{"title":"Pharmacists' Counseling and Benzodiazepines Dispensing for Sleep Disorders: A Simulated Patient Study in Iran.","authors":"Fatemeh Banitaba Joshaghani, Shadi Sarahroodi","doi":"10.4103/jrpp.jrpp_24_24","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Sleep is critical for good health and quality of life, but many people struggle with sleep disorders. Pharmacists are on the front lines, helping patients manage these problems. However, there is growing concern that some pharmacists are dispensing benzodiazepines over-the-counter and failing to provide proper counseling. This study examined how pharmacists in Iran performed in these areas.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Between January and April 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional study in three major Iranian cities, using a \"simulated patient\" to observe how pharmacists interacted with them. In total, 431 pharmacies participated, and we used detailed forms to record the pharmacists' behavior. We then analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square tests.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Of 549 visits, 78.5% were managed by pharmacists, whereas the remainder were managed by other pharmacy staff. 79.7% of pharmacists evaluated the patient before deciding whether or not to prescribe the medication and 58.9% provided a kind of counseling for their offered medication, but just 10.6% of pharmacies had a private counseling area. Despite regulations that require a valid prescription for benzodiazepines, 9.2% of pharmacies dispensed diazepam, and 13.2% dispensed alprazolam without requesting one, and when counseling was offered, it often lacked critical details.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings raise serious concerns. There are deficiencies in how pharmacists and patients interact, with many pharmacists spending minimal time assessing patient needs. The high rates of benzodiazepine dispensing without valid prescriptions and inadequate counseling point to a need for stricter protocols and more training. To address these issues, health-care professionals and policymakers must collaborate to improve the quality and safety of sleep disorder treatment in community pharmacies.</p>","PeriodicalId":17158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11524569/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4103/jrpp.jrpp_24_24","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Sleep is critical for good health and quality of life, but many people struggle with sleep disorders. Pharmacists are on the front lines, helping patients manage these problems. However, there is growing concern that some pharmacists are dispensing benzodiazepines over-the-counter and failing to provide proper counseling. This study examined how pharmacists in Iran performed in these areas.
Methods: Between January and April 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional study in three major Iranian cities, using a "simulated patient" to observe how pharmacists interacted with them. In total, 431 pharmacies participated, and we used detailed forms to record the pharmacists' behavior. We then analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square tests.
Findings: Of 549 visits, 78.5% were managed by pharmacists, whereas the remainder were managed by other pharmacy staff. 79.7% of pharmacists evaluated the patient before deciding whether or not to prescribe the medication and 58.9% provided a kind of counseling for their offered medication, but just 10.6% of pharmacies had a private counseling area. Despite regulations that require a valid prescription for benzodiazepines, 9.2% of pharmacies dispensed diazepam, and 13.2% dispensed alprazolam without requesting one, and when counseling was offered, it often lacked critical details.
Conclusion: These findings raise serious concerns. There are deficiencies in how pharmacists and patients interact, with many pharmacists spending minimal time assessing patient needs. The high rates of benzodiazepine dispensing without valid prescriptions and inadequate counseling point to a need for stricter protocols and more training. To address these issues, health-care professionals and policymakers must collaborate to improve the quality and safety of sleep disorder treatment in community pharmacies.
期刊介绍:
The main focus of the journal will be on evidence-based drug-related medical researches (with clinical pharmacists’ intervention or documentation), particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean region. However, a wide range of closely related issues will be also covered. These will include clinical studies in the field of pharmaceutical care, reporting adverse drug reactions and human medical toxicology, pharmaco-epidemiology and toxico-epidemiology (poisoning epidemiology), social aspects of pharmacy practice, pharmacy education and economic evaluations of treatment protocols (e.g. cost-effectiveness studies). Local reports of medication utilization studies at hospital or pharmacy levels will only be considered for peer-review process only if they have a new and useful message for the international pharmacy practice professionals and readers.