Stewart, Derek

2015-08-01

Obesity has reached pandemic levels with more than 1.4 billion adults affected worldwide. While there is a need to systematically develop and evaluate community pharmacy based models of weight management, it is imperative to describe and understand the perspectives of pharmacy staff. In the UK, trained and accredited community pharmacy medicines counter assistants (MCAs) are commonly the front line staff involved in patient consultations and sale of over-the-counter medicines. To explore the beliefs and experiences of pharmacists and MCAs in the North-East of Scotland on community pharmacy weight management. All 135 community pharmacies in the North-East of Scotland. A qualitative approach of semi-structured telephone interviews with 31 pharmacists and 20 MCAs in the North-East of Scotland. The semi-structured interview schedule was developed with reference to key domains describing professional practice (i.e. awareness and knowledge, skills, practicalities, motivation, acceptance and beliefs) and contextualised with policy documents and published research on community pharmacy based weight management. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Pharmacists' and MCAs' beliefs and experiences with delivering weight management services in community pharmacy. There were mixed responses from pharmacists and MCAs around pharmacy based weight management services from positive views of providing the service in community pharmacy to those more reticent who would always favour patients visiting their physician. While all described similar services e.g. measurement of weight, healthy eating advice, supply of products, they acknowledged that support was often opportunistic at the request of customers, with little integration of other providers. Roles described varied from pharmacist only functions to any staff member. While pharmacists generally felt comfortable and confident, MCAs gave more diverse responses. Both Pharmacist and MCAs highlighted

Quality of pharmacy-specific Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) assignment in pharmacy journals indexed in MEDLINE.

Science.gov (United States)

Minguet, Fernando; Salgado, Teresa M; van den Boogerd, Lucienne; Fernandez-Llimos, Fernando

2015-01-01

The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is the National Library of Medicine (NLM) controlled vocabulary for indexing articles. Inaccuracies in the MeSH thesaurus have been reported for several areas including pharmacy. To assess the quality of pharmacy-specific MeSH assignment to articles indexed in pharmacy journals. The 10 journals containing the highest number of articles published in 2012 indexed under the MeSH 'Pharmacists' were identified. All articles published over a 5-year period (2008-2012) in the 10 previously selected journals were retrieved from PubMed. MeSH terms used to index these articles were extracted and pharmacy-specific MeSH terms were identified. The frequency of use of pharmacy-specific MeSH terms was calculated across journals. A total of 6989 articles were retrieved from the 10 pharmacy journals, of which 328 (4.7%) were articles not fully indexed and therefore did not contain any MeSH terms assigned. Among the 6661 articles fully indexed, the mean number of MeSH terms was 10.1 (SD = 4.0), being 1.0 (SD = 1.3) considered as Major MeSH. Both values significantly varied across journals. The mean number of pharmacy-specific MeSH terms per article was 0.9 (SD = 1.2). A total of 3490 (52.4%) of the 6661 articles were indexed in pharmacy journals without a single pharmacy-specific MeSH. Of the total 67193 MeSH terms assigned to articles, on average 10.5% (SD = 13.9) were pharmacy-specific MeSH. A statistically significant different pattern of pharmacy-specific MeSH assignment was identified across journals (Kruskal-Wallis P journals can be improved to further enhance evidence gathering in pharmacy. Over half of the articles published in the top-10 journals publishing pharmacy literature were indexed without a single pharmacy-specific MeSH. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Self-medication with antibiotics in the Republic of Srpska community pharmacies: pharmacy staff behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Marković-Peković, Vanda; Grubiša, Nataša

2012-10-01

Self-medication with antibiotics adds to the global risk of increased spread of bacterial resistance. Attitudes and behavior of health professionals also may reinforce self-medication with antibiotics. The aim of this study was to determine whether self-medication with antibiotics is possible in our community pharmacies and to what extent, and to evaluate the behavior and service of pharmacy health professionals regarding non-prescription antibiotic dispensation. An observational, cross-section study was conducted, and pseudo-patient methodology was used to establish the kind of professional service provided in case of patient's explicit demand to buy an antibiotic for treatment of self-diagnosed upper respiratory tract infection. Of the total 318 community pharmacies, 131 (41%) were visited and included in the study. Non-prescription antibiotics were dispensed in 76 (58%) pharmacies. Counseling and symptomatic therapy was offered in 88 (67%) pharmacies. In 25% of pharmacies, no symptomatic therapy was offered; instead, only an antibiotic was sold. Amoxicillin was sold in 85% of cases and, mostly, the one of 1.30 Euro per pack. Both oral and written use instructions were given in 78% cases, whereas none was given in 3% of cases. Self-medication with antibiotics occurs in our community pharmacies, despite being illegal. Pharmacy staff behavior can be a factor that puts patients at risk for self-medication with antibiotics. Community pharmacies are failing their tasks in enhancing rational use of antibiotics. Such a practice may be a consequence of weak enforcement and control over the legislation and professional standards. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fitness for purpose of pharmacy technician education and training: The case of Great Britain.

Science.gov (United States)

Schafheutle, Ellen I; Jee, Samuel D; Willis, Sarah C

To enable pharmacists to become increasingly patient-centered, clinical professionals, they need to work with suitably trained and competent support staff; pharmacy technicians (PTs) may be the most appropriate to take on additional roles and responsibilities. However, clarity on PT roles, particularly in community pharmacy, is lacking, and pharmacists may be reluctant to delegate due to concerns over PTs' competence. This paper aims to explore the fitness for purpose of PT education and training in Great Britain. A mixed methods study was conducted in 2013-14. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with face-to-face and distance education providers; and different types of community (n = 16) and hospital pharmacy (n = 15) employers. Interviews explored views on education delivery, work-based learning and assessment, and quality assurance; they were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Interviews informed a questionnaire that was piloted and distributed (with reminders) to all 1457 recently registered PTs. Survey data were analyzed using SPSS v20, employing comparative statistics (Mann-Whitney U, Chi-Square). University ethics approval was obtained. Staff in 17 Further Education (FE) colleges, 6 distance providers, 16 community pharmacies and 15 NHS organizations were interviewed. Participants from different sectors, education providers and employing organizations questioned whether standards met current practice requirements. Certain topics were considered as redundant or over-taught whereas others, such as professionalism (attitudes, behaviors), were perceived to be lacking. Hospital interviewees felt that PT education and training lacked clinical detail, whereas many community interviewees felt that requirements for PTs were more advanced than required. Various comments suggested that PTs' roles in community pharmacy were not clearly defined or sufficiently different from other support staff. In order to define appropriate and up

Adopting an Advanced Community Pharmacy Practice Experiential Educational Model Across Colleges of Pharmacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L. Rodis

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To discuss the experience of sharing an experiential model of education and practice development between two colleges of pharmacy and to provide a framework to guide faculty in this type of collaboration. Case Study: The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy (OSU COP Partner for Promotion (PFP program was developed in response to the need for advancing practice in the community pharmacy setting. After successful implementation of this program, the PFP program design and materials were shared, adapted, and implemented at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy (Utah COP. Collaborating faculty developed a framework based on lessons learned through this experience which proposes key guiding strategies as considerations to address prior to embarking on sharing any aspect of an educational program or model between institutions. Each step of the framework is described and applied to the process followed by The OSU COP and Utah COP in sharing the PFP program. Additional considerations related to transfer of educational models are discussed. Results/Conclusion: Sharing the education model and materials associated with the PFP program between institutions has enhanced experiential opportunities for students and helped develop residency training sites in the community setting. In addition, the relationship between the two colleges has contributed to faculty development, as well as an increase in community pharmacy service development with community pharmacy partners at each institution. It is hoped this experience will help guide collaborations between other colleges of pharmacy to enhance education of future pharmacists while positively impacting pharmacy practice, teaching, and research by faculty.   Type: Case Study

Adopting an Advanced Community Pharmacy Practice Experiential Educational Model Across Colleges of Pharmacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L. Rodis, Pharm.D., BCPS

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To discuss the experience of sharing an experiential model of education and practice development between two colleges of pharmacy and to provide a framework to guide faculty in this type of collaboration.Case Study: The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy (OSU COP Partner for Promotion (PFP program was developed in response to the need for advancing practice in the community pharmacy setting. After successful implementation of this program, the PFP program design and materials were shared, adapted, and implemented at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy (Utah COP. Collaborating faculty developed a framework based on lessons learned through this experience which proposes key guiding strategies as considerations to address prior to embarking on sharing any aspect of an educational program or model between institutions. Each step of the framework is described and applied to the process followed by The OSU COP and Utah COP in sharing the PFP program. Additional considerations related to transfer of educational models are discussed.Results/Conclusion: Sharing the education model and materials associated with the PFP program between institutions has enhanced experiential opportunities for students and helped develop residency training sites in the community setting. In addition, the relationship between the two colleges has contributed to faculty development, as well as an increase in community pharmacy service development with community pharmacy partners at each institution. It is hoped this experience will help guide collaborations between other colleges of pharmacy to enhance education of future pharmacists while positively impacting pharmacy practice, teaching, and research by faculty.

Does a referral from home to hospital affect satisfaction with childbirth? A cross-national comparison

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Gouwy Anneleen

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Belgian and Dutch societies present many similarities but differ with regard to the organisation of maternity care. The Dutch way of giving birth is well known for its high percentage of home births and its low medical intervention rate. In contrast, home births in Belgium are uncommon and the medical model is taken for granted. Dutch and Belgian maternity care systems are compared with regard to the influence of being referred to specialist care during pregnancy or intrapartum while planning for a home birth. We expect that a referral will result in lower satisfaction with childbirth, especially in Belgium. Methods Two questionnaires were filled out by 605 women, one at 30 weeks of pregnancy and one within the first two weeks after childbirth, either at home or in a hospital. Of these, 563 questionnaires were usable for analysis. Women were invited to participate in the study by independent midwives and obstetricians during antenatal visits in 2004–2005. Satisfaction with childbirth was measured by the Mackey Satisfaction with Childbirth Rating Scale, which takes into account the multidimensional nature of the concept. Results Belgian women are more satisfied than Dutch women and home births are more satisfying than hospital births. Women who are referred to the hospital while planning for a home birth are less satisfied than women who planned to give birth in hospital and did. A referral has a greater negative impact on satisfaction for Dutch women. Conclusion There is no reason to believe Dutch women receive hospital care of lesser quality than Belgian women in case of a referral. Belgian and Dutch attach different meaning to being referred, resulting in a different evaluation of childbirth. In the Dutch maternity care system home births lead to higher satisfaction, but once a referral to the hospital is necessary satisfaction drops and ends up lower than satisfaction with hospital births that were planned in advance

The changing roles of pharmacists in hospital and community ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr Patrick O Erah

Available online at http://www.tjpr.freehosting.net. Editorial. The changing roles of pharmacists in hospital and community pharmacy practice in Nigeria. The profession and practice of pharmacy did not start in Nigeria as a well defined health care area of specialization as it is today. Rather, pharmaceutical training was borne.

Comparison of pharmacy students' perceived and actual knowledge using the Pharmacy Curricular Outcomes Assessment.

