Pub Date : 2022-04-01DOI: 10.3390/pharmacy10020042
Chiau Soon Long, Harshily Kumaran, K. Goh, F. S. Bakrin, L. Ming, I. Rehman, J. Dhaliwal, M. A. Hadi, Y. Sim, C. S. Tan
Introduction: The patronage of online pharmacies is rapidly growing, driven by the convenience and cheaper costs of purchasing prescription drugs electronically, especially under the lockdown situation. However, there are issues regarding the quality of the prescription drugs sold online and the legitimacy of online pharmacies. The use of prescription drugs without the supervision of a licensed health care practitioner may potentially harm consumers. Objectives: This systematic review was conducted to improve the body of knowledge on three main aspects of online pharmacies: (1) type and characteristics of the online pharmacies selling drugs; (2) the quality of pharmaceutical drugs purchased online; and (3) the characteristics of consumers of online pharmacies. Methods: Based on a pre-defined search strategy, PubMed and Scopus were utilised to search articles written in the English language published between January 2009 and February 2020. Studies focusing on the sale of prescription drugs were included. The terms used for the literature search were “online pharmacy”, “internet pharmacy”, “e-pharmacy”, “prescription”, “quality”, “medication safety”, and “counterfeit medicine”. These terms were used alone and in combination with Boolean operators. The institutional webpages including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) were also examined for any additional studies. No methodological limitations in terms of study design were applied. A standardised data collection form was used to compile the data. Results: Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 46 articles were eligible and included in the final analysis. There were 27 articles on types and characteristic of online pharmacies, 13 articles on the quality of prescription drugs sold from online pharmacies, and 11 articles on consumers purchasing prescription drugs from online pharmacies. Readers should note that five articles discussed both the types and characteristics of online pharmacies, and the quality of the drugs sold from the outlets. The response rate (products received out of the number of orders) ranged from 20% to 100%, whereas the proportion of consumers buying prescription drugs online ranged from 2.3% to 13%. Reasons for online purchase of prescription drugs include the difficulty of obtaining a prescription for certain medications such as opioid analgesics, cheaper cost, since the costs associated with seeing a physician to obtain a prescription are reduced, and the need to obtain drugs such as opioid analgesics and benzodiazepine for misuse. Conclusions: Almost half of the online pharmacies are not properly regulated and fraudulent issues were uncovered. To address this issue, stricter regulation by World Health Organization and implementation should be carried out together with frequent monitoring of the licensure system and pharmacy verification on every online pharmacy, this would reduce the number of ill
{"title":"Online Pharmacies Selling Prescription Drugs: Systematic Review","authors":"Chiau Soon Long, Harshily Kumaran, K. Goh, F. S. Bakrin, L. Ming, I. Rehman, J. Dhaliwal, M. A. Hadi, Y. Sim, C. S. Tan","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy10020042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy10020042","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: The patronage of online pharmacies is rapidly growing, driven by the convenience and cheaper costs of purchasing prescription drugs electronically, especially under the lockdown situation. However, there are issues regarding the quality of the prescription drugs sold online and the legitimacy of online pharmacies. The use of prescription drugs without the supervision of a licensed health care practitioner may potentially harm consumers. Objectives: This systematic review was conducted to improve the body of knowledge on three main aspects of online pharmacies: (1) type and characteristics of the online pharmacies selling drugs; (2) the quality of pharmaceutical drugs purchased online; and (3) the characteristics of consumers of online pharmacies. Methods: Based on a pre-defined search strategy, PubMed and Scopus were utilised to search articles written in the English language published between January 2009 and February 2020. Studies focusing on the sale of prescription drugs were included. The terms used for the literature search were “online pharmacy”, “internet pharmacy”, “e-pharmacy”, “prescription”, “quality”, “medication safety”, and “counterfeit medicine”. These terms were used alone and in combination with Boolean operators. The institutional webpages including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) were also examined for any additional studies. No methodological limitations in terms of study design were applied. A standardised data collection form was used to compile the data. Results: Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 46 articles were eligible and included in the final analysis. There were 27 articles on types and characteristic of online pharmacies, 13 articles on the quality of prescription drugs sold from online pharmacies, and 11 articles on consumers purchasing prescription drugs from online pharmacies. Readers should note that five articles discussed both the types and characteristics of online pharmacies, and the quality of the drugs sold from the outlets. The response rate (products received out of the number of orders) ranged from 20% to 100%, whereas the proportion of consumers buying prescription