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Naughton, Cynthia A; Friesner, Daniel L

2012-05-10

To determine whether a correlation exists between third-year PharmD students' perceived pharmacy knowledge and actual pharmacy knowledge as assessed by the Pharmacy Curricular Outcomes Assessment (PCOA). In 2010 and 2011, the PCOA was administered in a low-stakes environment to third-year pharmacy students at North Dakota State University College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences (COPNAS). A survey instrument was also administered on which students self-assessed their perceived competencies in each of the core areas covered by the PCOA examination. The pharmacy students rated their competencies slightly higher than average. Performance on the PCOA was similar to but slightly higher than national averages. Correlations between each of the 4 content areas (basic biomedical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, social/administrative sciences, and clinical sciences) mirrored those reported nationally by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Student performance on the basic biomedical sciences portion of the PCOA was significantly correlated with students' perceived competencies in the biomedical sciences. No other correlations between actual and perceived competencies were significant. A lack of correlation exists between what students perceive they know and what they actually know in the areas of pharmaceutical science; social, behavioral, and administrative science; and clinical science. Therefore, additional standardized measures are needed to assess curricular effectiveness and provide comparisons among pharmacy programs.

Comparison of Pharmacy Students’ Perceived and Actual Knowledge Using the Pharmacy Curricular Outcomes Assessment

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Friesner, Daniel L.

2012-01-01

Objective. To determine whether a correlation exists between third-year PharmD students’ perceived pharmacy knowledge and actual pharmacy knowledge as assessed by the Pharmacy Curricular Outcomes Assessment (PCOA). Methods. In 2010 and 2011, the PCOA was administered in a low-stakes environment to third-year pharmacy students at North Dakota State University College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences (COPNAS). A survey instrument was also administered on which students self-assessed their perceived competencies in each of the core areas covered by the PCOA examination. Results. The pharmacy students rated their competencies slightly higher than average. Performance on the PCOA was similar to but slightly higher than national averages. Correlations between each of the 4 content areas (basic biomedical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, social/administrative sciences, and clinical sciences) mirrored those reported nationally by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Student performance on the basic biomedical sciences portion of the PCOA was significantly correlated with students’ perceived competencies in the biomedical sciences. No other correlations between actual and perceived competencies were significant. Conclusion. A lack of correlation exists between what students perceive they know and what they actually know in the areas of pharmaceutical science; social, behavioral, and administrative science; and clinical science. Therefore, additional standardized measures are needed to assess curricular effectiveness and provide comparisons among pharmacy programs. PMID:22611272

Pharmacy or PharmaNBIC: Thinking about 50 years ahead of pharmacy today

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Amir Azadi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The contemporary trends and concepts in pharmacy are widely affected by the emergence of Nano-, Bio- or Info- technologies (NBI as an attempt to develop different principles of medicine. This commentary is trying to make a think tank room for 50 years ahead of today’s pharmacy, where the ambience of pharmacy will be affected by such technologies together with cognition (NBIC to achieve intelligent, low adverse reaction and holistic action medicals.

Euthanasia: a "kit" sold in Belgian pharmacies.

Science.gov (United States)

2005-10-01

(1) In France, legislation adopted in 2005 recognises the right of dying patients to refuse further treatment, and the right of physicians to ease their suffering with treatments that, due to adverse effects, may shorten their life. Measures deliberately aimed at hastening death are forbidden. (2) In Belgium, medical euthanasia was decriminalised in 2002, and can now be carried out either in hospital or at home. Nearly 20 cases of euthanasia are reported per month in Belgium. (3) A Belgian pharmacy chain now markets a "euthanasia kit".

Migraine management in community pharmacies: practice patterns and knowledge of pharmacy personnel in Thailand.

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Saengcharoen, Woranuch; Lerkiatbundit, Sanguan

2013-10-01

To describe practice behavior and understanding among pharmacy personnel, both pharmacists and non-pharmacist staff, in the management of mild and moderate migraines. Migraine is recognized as a prevalent and chronic neurological disorder. In developing countries, such as Thailand, community pharmacies are a widely used source of health care for various illnesses including migraine. However, the quality of migraine management and knowledge among pharmacy personnel is unclear. Cross-sectional study. The sample comprised 142 randomly selected community pharmacies in a city in the south of Thailand. Simulated clients visited the pharmacies twice, at least 1 month apart, to ask for the treatment of mild and moderate migraines. After the encounters, question asking, drug dispensing, and advice giving by pharmacy staff were recorded. Subsequently, the providers in 135 pharmacies participated in the interview to evaluate their knowledge in migraine management. The majority of pharmacy personnel were less likely to ask questions in cases of mild migraine when compared with moderate attack (mean score [full score = 12] 1.8 ± 1.6 vs 2.6 ± 1.5, respectively, P knowledge on migraine management. Pharmacists had better knowledge on question asking (mild migraine 5.1 ± 2.1 vs 3.1 ± 1.3, respectively, P knowledge on advice giving but poorer drug dispensing in moderate migraine according to the guidelines, relative to non-pharmacists (20.5% vs 40.3%, P = .014). A large number of community pharmacists and non-pharmacist staff had inappropriate practice behavior and understanding. Continuing education and interventions are important to improve the practice and knowledge of pharmacy personnel, particularly the pharmacists. © 2013 American Headache Society.

Expectations and responsibilities regarding the sale of complementary medicines in pharmacies: perspectives of consumers and pharmacy support staff.

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Iyer, Priya; McFarland, Reanna; La Caze, Adam

2017-08-01

Most sales of complementary medicines within pharmacies are conducted by pharmacy support staff. The absence of rigorous evidence for the effectiveness of many complementary medicines raises a number of ethical questions regarding the sale of complementary medicines in pharmacies. Explore (1) what consumers expect from pharmacists/pharmacies with regard to the sale of complementary medicines, and (2) how pharmacy support staff perceive their responsibilities when selling complementary medicines. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of pharmacy support staff and consumers in pharmacies in Brisbane. Consumers were asked to describe their expectations when purchasing complementary medicines. Pharmacy support staff were asked to describe their responsibilities when selling complementary medicines. Interviews were conducted and analysed using the techniques developed within Grounded Theory. Thirty-three consumers were recruited from three pharmacies. Consumers described complementary medicine use as a personal health choice. Consumer expectations on the pharmacist included: select the right product for the right person, expert product knowledge and maintaining a wide range of good quality stock. Twenty pharmacy support staff were recruited from four pharmacies. Pharmacy support staff employed processes to ensure consumers receive the right product for the right person. Pharmacy support staff expressed a commitment to aiding consumers, but few evaluated the reliability of effectiveness claims regarding complementary medicines. Pharmacists need to respect the personal health choices of consumers while also putting procedures in place to ensure safe and appropriate use of complementary medicines. This includes providing appropriate support to pharmacy support staff. © 2016 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

A new experimental community pharmacy internship module for undergraduate pharmacy students in western Nepal: overview and reflections

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Sangita Timsina

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Community pharmacies in Nepal and other South Asian countries are in a mediocre state due to poor regulation and the fact that many pharmacies are run by people with insufficient training in dispensing. This has led to the inappropriate use of medicines. The problems due to poor regulation and the mediocre state of community pharmacies in South Asia encompass both academia and clinical practice. In this paper, a 2-week community pharmacy internship programme completed by 2 graduating pharmacy students of Pokhara University (a Nepalese public university at Sankalpa Pharmacy, Pokhara, Nepal is illustrated. During the internship, they were systematically trained on store management, pharmaceutical care, counselling skills, the use of medical devices, pharmaceutical business plans, medicine information sources, and adverse drug reaction reporting. An orientation, observations and hands-on training, case presentation, discussion, and feedback from 2 senior pharmacists were used as the training method. A proper community pharmacy internship format, good pharmacy practice standards, and a better work environment for pharmacists may improve the quality of community pharmacies.

A new experimental community pharmacy internship module for undergraduate pharmacy students in western Nepal: overview and reflections.

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Timsina, Sangita; K C, Bhuvan; Adhikari, Dristi; Alrasheedy, Alian A; Mohamed Ibrahim, Mohamed Izham; Kaundinnyayana, Atisammodavardhana

2017-01-01

Community pharmacies in Nepal and other South Asian countries are in a mediocre state due to poor regulation and the fact that many pharmacies are run by people with insufficient training in dispensing. This has led to the inappropriate use of medicines. The problems due to poor regulation and the mediocre state of community pharmacies in South Asia encompass both academia and clinical practice. In this paper, a 2-week community pharmacy internship programme completed by 2 graduating pharmacy students of Pokhara University (a Nepalese public university) at Sankalpa Pharmacy, Pokhara, Nepal is illustrated. During the internship, they were systematically trained on store management, pharmaceutical care, counselling skills, the use of medical devices, pharmaceutical business plans, medicine information sources, and adverse drug reaction reporting. An orientation, observations and hands-on training, case presentation, discussion, and feedback from 2 senior pharmacists were used as the training method. A proper community pharmacy internship format, good pharmacy practice standards, and a better work environment for pharmacists may improve the quality of community pharmacies.

[Clinical pharmacy practice education in master's course of Meijo University in affiliation with medical school].

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Matsuba, Kazuhisa

2009-08-01

In 2003, Meijo University has developed a new program to train students in master's degree in the field of clinical practice. This new curriculum has three big pillars of educational goal: Problem-Based Learning (PBL), communication skill and clinical pharmacy practice training. Before exposing students to clinical training, they must learn first how to solve various patients' problems through PBL and enhance their communication skill. To provide a clinical environment, education and training, the Faculty of Pharmacy cooperated with the School of Medicine of Fujita Health University. Master's students together with other members of the healthcare team observe patient's disease state and most especially monitor pharmacotherapy. At first, students will be trained for a month at the pharmacy division and experience one week-nursing job. Next, they will be trained at the clinical divisions such as General Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Respiratory Medicine, Hematology, Chemotherapy, Gastroenterological Surgery, Psychiatry, and Emergency Unit. Students rotate three-month training on four clinical divisions during one year. The head physicians of the medical department hold concurrent post as professors and share responsibility with the pharmacy faculty in training the students. To have its venue where students, faculty and physicians conduct their discussion on clinical cases, a pharmacy satellite seminar class room was set up at Fujita Health University hospital. Through this, pharmacy students and faculty had more opportunities to exchange knowledge on medicine and pharmacy. Master's students are expected to acquire professionalism, ethical knowledge and pharmaceutical care skills through the clinical pharmacy practice program.

Pharmacy ownership in Canada: implications for the authority and autonomy of community pharmacy managers.

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Dobson, Roy Thomas; Perepelkin, Jason

2011-12-01

In recent years, the number of independently owned pharmacies has declined even as the total number of pharmacies in Canada has increased. With increasing corporate ownership, there is concern that this trend will adversely affect the profession's ability to influence pharmacy practice and practice change. To examine the relationship between ownership type and community pharmacy managers in terms of professional and employer authority, managerial autonomy, decision making, and amount of control. This study consisted of a cross-sectional survey of community pharmacy managers in Canada by means of a self-administered postal questionnaire sent to a stratified sample of community pharmacies. Statistical analysis consisted of exploratory factor analysis with reliability testing on identified constructs. Frequencies, 1-way analyses of variance, Scheffe post hoc tests, and general linear modeling were used to determine significant differences among groups based on ownership type. In total, 646 of 1961 questionnaires from pharmacy managers were completed and returned (response rate 32.9%). Respondents rated their authority similarly across ownership types. Autonomy, decision-making capabilities, and control needed to carry out the professional role appear most limited among corporate respondents and, to a lesser extent, franchise managers. Pharmacy managers currently perceive a high level of authority; but with limited autonomy among corporate managers, it is unclear whether this authority is sufficient to prevent the subordination of both patient and professional interests to financial interests. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

21 CFR 1311.200 - Pharmacy responsibilities.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... chapter). The pharmacy must ensure that logical access controls in the pharmacy application are set so... pharmacy, the pharmacist must check its records to ensure that the electronic version was not received and... prescription had not dispensed the prescription, that pharmacy must mark the electronic version as void or...

77 FR 19967 - Safety Zone, Port of Dutch Harbor; Dutch Harbor, AK

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-03

...-AA00 Safety Zone, Port of Dutch Harbor; Dutch Harbor, AK AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes temporary safety zones in the Port of Dutch Harbor... Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and the adjacent territorial sea due to additional vessel traffic associated with...

An Innovative Approach to Pharmacy Law Education Utilizing a Mock Board of Pharmacy Meeting

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D. Todd Bess

2016-03-01

Full Text Available A thorough understanding of pharmacy law by students is important in the molding of future pharmacy practitioners, but a standardized template for the best way to educate students in this area has not been created. A mock Board of Pharmacy meeting was designed and incorporated into the Pharmacy Law course at the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy. Students acted as Board of Pharmacy members and utilized technology to decide outcomes of cases and requests addressed in a typical 2 day Tennessee Board of Pharmacy meeting. The actual responses to those cases, as well as similar cases and requests addressed over a 5 year period, were revealed to students after they made motions on mock scenarios. The mock Board of Pharmacy meeting engages the students in a way that lectures alone often fail to achieve with some initial evidence of successful student learning. Utilizing this teaching format as a law education tool challenges the status quo of pharmacy education and may serve as an impetus and catalyst for future innovations. Conflict of Interest We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received, employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents, and royalties. Dr. Wang’s time was partly supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG040146 and R01AG049696. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.   Type: Idea Paper

The 340B discount program: outpatient prescription dispensing patterns through contract pharmacies in 2012.

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Clark, Bobby L; Hou, John; Chou, Chia-Hung; Huang, Elbert S; Conti, Rena

2014-11-01

Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act provides qualified organizations serving vulnerable populations with deep discounts for some outpatient medications. A 2010 regulatory change widely expanded the 340B program's reach, allowing these organizations to contract with retail pharmacies to dispense medications for eligible patients. Little is known about which medications are dispensed by contract pharmacies under the expanded program. We provide the first comparison of 340B prescriptions and all prescriptions dispensed in contract pharmacies. We used 2012 data from Walgreens, the national leader in 340B contract pharmacies. Medications used to treat chronic conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol levels, asthma, and depression accounted for an overwhelming majority of all prescriptions dispensed at Walgreens as part of the 340B program. A higher percentage of antiretrovirals used to treat HIV/AIDS were dispensed through 340B prescriptions than through all prescriptions dispensed at Walgreens. The majority of 340B prescriptions dispensed at Walgreens originated at tuberculosis clinics, consolidated health centers, disproportionate-share hospitals, and Ryan White clinics. Our results suggest that 340B contract pharmacies dispense medications used to treat Americans' chronic disease burden and disproportionately dispense medications used by key vulnerable populations targeted by the program. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Consumers and Carers Versus Pharmacy Staff: Do Their Priorities for Australian Pharmacy Services Align?

Science.gov (United States)

McMillan, Sara S; Kelly, Fiona; Sav, Adem; Kendall, Elizabeth; King, Michelle A; Whitty, Jennifer A; Wheeler, Amanda J

2015-10-01

Health professionals, including pharmacists, are encouraged to meet the needs of their consumers in an efficient and patient-centred manner. Yet, there is limited information as to what consumers with chronic conditions need from pharmacy as a healthcare destination or how well pharmacy staff understand these needs. The aim of this study was to identify service user priorities for ideal community pharmacy services for consumers with chronic conditions and their carers, and compare these priorities with what pharmacy staff think these groups want. The nominal group technique was undertaken with pharmacist, pharmacy support staff, consumer and carer groups in four Australian regions between December 2012 and April 2013. Participant ideas and priorities for ideal services or care were identified, and contextual insight was obtained by thematic analysis. Twenty-one nominal group sessions are accepted, including 15 consumer and carer, four pharmacist and two pharmacy support staff groups. Pharmacy staff views generally aligned with consumer priorities, such as access, affordability, patient-centred care and continuity and coordinated care, yet diverged with respect to consumer information or education on medication and services. Fundamentally, consumers and carers sought streamlined access to information and medication, in a coordinated, patient-centred approach. Alleviating financial burden was a key consumer priority, with a call for the continuation and extension of medication subsidies. Overall, pharmacy staff had a reasonable understanding of what consumers would prioritise, but further emphasis on the importance, delivery, or both, of consumer information is needed. Greater consideration is needed from policy makers regarding the financial barriers to accessing medication for consumers with chronic conditions.

Availability and provision of misoprostol and other medicines for menstrual regulation among pharmacies in Bangladesh via mystery client survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Huda, Fauzia A; Ngo, Thoai D; Ahmed, Anisuddin; Alam, Anadil; Reichenbach, Laura

2014-02-01

To explore the availability and provision of misoprostol and other medicines for menstrual regulation (MR) among pharmacies in Bangladesh. Between March and November 2011, a cross-sectional study using mystery client visits was conducted among pharmacy workers in Dhaka and Gazipur Districts, Bangladesh. Mystery clients were trained to present 1 of 4 pre-developed situations to pharmacy workers to elicit information on the regimen, adverse effects, and complications of misoprostol use. Mystery clients visited 331 pharmacies. Among the 331 pharmacy workers, 45.8% offered the mystery clients misoprostol and/or other medicines for MR; 25.7% referred them to private clinics or hospitals. Only 7% recommended an effective regimen of misoprostol for MR; 65% suggested administering vaginal and oral misoprostol together. Overall, 72.4% did not provide any advice on complications; the remainder suggested visiting trained providers for complications. Counseling on excessive bleeding as a danger sign was provided by 46% of pharmacy workers. Most (94%) did not provide or refer for post-MR family planning. Pharmacy workers in urban Bangladesh are providing ineffective drugs and regimens for MR. A training package is needed to strengthen service delivery by providing accurate information, high-quality products, and referral mechanisms for women seeking MR through pharmacies. © 2013.

Are doctor of pharmacy curricula in developing countries adequate to train graduates to provide pharmaceutical care?

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Ramalingam Peraman

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD program is a new dimension of pharmacy education in developing countries. The PharmD graduates are expected to participate in patient health care by providing pharmaceutical care. The graduates should have enough necessary clinical knowledge, competitiveness and skills in community, hospital and clinical pharmacy related services. There is a need of curriculum that fit into the program outcome that helps to attain graduate competency. Programs in India, Pakistan, Iran and Nepal were reviewed based on the available literature. Even though it is evident that the PharmD curriculum in developing countries has made an attempt to provide patient-oriented approach for pharmacists, the existing curriculum, training and orientation have several pitfalls. It needs assessment, evaluation and improvement.

Pharmacy Education in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait

OpenAIRE

Al-Wazaify, Mayyada; Matowe, Lloyd; Albsoul-Younes, Abla; Al-Omran, Ola A.

2006-01-01

The practice of pharmacy, as well as pharmacy education, varies significantly throughout the world. In Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, the profession of pharmacy appears to be on the ascendance. This is demonstrated by an increase in the number of pharmacy schools and the number of pharmacy graduates from pharmacy programs. One of the reasons pharmacy is on the ascendance in these countries is government commitment to fund and support competitive, well-run pharmacy programs.

Overdependence on For-Profit Pharmacies: A Descriptive Survey of User Evaluation of Medicines Availability in Public Hospitals in Selected Nigerian States.

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Ushie, Boniface Ayanbekongshie; Ugal, David Betelwhobel; Ingwu, Justin Agorye

2016-01-01

Lower availability of medicines in Nigerian public health facilities-the most affordable option for the masses-undermines global health reforms to improve access to health for all, especially the chronically ill and poor. Thus, a sizeable proportion of healthcare users, irrespective of purchasing power, buy medicines at higher costs from for-profit pharmacies. We examined user evaluation of medicine availability in public facilities and how this influences their choice of where to buy medicines in selected states-Cross River, Enugu and Oyo-in Nigeria. We approached and interviewed 1711 healthcare users using a semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire as they exited for-profit pharmacies after purchasing medicines. This ensured that both clients who had presented at health facilities (private/public) and those who did not were included. Information was collected on why respondents could not buy medicines at the hospitals they attended, their views of medicine availability and whether their choice of where to buy medicines is influenced by non-availability. Respondents' mean age was 37.7±14.4 years; 52% were males, 59% were married, 82% earned ≥NGN18, 000 (US$57.19) per month, and 72% were not insured. Majority (66%) had prescriptions; of this, 70% were from public facilities. Eighteen percent of all respondents indicated that all their medicines were usually available at the public facilities, most (29%), some (44%) and not always available (10%). Reasons for using for-profit pharmacies included: health workers attitudes (43%), referral by providers (43%); inadequate money to purchase all prescribed drugs (42%) and cumbersome processes for obtaining medicines. Lower availability of medicines has serious implications for healthcare behavior, especially because of poverty. It is crucial for government to fulfill its mandate of equitable access to care for all by making medicines available and cheap through reviving and sustaining the drug revolving

Using the Consumer Experience with Pharmacy Services Survey as a quality metric for ambulatory care pharmacies: older adults' perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiyanbola, Olayinka O; Mott, David A; Croes, Kenneth D

2016-05-26

To describe older adults' perceptions of evaluating and comparing pharmacies based on the Consumer Experience with Pharmacy Services Survey (CEPSS), describe older adults' perceived importance of the CEPSS and its specific domains, and explore older adults' perceptions of the influence of specific CEPSS domains in choosing/switching pharmacies. Focus group methodology was combined with the administration of a questionnaire. The focus groups explored participants' perceived importance of the CEPSS and their perception of using the CEPSS to choose and/or switch pharmacies. Then, using the questionnaire, participants rated their perceived importance of each CEPSS domain in evaluating a pharmacy, and the likelihood of using CEPSS to switch pharmacies if their current pharmacy had low ratings. Descriptive and thematic analyses were done. 6 semistructured focus groups were conducted in a private meeting room in a Mid-Western state in the USA. 60 English-speaking adults who were at least 65 years, and had filled a prescription at a retail pharmacy within 90 days. During the focus groups, the older adults perceived the CEPSS to have advantages and disadvantages in evaluating and comparing pharmacies. Older adults thought the CEPSS was important in choosing the best pharmacies and avoiding the worst pharmacies. The perceived influence of the CEPSS in switching pharmacies varied depending on the older adult's personal experience or trust of other consumers' experience. Questionnaire results showed that participants perceived health/medication-focused communication as very important or extremely important (n=47, 82.5%) in evaluating pharmacies and would be extremely likely (n=21, 36.8%) to switch pharmacies if their pharmacy had low ratings in this domain. The older adults in this study are interested in using patient experiences as a quality metric for avoiding the worst pharmacies. Pharmacists' communication about health and medicines is perceived important and likely

Pharmacy collected medication histories in an observation unit

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Gabrielle L Procopio

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Clear processes to facilitate medication reconciliation in a hospital setting are still undefined. The observation unit allows for a high patient turnover rate, where obtaining accurate medication histories is critical. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the ability of pharmacists and student pharmacists to identify discrepancies in medication histories obtained at triage in observation patients. Methods: Pharmacists and student pharmacists obtained a medication history for each patient placed in observation status. Patients were excluded if they were unable to provide a medication history and family, caregiver, or community pharmacy was also unable to provide the history. A comparison was made between triage and pharmacy collected medication histories to identify discrepancies. Results: A total of 501 medications histories were collected, accounting for 3213 medication records. There were 1176 (37% matched medication records and 1467 discrepancies identified, including 808 (55% omissions, 296 (20.2% wrong frequency, 278 (19% wrong dose, 51 (3.5% discontinued, and 34 (2.3% wrong medication. There was an average of 2.9 discrepancies per patient profile. In all, 76 (15% of the profiles were matched. The median time to obtain a medication history was 4 min (range: 1–48 min. Conclusion: Pharmacy collected medication histories in an observation unit identify discrepancies that can be reconciled by the interdisciplinary team.

Images of Pharmacy in the Arts: The Humanities in Pharmacy Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Poirier, Suzanne; Mrtek, Robert G.

1985-01-01

An undergraduate professional elective course emphasizing the study of literary and fine arts works portraying pharmacy and pharmacists, developed to give pharmacy students a variety of experiences with role perceptions, is described. Students examine, discuss, and critique fiction, drama, music, the visual arts, and other creative works. (MSE)

A Pharmacy Computer System

OpenAIRE

Claudia CIULCA-VLADAIA; Călin MUNTEAN

2009-01-01

Objective: Describing a model of evaluation seen from a customer’s point of view for the current needed pharmacy computer system. Data Sources: literature research, ATTOFARM, WINFARM P.N.S., NETFARM, Info World - PHARMACY MANAGER and HIPOCRATE FARMACIE. Study Selection: Five Pharmacy Computer Systems were selected due to their high rates of implementing at a national level. We used the new criteria recommended by EUROREC Institute in EHR that modifies the model of data exchanges between the E...

Clinical and financial impact of pharmacy services in the intensive care unit: pharmacist and prescriber perceptions.

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MacLaren, Robert; Brett McQueen, R; Campbell, Jon

2013-04-01

To compare pharmacist and prescriber perceptions of the clinical and financial outcomes of pharmacy services in the intensive care unit (ICU). ICU pharmacists were invited to participate in the survey and were asked to invite two ICU prescriber colleagues to complete questionnaires. ICUs with clinical pharmacy services. The questionnaires were designed to solicit frequency, efficiency, and perceptions about the clinical and financial impact (on a 10-point scale) of pharmacy services including patient care (eight functions), education (three functions), administration (three functions), and scholarship (four functions). Basic services were defined as fundamental, and higher-level services were categorized as desirable or optimal. Respondents were asked to suggest possible sources of funding and reimbursement for ICU pharmacy services. Eighty packets containing one 26-item pharmacy questionnaire and two 16-item prescriber questionnaires were distributed to ICU pharmacists. Forty-one pharmacists (51%) and 46 prescribers (29%) returned questionnaires. Pharmacists had worked in the ICU for 8.3 ± 6.4 years and devoted 50.3 ± 18.7% of their efforts to clinical practice. Prescribers generally rated the impact of pharmacy services more favorably than pharmacists. Fundamental services were provided more frequently and were rated more positively than desirable or optimal services across both groups. The percent efficiencies of providing services without the pharmacist ranged between 40% and 65%. Both groups indicated that salary support for the pharmacist should come from hospital departments of pharmacy or critical care or colleges of pharmacy. Prescribers were more likely to consider other sources of funding for pharmacist salaries. Both groups supported reimbursement of clinical pharmacy services. Critical care pharmacy activities were associated with perceptions of beneficial clinical and financial outcomes. Prescribers valued most services more than pharmacists

Impact of pharmacy technician-centered medication reconciliation on optimization of antiretroviral therapy and opportunistic infection prophylaxis in hospitalized patients with HIV/AIDS.

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Siemianowski, Laura A; Sen, Sanchita; George, Jomy M

2013-08-01

This study aimed to examine the role of a pharmacy technician-centered medication reconciliation (PTMR) program in optimization of medication therapy in hospitalized patients with HIV/AIDS. A chart review was conducted for all inpatients that had a medication reconciliation performed by the PTMR program. Adult patients with HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) and/or the opportunistic infection (OI) prophylaxis listed on the medication reconciliation form were included. The primary objective is to describe the (1) number and types of medication errors and (2) the percentage of patients who received appropriate ART. The secondary objective is a comparison of the number of medication errors between standard mediation reconciliation and a pharmacy-led program. In the PTMR period, 55 admissions were evaluated. In all, 50% of the patients received appropriate ART. In 27of the 55 admissions, there were 49 combined ART and OI-related errors. The most common ART-related errors were drug-drug interactions. The incidence of ART-related medication errors that included drug-drug interactions and renal dosing adjustments were similar between the pre-PTMR and PTMR groups (P = .0868). Of the 49 errors in the PTMR group, 18 were intervened by a medication reconciliation pharmacist. A PTMR program has a positive impact on optimizing ART and OI prophylaxis in patients with HIV/AIDS.

Impact of a pharmacy technician-centered medication reconciliation program on medication discrepancies and implementation of recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, Sarah K; Sen, Sanchita; Murphy, Michelle; Pontiggia, Laura

2017-01-01

To evaluate the impact of a pharmacy-technician centered medication reconciliation (PTMR) program by identifying and quantifying medication discrepancies and outcomes of pharmacist medication reconciliation recommendations. A retrospective chart review was performed on two-hundred patients admitted to the internal medicine teaching services at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. Patients were selected using a stratified systematic sample approach and were included if they received a pharmacy technician medication history and a pharmacist medication reconciliation at any point during their hospital admission. Pharmacist identified medication discrepancies were analyzed using descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses. Potential risk factors were identified using multivariate analyses, such as logistic regression and CART. The priority level of significance was set at 0.05. Three-hundred and sixty-five medication discrepancies were identified out of the 200 included patients. The four most common discrepancies were omission (64.7%), non-formulary omission (16.2%), dose discrepancy (10.1%), and frequency discrepancy (4.1%). Twenty-two percent of pharmacist recommendations were implemented by the prescriber within 72 hours. A PTMR program with dedicated pharmacy technicians and pharmacists identifies many medication discrepancies at admission and provides opportunities for pharmacist reconciliation recommendations.

Impact of a pharmacy technician-centered medication reconciliation program on medication discrepancies and implementation of recommendations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kraus SK

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a pharmacy-technician centered medication reconciliation (PTMR program by identifying and quantifying medication discrepancies and outcomes of pharmacist medication reconciliation recommendations. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on two-hundred patients admitted to the internal medicine teaching services at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. Patients were selected using a stratified systematic sample approach and were included if they received a pharmacy technician medication history and a pharmacist medication reconciliation at any point during their hospital admission. Pharmacist identified medication discrepancies were analyzed using descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses. Potential risk factors were identified using multivariate analyses, such as logistic regression and CART. The priority level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Three-hundred and sixty-five medication discrepancies were identified out of the 200 included patients. The four most common discrepancies were omission (64.7%, non-formulary omission (16.2%, dose discrepancy (10.1%, and frequency discrepancy (4.1%. Twenty-two percent of pharmacist recommendations were implemented by the prescriber within 72 hours. Conclusion: A PTMR program with dedicated pharmacy technicians and pharmacists identifies many medication discrepancies at admission and provides opportunities for pharmacist reconciliation recommendations.

Brief History of pharmacy ethics in Iran

OpenAIRE

Farsam, Hassan

2009-01-01

Pharmacy is an ethical profession. The aim of this study was to investigate the history of pharmacy ethics in Iran. In the ancient Persia, medical and pharmaceutical ethics were related to religious rules, and everybody had to respect it. The ethical rules were similar to some current pharmacy ethics. During Islamic era, the pharmacy ethics were edited according to the Islamic rules. After introduction of European pharmacy into Iran, the pharmacy ethics did not change and was regarded as befo...

Medication reconciliation service in Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Sia Beng; Shan, Janice Chan Pei; Hong, Goh Lay

2013-01-01

Medication reconciliation is integral to every hospital. Approximately 60 percent of all hospital medication errors occur at admission, intra-hospital transfer or discharge. Effectively and consistently performing medication reconciliation at care-interfaces continues to be a challenge. Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) averages 4,700 admissions monthly. Many patients are elderly (> 65 years old) at risk from poly-pharmacy. As part of a medication safety initiative, pharmacy staff started a medication reconciliation service in 2007, which expanded to include all patients in October 2009. This article aims to describe the TTSH medication reconciliation system and to highlight common medication errors occurring following incomplete medication reconciliation. Where possible, patients admitted into TTSH are seen by pharmacy staff within 24 hours of admission. A form was created to document their medications, which is filed into the case sheets for referencing purposes. Any discrepancies in medicines are brought to doctors' attention. Patients are also counseled about changes to their medications. Errors picked up were captured in an Excel database. The most common medication error was prescribers missing out medications. The second commonest was recording different doses and regimens. The reason was mainly due to doctors transcribing medications inaccurately. This is a descriptive study and no statistical tests were carried out. Data entry was done by different pharmacy staff, and not a dedicated person; hence, data might be under-reported. The findings demonstrate the importance of medication reconciliation on admission. Accurate medication reconciliation can help to reduce transcription errors and improve service quality. The article highlights medication reconciliation's importance and has implications for healthcare professionals in all countries.

Education for arthritis patients: a community pharmacy based pilot project.

Science.gov (United States)

Petkova, Valentina B

2009-04-01

There are different kinds of arthritis, widely spread among the population, that make them a clinical problem with social, psychological and economic burden. Different education programs have been developed in order to improve patients' disease management, medication compliance and from there patients' quality of life. To develop and implement a community pharmacy-based educational program for patients with arthritis. Improvements in pain, medication compliance, decrease in general practitioner's visits and hospitalizations are expected. Prospective, randomized, controlled trial. The sample consisted of 43 individuals, with different stages of arthritis (aged 15 - 71), attending pharmacies - intervention group; and 43 individuals - control group. A 4-month education was conducted on the following topics: what causes arthritis and what are the factors that can intensify it; pain management and physical activities; self-management and prevention; pharmacotherapy and possible adverse drug reactions. Patient's health-related quality of life was assessed in the beginning and at the end of the survey. PARAMETERS ASSESSED DURING THE FOUR STAGES OF THE PROGRAM WERE: frequency of severe pain, frequency of general practitioner's visits, frequency of urgent medical aid calls, compliance with therapy, satisfaction with pharmacy services. Improvement in patients' health-related quality of life was observed and also: decrease in the severity of patients' pain, decrease in the physician's visits, and increase in satisfaction overall care. Positive results from the educational approach in pharmacy conditions were demonstrated. These consequences have a potential to increase arthritis patient's quality of life.

Brief History of pharmacy ethics in Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Farsam, Hassan

2009-01-01

Pharmacy is an ethical profession. The aim of this study was to investigate the history of pharmacy ethics in Iran. In the ancient Persia, medical and pharmaceutical ethics were related to religious rules, and everybody had to respect it. The ethical rules were similar to some current pharmacy ethics. During Islamic era, the pharmacy ethics were edited according to the Islamic rules. After introduction of European pharmacy into Iran, the pharmacy ethics did not change and was regarded as before. By presentation of bioethics and medical ethics in recent years, new activities are carried out for better manipulation of their rules in health professions including pharmacy.

Prevalence of hazardous alcohol use among pharmacy students at nine U.S. schools of pharmacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

English C

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Hazardous use of alcohol continues to be recognized as a problem at the university level. Knowledge regarding alcohol consumption in healthcare professional students is limited, especially in regards to pharmacy students. Much of the information available focuses on pharmacy student drinking patterns in specific geographic regions or is simply outdated.Objectives: This study was designed to assess levels of alcohol consumption and estimate the level of hazardous drinking among pharmacy students in a larger sample size that is representative of US pharmacy schools.Methods: An anonymous survey regarding alcohol usage was offered to students at nine school of pharmacy across the United States. The survey consisted of demographic questions, the World Health Organization Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT, and questions that assess particular alcohol-induced behaviorsResults: More than 25% of 1161 respondents had a total AUDIT score = 8, which indicates a risk of alcohol-related problems. Students that were male, in their first or second professional year of school, not married, and without children were statistically more likely to have AUDIT scores in the hazardous drinking range. Grade point average and student housing did not statistically affect student’s AUDIT scores.Conclusion: These results indicate that over one-fourth of pharmacy students surveyed have indicators of harmful alcohol use. Pharmacy schools should continue to address and confront hazardous alcohol use on campuses in order to curtail heavy alcohol consumption and reduce the risk of alcohol-related problems in pharmacy students.

AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY OF PHARMACY-BASED BONE MINERAL DENSITY TESTING

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AZMI SARRIFF

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to assess the future of pharmacy-based osteoporosis screening services in Malaysia through a survey involving retail pharmacists as well as the general public. An ethnographic-style research strategy method was used involving community pharmacists, and men and women above 50 years old. Pharmacists were interviewed as to whether they would offer such a service and how much they would charge for it. Information regarding knowledge on screening and osteoporosis was also obtained. Patients were queried as to whether they would go to the pharmacy for testing and how much they were willing to pay for such a service. The study found that around half of the pharmacists (n = 30 were willing to offer such a service (56.7%. Reasons cited for not willing to offer such a service were lack of public response and high capital. Those agreeable (88.2% to offer such a service said they would charge between RM0 to RM50 per patient. The majority (64.7% of those who answered in the affirmative claimed to have poor knowledge on screening, while 58.8% claimed to have good knowledge on osteoporosis. Among the public (n = 50; 31 female, 19 male, 66% claimed they would not go to the pharmacy for testing. Majority (46% preferred to go to the government hospital. Of the 17 willing to go to the pharmacy, the majority (64.7% were willing to pay between RM0 to RM50 for the Bone Mineral Density (BMD test. BMD testing can be professionally and financially rewarding for pharmacists. As such, pharmacists need to take appropriate steps to implement BMD testing services in the pharmacy. Incorporating an education component into such a service is vital. Although the future of pharmacy-based BMD testing looks bleak in Malaysia, necessary steps can be taken to overcome this problem by increasing public awareness on the severity of osteoporosis.

[Share experiment: hospital mobile pharmaceutical teams, a proven concept!].

Science.gov (United States)

Lazaro, P; Sury-Lestage, S; Princet, I; Beuzit, K; Faucher-Grassin, J; Dupuis, A

2013-09-01

A few months ago, the pharmacy department of the University Hospital of Poitiers was located in the basement of the hospital; communicating with care units by fax, phone or messenger. Today, drugs and medical devices, are stored in a 3400m(2) logistic platform and most of the delivery activity is robotized. Control and validation of prescriptions and dispensing activities are done by the pharmaceutical teams directly in the care units. Quality indicators allow us to improve our services regularly. A great success and interesting prospects for clinical pharmacy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Pharmacy settles suit.

Science.gov (United States)

1998-10-02

A suit was filed by an HIV-positive man against a pharmacy that inadvertently disclosed his HIV status to his ex-wife and children. His ex-wife tried to use the information in a custody battle for their two children. The suit against the pharmacy was settled, but the terms of the settlement remain confidential.

Training pharmacy technicians to administer immunizations.

Science.gov (United States)

McKeirnan, Kimberly C; Frazier, Kyle R; Nguyen, Maryann; MacLean, Linda Garrelts

To evaluate the effectiveness of an immunization training program for pharmacy technicians on technicians' self-reported confidence, knowledge, and number of vaccines administered. A one-group pre- and posttest study was conducted with certified pharmacy technicians from Albertsons and Safeway community pharmacies in Idaho. Thirty pharmacy technicians were recruited to participate in an immunization administration training program comprising a 2-hour home study and a 2-hour live training. Pharmacy technician scores on a 10-question knowledge assessment, responses on a pre- and posttraining survey, and number of immunizations administered in the 6-month period following the training were collected. Twenty-five pharmacy technicians completed the home study and live portions of the immunization training program. All 29 pharmacy technicians who took the home study assessment passed with greater than 70% competency on the first attempt. Technicians self-reported increased confidence with immunization skills between the pretraining survey and the posttraining survey. From December 2016 to May 2017, the technicians administered 953 immunizations with 0 adverse events reported. For the first time, pharmacy technicians have legally administered immunizations in the United States. Trained pharmacy technicians demonstrated knowledge of vaccination procedures and self-reported improved confidence in immunization skills and administered immunizations after participating in a 4-hour training program. Copyright © 2018 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hospital variation and the impact of postoperative complications on the use of perioperative chemo(radio)therapy in resectable gastric cancer. Results from the Dutch Upper GI Cancer Audit.

Science.gov (United States)

Schouwenburg, M G; Busweiler, L A D; Beck, N; Henneman, D; Amodio, S; van Berge Henegouwen, M I; Cats, A; van Hillegersberg, R; van Sandick, J W; Wijnhoven, B P L; Wouters, M W J; Nieuwenhuijzen, G A P

2018-04-01

Dutch national guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer recommend the use of perioperative chemotherapy in patients with resectable gastric cancer. However, adjuvant chemotherapy is often not administered. The aim of this study was to evaluate hospital variation on the probability to receive adjuvant chemotherapy and to identify associated factors with special attention to postoperative complications. All patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and underwent an elective surgical resection for stage IB-IVa (M0) gastric adenocarcinoma between 2011 and 2015 were identified from a national database (Dutch Upper GI Cancer Audit). A multivariable linear mixed model was used to evaluate case-mix adjusted hospital variation and to identify factors associated with adjuvant therapy. Of all surgically treated gastric cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (n = 882), 68% received adjuvant chemo(radio)therapy. After adjusting for case-mix and random variation, a large hospital variation in the administration rates for adjuvant was observed (OR range 0.31-7.1). In multivariable analysis, weight loss, a poor health status and failure of neoadjuvant chemotherapy completion were strongly associated with an increased likelihood of adjuvant therapy omission. Patients with severe postoperative complications had a threefold increased likelihood of adjuvant therapy omission (OR 3.07 95% CI 2.04-4.65). Despite national guidelines, considerable hospital variation was observed in the probability of receiving adjuvant chemo(radio)therapy. Postoperative complications were strongly associated with adjuvant chemo(radio)therapy omission, underlining the need to further reduce perioperative morbidity in gastric cancer surgery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.

Pharmacy technician involvement in community pharmacy medication therapy management.

Science.gov (United States)

Lengel, Matthew; Kuhn, Catherine H; Worley, Marcia; Wehr, Allison M; McAuley, James W

To assess the impact of technician involvement on the completion of medication therapy management (MTM) services in a community pharmacy setting and to describe pharmacists' and technicians' perceptions of technician involvement in MTM-related tasks and their satisfaction with the technician's role in MTM. Prospective observational study. In the fall of 2015, pharmacists and selected technicians from 32 grocery store-based community pharmacies were trained to use technicians within MTM services. Completed MTM claims were evaluated at all pharmacies for 3 months before training and 3 months after training. An electronic survey, developed with the use of competencies taught in the training and relevant published literature, was distributed via e-mail to trained employees 3 months after training. The total number of completed MTM claims at the 32 pharmacy sites was higher during the posttraining time period (2687 claims) versus the pretraining period (1735 claims). Of the 182 trained participants, 112 (61.5%) completed the survey. Overall, perceived technician involvement was lower than expected. However, identifying MTM opportunities was the most commonly reported technician MTM task, with 62.5% of technicians and 47.2% of pharmacists reporting technician involvement. Nearly one-half of technicians (42.5%) and pharmacists (44.0%) agreed or strongly agreed they were satisfied with the technician's role in MTM services, and 40.0% of technicians agreed that they were more satisfied with their work in the pharmacy after involvement in MTM. Three months after initial training of technicians in MTM, participation of technicians was lower than expected. However, the technicians involved most often reported identifying MTM opportunities for pharmacists, which may be a focus for future technician trainings. In addition, technician involvement in MTM services may increase satisfaction with many aspects of work for actively involved technicians. Copyright © 2018 American

Effect of information, education and communication intervention on awareness about rational pharmacy practice in pharmacy students.

Science.gov (United States)

Gharpure, Kunda; Thawani, Vijay; Sontakke, Smita; Chaudhari, Kiran; Bankar, Mangesh; Diwe, Rajendra

2011-07-01

There is a growing indifference among the pharmacy practitioners towards their duty as information providers to the patients. The patients do not always get enough desired information about proper use of medicines from the prescribers also. This contributes to improper use of medicines by the patients. To bring about awareness about rational pharmacy practice in pharmacy students for better service to the patients. The final year students of Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) from four colleges of Nagpur were enrolled for the study after informed consent. Their base knowledge was assessed through a written test which comprised of 27 objective questions related to rational pharmacy practice. This was followed by a series of seven articles on rational medicine use, published in leading local English news daily. The participants were reminded to read them on the day of publication of each article. As a backup, the articles were displayed on the notice board of respective colleges. Second intervention was a half day interactive session where series of six lectures were delivered to the participants on the right and wrong approaches in pharmacy practice. Posters about the do's and dont's of rational pharmacy practice were also displayed at the venue. The session was followed by a repeat test using the same pre-test to assess the change. Pre and post intervention data was compared using Fisher's Exact test. It was observed that the intervention did bring about a positive change in the attitude and knowledge of the final year Pharmacy students about rational pharmacy practice. The role of a pharmacist in health care provision is usually overlooked in India. Hence there is strong need for reinforcement in final year B. Pharm when most of the students go in for community service. Such interventions will be helpful in bringing about a positive change towards rational practice of pharmacy. This study showed that a properly timed and meticulously implemented intervention brings

International practice experiences in pharmacy education.

Science.gov (United States)

Cisneros, Robert M; Jawaid, Sarah Parnapy; Kendall, Debra A; McPherson, Charles E; Mu, Keli; Weston, Grady Scott; Roberts, Kenneth B

2013-11-12

To identify reasons for inclusion of international practice experiences in pharmacy curricula and to understand the related structure, benefits, and challenges related to the programs. A convenience sample of 20 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the United States with international pharmacy education programs was used. Telephone interviews were conducted by 2 study investigators. University values and strategic planning were among key driving forces in the development of programs. Global awareness and cultural competency requirements added impetus to program development. Participants' advice for creating an international practice experience program included an emphasis on the value of working with university health professions programs and established travel programs. Despite challenges, colleges and schools of pharmacy value the importance of international pharmacy education for pharmacy students as it increases global awareness of health needs and cultural competencies.

Community pharmacy minor ailment services in England: Pharmacy stakeholder perspectives on the factors affecting sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazar, Hamde; Nazar, Zachariah

2018-05-14

Self-care advice and management of minor ailments have long been provided in community pharmacies across England. However, formal pharmacy minor ailment service provision is geographically variable and has yet to gain recognition and political support as a valued sustainable service for nationwide adoption and commissioning. To investigate the sustainability potential of pharmacy minor ailment services from the perspective of community pharmacy stakeholders within the North East of England. A mixed methods approach was adopted to survey and interview stakeholders from the North East of England who commission; provide; and/or represent groups influencing the design, delivery and investment in community pharmacy clinical and public health services. The 40-item Programme Sustainability Assessment Tool, a validated instrument to assess a public health programme's capacity for sustainability across eight domains, was administered to fifty-three stakeholders, identified from a pharmacy minor ailments showcase event. The same stakeholders were invited for a semi-structured interview to explore issues further. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and underwent framework analysis. Forty-two (79.2% response rate) stakeholders representing commissioning, provider and influencing (e.g. Local Professional Network) organisations completed the assessment tool. Pharmacy minor ailment services were rated as unsustainable across the majority of the domains. Elements within the domain 'Partnerships' demonstrated potential for sustainability. Stakeholder interviews provided detailed explanation for the low scoring sustainability domains, highlighting the multifaceted challenges threatening these services. The Programme Sustainability Assessment Tool allowed stakeholders to evaluate the potential of pharmacy minor ailment services in England. Follow-up interviews highlighted that initial design and implementation of services was poorly conceived and lacked evidence

Perspectives about pandemic influenza and its prophylactic measures among final year pharmacy students in Karachi, Pakistan

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Najia Rahim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aims: In flu pandemics, pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices are critical to save patients life. The objective of study was to determine the knowledge of and attitude toward the pandemic influenza among the pharmacy students of Karachi, Pakistan. Settings and Designs: The cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2014 by adopting a prevalidated questionnaire distributed to senior pharmacy students (final year in seven private and public sector universities of Karachi. Materials and Methods: A total of 443 pharmacy students responded the survey. Data regarding sociodemographic characteristics of the students, perceptions, level of knowledge and attitudes toward influenza, and prophylactic measures were collected. Statistical Analysis: To compute the correlation between different variables, data were analyzed using Pearson's Chi-square statistic method. P< 0.05 was considered statistical significance for all analysis. Results: Influenza was identified as a viral disease (n = 423; 95.48% and 282 (71.2% students correctly identified it as disease affecting humans and pigs. Textbooks reported as most common source of knowledge (n = 282; 64%. Most common symptoms identified were fever (81.94%, sore throat (64.1%, and nonproductive cough (43.34%. The most common preventive measures were covering nose and mouth (268; 60.5% and wearing protective coverings (254; 57.3%. Only half of the students correctly reported about the route of administration (180; 40.6% and strains in vaccine (186; 41.98%. The best time for administration of such vaccine was known by only 156 pharmacy students (35.34%. The majority of the students (82.6% had no idea about the manifestation of influenza pandemic. Knowledge regarding influenza differed according to gender and institutions differing in their affiliation with tertiary care hospitals. Conclusion: It was observed that knowledge about disease progression, transmission, vaccination

The Impact of Biotechnology upon Pharmacy Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Speedie, Marilyn K.

1990-01-01

Biotechnology is defined, and its impact on pharmacy practice, the professional curriculum (clinical pharmacy, pharmacy administration, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, basic sciences, and continuing education), research in pharmacy schools, and graduate education are discussed. Resulting faculty, library, and research resource…

Nuclear pharmacy education: international harmonization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaw, S.M.; Cox, P.H.

1998-01-01

Education of nuclear pharmacists exists in many countries around the world. The approach and level of education varies between countries depending upon the expectations of the nuclear pharmacist, the work site and the economic environment. In Australia, training is provided through distance learning. In Europe and Canada, nuclear pharmacists and radiochemists receive postgraduate education in order to engage in the small-scale preparation and quality control of radiopharmaceuticals as well as research and development. In the U.S.A., nuclear pharmacy practitioners obtain basic knowledge primarily through undergraduate programs taken when pursuit the first professional degree in pharmacy. Licensed practitioners in pharmacy enter the practice of nuclear pharmacy through distance learning programs or short courses. While different approaches to education exist, there is a basic core of knowledge and a level of competence required of all nuclear pharmacists and radiochemists providing radiopharmaceutical products and services. It was with this realization that efforts were initiated to develop harmonization concepts and documents pertaining to education in nuclear pharmacy. The benefits of international harmonization in nuclear pharmacy education are numerous. Assurance of the availability of quality professionals to provide optimal products and care to the patient is a principle benefit. Spanning national barriers through the demonstration of self governance and unification in education will enhance the goal of increased freedom of employment between countries. Harmonization endeavors will improve existing education programs through sharing of innovative concepts and knowledge between educators. Documents generated will benefit new educational programs especially in developing nations. A committee on harmonization in nuclear pharmacy education was formed consisting of educators and practitioners from the international community. A working document on education was

Contested space in the pharmacy: public attitudes to pharmacy harm reduction services in the West of Scotland.

Science.gov (United States)

Gidman, Wendy; Coomber, Ross

2014-01-01

Internationally, community pharmacies have become increasingly involved in providing harm reduction services and health advice to people who use illicit drugs. This paper considers public opinion of community pharmacy services. It discusses attitudes to harm reduction services in the context of stigmatization of addiction and people who use drugs. This exploratory study involved twenty-six purposively sampled members of the public, from the West of Scotland, participating in one of 5 focus groups. The groups were composed to represent known groups of users and non-users of community pharmacy, none of whom were problem drug users. Three thematic categories were identified: methadone service users in community pharmacies; attitudes to harm reduction policies; contested space. Harm reduction service expansion has resulted in a high volume of drug users in and around some Scottish pharmacies. Even if harm reduction services are provided discretely users' behavior can differentiate them from other pharmacy users. Drug users' behavior in this setting is commonly perceived to be unacceptable and can deter other consumers from using pharmacy services. The results of this study infer that negative public opinion is highly suggestive of stereotyping and stigmatization of people who use drugs. Participants considered that (1) community pharmacies were unsuitable environments for harm reduction service provision, as they are used by older people and those with children; (2) current drug policy is perceived as ineffective, as abstinence is seldom achieved and methadone was reported to be re-sold; (3) people who use drugs were avoided where possible in community pharmacies. Community pharmacy harm reduction services increasingly bring together the public and drug users. Study participants were reluctant to share pharmacy facilities with drug users. This paper concludes by suggesting mechanisms to minimize stigmatization. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Community pharmacy customer segmentation based on factors influencing their selection of pharmacy and over-the-counter medicines.

Science.gov (United States)

Kevrekidis, Dimitrios Phaedon; Minarikova, Daniela; Markos, Angelos; Malovecka, Ivona; Minarik, Peter

2018-01-01

Within the competitive pharmacy market environment, community pharmacies are required to develop efficient marketing strategies based on contemporary information about consumer behavior in order to attract clients and develop customer loyalty. This study aimed to investigate the consumers' preferences concerning the selection of pharmacy and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, and to identify customer segments in relation to these preferences. A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and March 2016 on a convenient quota sample of 300 participants recruited in the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki, Greece. The main instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire with close-ended, multiple choice questions. To identify customer segments, Two-Step cluster analysis was conducted. Three distinct pharmacy customer clusters emerged. Customers of the largest cluster (49%; 'convenience customers') were mostly younger consumers. They gave moderate to positive ratings to factors affecting the selection of pharmacy and OTCs; convenience, and previous experience and the pharmacist's opinion, received the highest ratings. Customers of the second cluster (35%; 'loyal customers') were mainly retired; most of them reported visiting a single pharmacy. They gave high ratings to all factors that influence pharmacy selection, especially the pharmacy's staff, and factors influencing the purchase of OTCs, particularly previous experience and the pharmacist's opinion. Customers of the smallest cluster (16%; 'convenience and price-sensitive customers') were mainly retired or unemployed with low to moderate education, and low personal income. They gave the lowest ratings to most of the examined factors; convenience among factors influencing pharmacy selection, whereas previous experience, the pharmacist's opinion and product price among those affecting the purchase of OTCs, received the highest ratings. The community pharmacy market comprised of distinct

[Prescription annotations in Welfare Pharmacy].

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yi

2018-03-01

Welfare Pharmacy contains medical formulas documented by the government and official prescriptions used by the official pharmacy in the pharmaceutical process. In the last years of Southern Song Dynasty, anonyms gave a lot of prescription annotations, made textual researches for the name, source, composition and origin of the prescriptions, and supplemented important historical data of medical cases and researched historical facts. The annotations of Welfare Pharmacy gathered the essence of medical theory, and can be used as precious materials to correctly understand the syndrome differentiation, compatibility regularity and clinical application of prescriptions. This article deeply investigated the style and form of the prescription annotations in Welfare Pharmacy, the name of prescriptions and the evolution of terminology, the major functions of the prescriptions, processing methods, instructions for taking medicine and taboos of prescriptions, the medical cases and clinical efficacy of prescriptions, the backgrounds, sources, composition and cultural meanings of prescriptions, proposed that the prescription annotations played an active role in the textual dissemination, patent medicine production and clinical diagnosis and treatment of Welfare Pharmacy. This not only helps understand the changes in the names and terms of traditional Chinese medicines in Welfare Pharmacy, but also provides the basis for understanding the knowledge sources, compatibility regularity, important drug innovations and clinical medications of prescriptions in Welfare Pharmacy. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Community pharmacy customer segmentation based on factors influencing their selection of pharmacy and over-the-counter medicines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrios Phaedon Kevrekidis

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Within the competitive pharmacy market environment, community pharmacies are required to develop efficient marketing strategies based on contemporary information about consumer behavior in order to attract clients and develop customer loyalty. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the consumers’ preferences concerning the selection of pharmacy and over-the-counter (OTC medicines, and to identify customer segments in relation to these preferences. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and March 2016 on a convenient quota sample of 300 participants recruited in the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki, Greece. The main instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire with close-ended, multiple choice questions. To identify customer segments, Two-Step cluster analysis was conducted. Results: Three distinct pharmacy customer clusters emerged. Customers of the largest cluster (49%; ‘convenience customers’ were mostly younger consumers. They gave moderate to positive ratings to factors affecting the selection of pharmacy and OTCs; convenience, and previous experience and the pharmacist’s opinion, received the highest ratings. Customers of the second cluster (35%; ‘loyal customers’ were mainly retired; most of them reported visiting a single pharmacy. They gave high ratings to all factors that influence pharmacy selection, especially the pharmacy’s staff, and factors influencing the purchase of OTCs, particularly previous experience and the pharmacist’s opinion. Customers of the smallest cluster (16%; ‘convenience and price-sensitive customers’ were mainly retired or unemployed with low to moderate education, and low personal income. They gave the lowest ratings to most of the examined factors; convenience among factors influencing pharmacy selection, whereas previous experience, the pharmacist’s opinion and product price among those affecting the purchase of OTCs

Ethnic identity, externalizing problem behaviour and the mediating role of self-esteem among Dutch, Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch adolescents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wissink, I.B.; Deković, M.; Yağmur, S.; Stams, G.J.; de Haan, M.

2008-01-01

The present study examined whether self-esteem mediates the relationship between two aspects of ethnic identity (i.e. ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity commitment-affirmation) and externalizing problem behaviour in Dutch, Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch adolescents living in the

Financial risk management of pharmacy benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Saikami, D

1997-10-01

Financial risk management of pharmacy benefits in integrated health systems is explained. A managed care organization should assume financial risk for pharmacy benefits only if it can manage the risk. Horizontally integrated organizations often do not have much control over the management of drug utilization and costs. Vertically integrated organizations have the greatest ability to manage pharmacy financial risk; virtual integration may also be compatible. Contracts can be established in which the provider is incentivized or placed at partial or full risk. The main concerns that health plans have with respect to pharmacy capitation are formulary management and the question of who should receive rebates from manufacturers. The components needed to managed pharmacy financial risk depend on the type of contract negotiated. Health-system pharmacists are uniquely positioned to take advantage of opportunities opening up through pharmacy risk contracting. Functions most organizations must provide when assuming pharmacy financial risk can be divided into internal and external categories. Internally performed functions include formulary management, clinical pharmacy services and utilization management, and utilization reports for physicians. Functions that can be outsourced include claims processing and administration, provider- and customer support services, and rebates. Organizations that integrate the pharmacy benefit across the health care continuum will be more effective in controlling costs and improving outcomes than organizations that handle this benefit as separate from others. Patient care should not focus on payment mechanisms and unit costs but on developing superior processes and systems that improve health care.

Teaching Human Values in Pharmacy Education: Case Studies from the Classroom and the Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Poirier, Suzanne

1991-01-01

It is proposed that literature can contribute to the teaching of human values in pharmaceutical education. Two texts illustrating pertinent issues are examined, and the process and relevance of literature instruction in humanistic education are discussed. Where, when, and why to integrate literature into the pharmacy curriculum are also addressed.…

A global picture of pharmacy technician and other pharmacy support workforce cadres

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koehler, Tamara; Brown, A.

a b s t r a c t Introduction: Understanding how pharmacy technicians and other pharmacy support workforce cadres assist pharmacists in the healthcare system will facilitate developing health systems with the ability to achieve universal health coverage as it is defined in different country contexts.

Lessons learned from a pharmacy practice model change at an academic medical center.

Science.gov (United States)

Knoer, Scott J; Pastor, John D; Phelps, Pamela K

2010-11-01

The development and implementation of a new pharmacy practice model at an academic medical center are described. Before the model change, decentralized pharmacists responsible for order entry and verification and clinical specialists were both present on the care units. Staff pharmacists were responsible for medication distribution and sterile product preparation. The decentralized pharmacists handling orders were not able to use their clinical training, the practice model was inefficient, and few clinical services were available during evenings and weekends. A task force representing all pharmacy department roles developed a process and guiding principles for the model change, collected data, and decided on a model. Teams consisting of decentralized pharmacists, decentralized pharmacy technicians, and team leaders now work together to meet patients' pharmacy needs and further departmental safety, quality, and cost-saving goals. Decentralized service hours have been expanded through operational efficiencies, including use of automation (e.g., computerized provider order entry, wireless computers on wheels used during rounds with physician teams). Nine clinical specialist positions were replaced by five team leader positions and four pharmacists functioning in decentralized roles. Additional staff pharmacist positions were shifted into decentralized roles, and the hospital was divided into areas served by teams including five to eight pharmacists. Technicians are directly responsible for medication distribution. No individual's job was eliminated. The new practice model allowed better alignment of staff with departmental goals, expanded pharmacy hours and services, more efficient medication distribution, improved employee engagement, and a staff succession plan.

Enhancing hospital productivity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Hulst, B.L.

2016-01-01

Healthcare expenditure in Western countries is substantial and outpaces economic growth, therefore cost containment in healthcare is high on the political agenda. One option is to increase productivity in healthcare, do more with less. This thesis uses the Dutch hospitals as a case-study and

Using Bourdieu's Theoretical Framework to Examine How the Pharmacy Educator Views Pharmacy Knowledge.

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Waterfield, Jon

2015-12-25

To explore how different pharmacy educators view pharmacy knowledge within the United Kingdom MPharm program and to relate these findings to Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical framework. Twelve qualitative interviews were conducted with 4 faculty members from 3 different types of schools of pharmacy in the United Kingdom: a newer school, an established teaching-based school, and an established research-intensive school. Selection was based on a representation of both science-based and practice-based disciplines, gender balance, and teaching experience. The interview transcripts indicated how these members of the academic community describe knowledge. There was a polarization between science-based and practice-based educators in terms of Bourdieu's description of field, species of capital, and habitus. A Bourdieusian perspective on the differences among faculty member responses supports our understanding of curriculum integration and offers some practical implications for the future development of pharmacy programs.

Impact of a debate on pharmacy students' views of online pharmacy practice.

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Bussières, Jean-François; Delicourt, Anais; Belaid, Nedjma; Quirion, Marie-Pierre; Desroches, Julien; Bégin, Josiane; Fragasso-Marquis, Anne-Marie; Lamarre, Diane

2012-12-01

To evaluate the impact of a debate on pharmacy students' perceptions, using online pharmacy practice as the debate topic. This is a quasi-experimental interrupted time-series study. A 60 min debate was organized as a lunchtime meeting. A four-category Likert scale questionnaire (fully agree, partially agree, partially disagree, fully disagree) measured the debate participants' level of agreement with 25 statements (main issues associated with online pharmacy) in the pre-phase (before the debate), post-phase 1 (after the debate) and post-phase 2 (6 months after the debate). One hundred and seventy-seven students were recruited (response rate of 100% in the pre-phase and post-phase 1, 31% in post-phase 2). Four questions measured the perceptions of the students on this pedagogical technique. The overall proportion of respondents in favour of online pharmacy practice showed little variation among the three phases. However, on average (mean ± SD) 43 ± 8% of the respondents changed their opinion, 21 ± 7% reversed their opinion, 22 ± 4% nuanced their opinion and 1 ± 1% radically changed their opinion. Respectively 98% (post-phase 1) and 96% (post-phase 2) of the respondents were of the opinion that debate was a very useful teaching formula in their pharmacist training and 79 and 66% thought debate significantly changed their opinion of the issue. Few data have been collected on the use of debates as part of healthcare professional training. The impact of a debate on how pharmacy students feel about online pharmacy practice is described. © 2012 The Authors. IJPP © 2012 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Trends in pharmacy staff’s perception of patient safety in Swedish community pharmacies after re-regulation of conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kälvemark Sporrong, Sofia; Nordén-Hägg, Annika

2014-01-01

pharmacies prior to and after the 2009 changes in regulation of the Swedish community pharmacy market. Methods: Questionnaires targeted at pharmacy staff before and after the changes in regulation (in 2008, 2011/12, and 2012/13 respectively) used four identical items, making comparisons of some aspects...... no significant differences. Conclusions: The comparison carried out in this study indicates a negative effect in Swedish community pharmacies on safety and quality issues, as experienced by pharmacy staff. It is recommended that the possible effects of healthcare reforms are assessed before implementation...

The ethics of leadership in pharmacy.

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Redman, B K

1995-10-01

The pharmacy profession's responsibility to provide ethical leadership to its members is explained, and areas where pharmacy should take a leadership role are described. Changes taking place in health care offer many opportunities for pharmacy in its transformation into a fully clinical discipline. The profession needs to address the ethical issues that will affect it as part of this revolution. The role pharmacy is taking to eliminate medication misadventuring will be a test case for the profession's ability to exert the leadership it must, as part of its new definition of itself. Pharmacy needs to define the structure, process, and outcomes necessary to improve its own practice to avoid drug misadventuring, with a clear set of practice and ethical standards, and engage medicine and nursing to adopt similar standards. Pharmacy should also take a leadership role in health care reform, working with other clinicians to ensure that the changes provide better outcomes for patients. Health care professionals are bound together by a common moral purpose: to act in the patient's best interest. Thus, each health profession is a moral community, which must determine and promote ethical behavior among its members. Pharmacy must practice ethical leadership: it must define and prove its contribution to patient outcomes, further develop legal and ethical standards, and examine its responsibilities for vulnerable patient groups such as children. It must work to overcome the traditional dominance of medicine; pharmacy, nursing, and medicine must come together in service of the patient and develop a cross-professional conception of ethics. Pharmacy also must participate in the broader debate about health care. Pharmacy has begun to take a leadership role among the health professions through its efforts to eliminate medication misadventuring. Additional leadership challenges for the profession are suggested.

Smoking cessation medications and cigarettes in Guatemala pharmacies.

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Viteri, Ernesto; Barnoya, Joaquin; Hudmon, Karen Suchanek; Solorzano, Pedro J

2012-09-01

Guatemala, a party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), is obliged to promote the wider availability of smoking cessation treatment and to restrict tobacco advertising. Pharmacies are fundamental in providing smoking cessation medications but also might increase the availability of cigarettes. To assess availability of cessation medications and cigarettes and their corresponding advertising in Guatemala pharmacies. In Guatemala City a representative sample was selected from a list of registered pharmacies classified by type (non-profit, chain, independent). In addition, all pharmacies in the neighbouring town of Antigua were included for comparison. Trained surveyors used a checklist to characterise each pharmacy with respect to availability and advertising of cessation medications and cigarettes. A total of 505 pharmacies were evaluated. Cessation medications were available in 115 (22.8%), while cigarettes were available in 29 (5.7%) pharmacies. When available, medications were advertised in 1.7% (2) and cigarettes in 72.4% (21) of pharmacies. Chain pharmacies were significantly more likely to sell cessation medications and cigarettes, and to advertise cigarettes than were non-profit and independent pharmacies. Most pharmacies in Guatemala do not stock cessation medications or cigarettes. Cigarette advertising was more prevalent than advertising for cessation medications. FCTC provisions have not been implemented in Guatemala pharmacies.

Branding a college of pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rupp, Michael T

2012-11-12

In a possible future of supply-demand imbalance in pharmacy education, a brand that positively differentiates a college or school of pharmacy from its competitors may be the key to its survival. The nominal group technique, a structured group problem-solving and decision-making process, was used during a faculty retreat to identify and agree on the core qualities that define the brand image of Midwestern University's College of Pharmacy in Glendale, AZ. Results from the retreat were provided to the faculty and students, who then proposed 168 mottos that embodied these qualities. Mottos were voted on by faculty members and pharmacy students. The highest ranked 24 choices were submitted to the faculty, who then selected the top 10 finalists. A final vote by students was used to select the winning motto. The methods described here may be useful to other colleges and schools of pharmacy that want to better define their own brand image and strengthen their organizational culture.

Education for arthritis patients: a community pharmacy based pilot project.

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Petkova VB

2009-06-01

Full Text Available There are different kinds of arthritis, widely spread among the population, that make them a clinical problem with social, psychological and economic burden. Different education programs have been developed in order to improve patients’ disease management, medication compliance and from there patients’ quality of life.Objective: To develop and implement a community pharmacy-based educational program for patients with arthritis. Improvements in pain, medication compliance, decrease in general practitioner’s visits and hospitalizations are expected.Methods: Prospective, randomized, controlled trial. The sample consisted of 43 individuals, with different stages of arthritis (aged 15 - 71, attending pharmacies – intervention group; and 43 individuals – control group. A 4-month education was conducted on the following topics: what causes arthritis and what are the factors that can intensify it; pain management and physical activities; self-management and prevention; pharmacotherapy and possible adverse drug reactions. Patient's health-related quality of life was assessed in the beginning and at the end of the survey. Results: Parameters assessed during the four stages of the program were: frequency of severe pain, frequency of general practitioner’s visits, frequency of urgent medical aid calls, compliance with therapy, satisfaction with pharmacy services. Improvement in patients’ health-related quality of life was observed and also: decrease in the severity of patients’ pain, decrease in the physician’s visits, and increase in satisfaction overall care.Conclusions: Positive results from the educational approach in pharmacy conditions were demonstrated. These consequences have a potential to increase arthritis patient’s quality of life.

Distributed learning: Developing a predictive model based on data from multiple hospitals without data leaving the hospital - A real life proof of concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Jochems, Arthur; Deist, Timo M; van Soest, Johan; Eble, Michael; Bulens, Paul; Coucke, Philippe; Dries, Wim; Lambin, Philippe; Dekker, Andre

2016-12-01

One of the major hurdles in enabling personalized medicine is obtaining sufficient patient data to feed into predictive models. Combining data originating from multiple hospitals is difficult because of ethical, legal, political, and administrative barriers associated with data sharing. In order to avoid these issues, a distributed learning approach can be used. Distributed learning is defined as learning from data without the data leaving the hospital. Clinical data from 287 lung cancer patients, treated with curative intent with chemoradiation (CRT) or radiotherapy (RT) alone were collected from and stored in 5 different medical institutes (123 patients at MAASTRO (Netherlands, Dutch), 24 at Jessa (Belgium, Dutch), 34 at Liege (Belgium, Dutch and French), 48 at Aachen (Germany, German) and 58 at Eindhoven (Netherlands, Dutch)). A Bayesian network model is adapted for distributed learning (watch the animation: http://youtu.be/nQpqMIuHyOk). The model predicts dyspnea, which is a common side effect after radiotherapy treatment of lung cancer. We show that it is possible to use the distributed learning approach to train a Bayesian network model on patient data originating from multiple hospitals without these data leaving the individual hospital. The AUC of the model is 0.61 (95%CI, 0.51-0.70) on a 5-fold cross-validation and ranges from 0.59 to 0.71 on external validation sets. Distributed learning can allow the learning of predictive models on data originating from multiple hospitals while avoiding many of the data sharing barriers. Furthermore, the distributed learning approach can be used to extract and employ knowledge from routine patient data from multiple hospitals while being compliant to the various national and European privacy laws. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Perceived antecedents of marital satisfaction among Turkish, Turkish-Dutch, and Dutch couples.

Science.gov (United States)

Celenk, Ozgur; van de Vijver, Fons J R

2013-01-01

We studied mainstream couples in The Netherlands and Turkey as well as Turkish-Dutch immigrant couples to address cultural factors associated with marital satisfaction. A total of 13 Turkish (mainstream couples living in Turkey), 19 Turkish-Dutch (Turkish immigrant couples living in The Netherlands), and 17 Dutch (mainstream couples living in The Netherlands) married dyads (total of 98 individuals) were independently interviewed about positive and negative characteristics of marriages, determinants of general marital satisfaction and dissatisfaction, spousal communication, marital conflict, and marital roles. Multivariate tests revealed ethnic group differences on all marriage-related domains except the conflict resolution strategies. However, univariate analyses showed differences in few themes within domains; main differences were assessed between the Turkish/Turkish-Dutch (who put more emphasis on children and economical aspects) and Dutch couples (who put more emphasis on behavior, and personality of the spouse, reciprocity, emotional sharing, and psychological roles). Turkish-Dutch couples were more similar to Turkish than to Dutch couples. Results were discussed in light of the socioeconomic development and cultural value theories, which are believed to provide a useful framework for understanding the role of culture in marital satisfaction.

Pharmacy practice simulations: performance of senior pharmacy students at a University in southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galato D

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: A simulation process known as objective structured clinical examination (OSCE was applied to assess pharmacy practice performed by senior pharmacy students.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted based on documentary analysis of performance evaluation records of pharmacy practice simulations that occurred between 2005 and 2009. These simulations were related to the process of self-medication and dispensing, and were performed with the use of patients simulated. The simulations were filmed to facilitate the evaluation process. It presents the OSCE educational experience performed by pharmacy trainees of the University of Southern Santa Catarina and experienced by two evaluators. The student general performance was analyzed, and the criteria for pharmacy practice assessment often identified trainees in difficulty.Results: The results of 291 simulations showed that students have an average yield performance of 70.0%. Several difficulties were encountered, such as the lack of information about the selected/prescribed treatment regimen (65.1%; inadequate communication style (21.9%; lack of identification of patients’ needs (7.7% and inappropriate drug selection for self-medication (5.3%.Conclusions: These data show that there is a need for reorientation of clinical pharmacy students because they need to improve their communication skills, and have a deeper knowledge of medicines and health problems in order to properly orient their patients.

Purchasing Over-the-counter medicines from Australian pharmacy: What do the pharmacy customers value and expect?

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Vincent; Tran, Hung

2016-01-01

Over-the-counter medicines (OTC) are widely available and can be purchased without a prescription. Their availability means that a customer may choose to purchase them without the involvement of a pharmacy/pharmacist. It is important to understand customer OTC purchasing perceptions and behaviour from a pharmacy to better understand the needs and opportunities in this space. This study aimed to examine customers' key expectations and what they value when purchasing OTC and how the effect of health status/stress and perceived risks/benefits of purchasing OTCs from a pharmacy may influence their OTC shopping behaviour. Customers from two metropolitan pharmacies across two different suburbs in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia completed a self-administered questionnaire. Data collection was conducted over a six-week period. The questionnaire examined demographics, current level of health and stress, as well as a range of questions (seven-point Likert-scale) examining perceived benefits and risks, what they value, trust and expect when purchasing OTC. A total of 86 customers from a broad range of demographics were captured in this study. When asked about their current health state, 41% and 23% respectively indicated that they were stressed and tense when they arrived at the pharmacy but many were feeling well (38%). Most customers strongly agreed/agreed that trust in the advice from a pharmacy (96%), trust in the products (73%), and the altruistic approach of a pharmacy (95%) were critical to them. Further, 82% and 78% respectively disagreed that time pressures or costs were concerns, despite many feeling tense and stressed when they came in. When asked where they intend to buy their future OTC, 89% indicated pharmacy instead of a supermarket. High levels of trust, confidence and sense of altruism and care were key factors for customers buying OTC from a pharmacy, regardless of time pressures, costs or existing levels of stress and health.

The psychometric properties of the Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire in a Dutch-speaking population.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanneste, S; To, W T; De Ridder, D

2011-02-01

The aim of the study is to translate and validate the tinnitus handicap questionnaire (THQ) for a Dutch-speaking population. The factor structure of the questionnaire, the reliability and the validity is determined. Furthermore, a statistical comparison with the original English version of the tinnitus handicap questionnaire is performed. We assessed 101 patients at the Tinnitus Research Initiative clinic of Antwerp University Hospital. Twenty-seven Dutch items from the tinnitus handicap questionnaire by Kuk et al. [(1990), Ear Hear11:434-45.] were obtained by the process of translation and back translation. The factor structure, internal consistency, was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and item correlations were used to confirm reliability. The construct validity was confirmed with a visual analogue scale for loudness and distress, awareness, annoyance, the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ), the mini-Tinnitus Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Profile of Mood State (POMS), ensuring that this new instrument measures the tinnitus handicap. This study demonstrates that the Dutch version of the tinnitus handicap questionnaire is a reliable (Cronbach's alpha coefficient α = 0.93) and valid measure of self-perceived tinnitus-related distress [with visual analogue scale for loudness (r = 0.39) and distress (r =0.45), awareness (r = 0.39), annoyance (r = 0.57), the Tinnitus Questionnaire (r = 0.82), the mini-Tinnitus Questionnaire (r = 0.79), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (r = 0.62) and the Beck Depression Inventory (r = 0.32)]. The psychometric properties are in line with previous findings on the English version with regard to reliability and validity. However, the items in the subscales differ from the English version. While the English version has three subscales, our version has only two subscales. Yet, the English version reports that for the three factors, there is a low

Medicinal chemistry and the pharmacy curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, M O Faruk; Deimling, Michael J; Philip, Ashok

2011-10-10

The origins and advancements of pharmacy, medicinal chemistry, and drug discovery are interwoven in nature. Medicinal chemistry provides pharmacy students with a thorough understanding of drug mechanisms of action, structure-activity relationships (SAR), acid-base and physicochemical properties, and absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) profiles. A comprehensive understanding of the chemical basis of drug action equips pharmacy students with the ability to answer rationally the "why" and "how" questions related to drug action and it sets the pharmacist apart as the chemical expert among health care professionals. By imparting an exclusive knowledge base, medicinal chemistry plays a vital role in providing critical thinking and evidence-based problem-solving skills to pharmacy students, enabling them to make optimal patient-specific therapeutic decisions. This review highlights the parallel nature of the history of pharmacy and medicinal chemistry, as well as the key elements of medicinal chemistry and drug discovery that make it an indispensable component of the pharmacy curriculum.

Ethnic Identity, Externalizing Problem Behaviour and the Mediating Role of Self-Esteem among Dutch, Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Wissink, Inge B.; Dekovic, Maja; Yagmur, Sengul; Stams, Geert Jan; de Haan, Mariette

2008-01-01

The present study examined whether self-esteem mediates the relationship between two aspects of ethnic identity (i.e. ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity commitment-affirmation) and externalizing problem behaviour in Dutch, Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch adolescents living in the Netherlands. A total number of 345 adolescents (115…

Atividades da farmácia hospitalar brasileira para com pacientes hospitalizados: uma revisão da literatura Pharmaceutical services for inpatients provided by hospital pharmacies in Brazil: a review of the literature

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Rachel Magarinos-Torres

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Este artigo discute a produção científica relacionada à farmácia hospitalar brasileira direcionada à internação, na tentativa de ampliar a visão sobre características e prioridades. Foram localizados dezessete artigos nas bases de dados Medline e Lilacs condizentes com os critérios de inclusão e exclusão definidos a priori. A maioria ateve-se aos componentes ensino/pesquisa, logística e farmacotécnica, a partir da observação de hospitais públicos localizados no Sudeste. Percebe-se a escassez de textos relacionados a atividades estruturais como gerenciamento e seleção. Estima-se que à formação acadêmica dos farmacêuticos atrele-se a percepção da manipulação como atividade preponderante nos serviços embora, atualmente, esta seja necessária apenas em um número restrito de hospitais. Soma-se a isto a baixa adequação das atividades realizadas a normas legais e padrões estabelecidos e a inexistência de revista brasileira dedicada ao tema e indexada pela BVS. Tendo em vista a maior freqüência de trabalhos oriundos do setor público, há, aparentemente, ou maior liberdade de atuação do farmacêutico neste setor ou menor produção científica, quantificada por publicações, no setor privado.This paper discusses the literature on hospital pharmacy services for in-patients in Brazil, seeking a broader view of its characteristics and priorities. Seventeen papers were located in the Medline and Lilacs databases that complied with the pre-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Most of them were related to teaching and research, logistics and compounding, based on observations in public hospitals in Southeast Brazil. Few studies focused on core activities such as management and selection. The academic syllabus through which pharmacy students are trained may underlie the perception that compounding is the preponderant aspect of hospital pharmacy services, although this is required in only a few institutions. Added to

Social Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy—Joining Forces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Birna Almarsdottir

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This commentary seeks to define the areas of social pharmacy and clinical pharmacy to uncover what they have in common and what still sets them apart. Common threats and challenges of the two areas are reviewed in order to understand the forces in play. Forces that still keep clinical and social pharmacy apart are university structures, research traditions, and the management of pharmacy services. There are key (but shrinking differences between clinical and social pharmacy which entail the levels of study within pharmaceutical sciences, the location in which the research is carried out, the choice of research designs and methods, and the theoretical foundations. Common strengths and opportunities are important to know in order to join forces. Finding common ground can be developed in two areas: participating together in multi-disciplinary research, and uniting in a dialogue with internal and external key players in putting forth what is needed for the profession of pharmacy. At the end the question is posed, “What’s in a name?” and we argue that it is important to emphasize what unifies the families of clinical pharmacy and social pharmacy for the benefit of both fields, pharmacy in general, and society at large.