drugs online ranged from 2.3% to 13%. Reasons for online purchase of prescription drugs include the difficulty of obtaining a prescription for certain medications such as opioid analgesics, cheaper cost, since the costs associated with seeing a physician to obtain a prescription are reduced, and the need to obtain drugs such as opioid analgesics and benzodiazepine for misuse. Conclusions: Almost half of the online pharmacies are not properly regulated and fraudulent issues were uncovered. To address this issue, stricter regulation by World Health Organization and implementation should be carried out together with frequent monitoring of the licensure system and pharmacy verification on every online pharmacy, this would reduce the number of ill","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73890326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-26DOI: 10.3390/pharmacy10020041
D. Hope, G. Grant, G. Rogers, M. King
Extended and immersive gamified pharmacy simulation has been demonstrated to provide transformative learning in pharmacy education, preparing graduates for real-world practice. An international consortium of universities has implemented local adaptations of the Pharmacy Game into their curricula. From early 2020, pharmacy academics modified the delivery of gamified simulation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while still aiming to deliver the important learning outcomes of enhanced communication, collaboration, confidence and competence. Australian universities went into full lockdown from March 2020, and the critical gamified simulation at Griffith University was delivered entirely virtually in 2020. An array of synchronous and asynchronous approaches and software platforms was employed, including Microsoft Teams, Forms and Stream plus the online interview platform Big Interview. These allowed for the simulation activities, including dispensing, counselling and clinical cases, to be conducted by students online. In 2021, Griffith University conducted hybrid delivery of its Pharmacy Game, balancing student participation both in person and online. Microsoft Power Apps was added to the hosting platform to enhance the simulation interface, and Power Virtual Agent artificial intelligence chatbots, with natural language processing, were used to enable asynchronous clinical interaction. The combination of learning technologies provided the means to deliver successful gamified simulation in the virtual and hybrid environments while still achieving outstanding learning outcomes from the capstone activity. This paper details the technologies used to virtualize the Australian Pharmacy Game and the analytics available to educators to assess student participation, engagement and performance.
扩展和沉浸式游戏化药房模拟已被证明在药学教育中提供变革性学习,为毕业生准备现实世界的实践。一个国际大学联盟已经在他们的课程中实施了药学游戏的本地改编。从2020年初开始,药学学者为应对COVID-19大流行修改了游戏化模拟的交付方式,同时仍致力于提供加强沟通、协作、信心和能力的重要学习成果。澳大利亚的大学从2020年3月开始全面封锁,格里菲斯大学的关键游戏化模拟在2020年完全虚拟交付。采用了一系列同步和异步方法和软件平台,包括Microsoft Teams、Forms和Stream以及在线面试平台Big interview。这允许学生在网上进行模拟活动,包括配药、咨询和临床病例。2021年,格里菲斯大学(Griffith University)进行了药学游戏的混合交付,平衡了学生亲自和在线的参与。在托管平台中加入Microsoft Power Apps增强仿真界面,使用Power Virtual Agent人工智能聊天机器人进行自然语言处理,实现临床异步交互。学习技术的结合提供了在虚拟和混合环境中提供成功的游戏化模拟的手段,同时仍然从顶点活动中获得出色的学习成果。本文详细介绍了用于虚拟化澳大利亚药房游戏的技术,以及教育工作者用于评估学生参与、参与和表现的分析方法。
{"title":"Virtualized Gamified Pharmacy Simulation during COVID-19","authors":"D. Hope, G. Grant, G. Rogers, M. King","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy10020041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy10020041","url":null,"abstract":"Extended and immersive gamified pharmacy simulation has been demonstrated to provide transformative learning in pharmacy education, preparing graduates for real-world practice. An international consortium of universities has implemented local adaptations of the Pharmacy Game into their curricula. From early 2020, pharmacy academics modified the delivery of gamified simulation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while still aiming to deliver the important learning outcomes of enhanced communication, collaboration, confidence and competence. Australian universities went into full lockdown from March 2020, and the critical gamified simulation at Griffith University was delivered entirely virtually in 2020. An array of synchronous and asynchronous approaches and software platforms was employed, including Microsoft Teams, Forms and Stream plus the online interview platform Big Interview. These allowed for the simulation activities, including dispensing, counselling and clinical cases, to be conducted by students online. In 2021, Griffith University conducted hybrid delivery of its Pharmacy Game, balancing student participation both in person and online. Microsoft Power Apps was added to the hosting platform to enhance the simulation interface, and Power Virtual Agent artificial intelligence chatbots, with natural language processing, were used to enable asynchronous clinical interaction. The combination of learning technologies provided the means to deliver successful gamified simulation in the virtual and hybrid environments while still achieving outstanding learning outcomes from the capstone activity. This paper details the technologies used to virtualize the Australian Pharmacy Game and the analytics available to educators to assess student participation, engagement and performance.","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85069050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-27DOI: 10.3390/pharmacy10010021
Rigorous peer-reviews are the basis of high-quality academic publishing [...]
严格的同行评议是高质量学术出版的基础[…]
{"title":"Acknowledgment to Reviewers of Pharmacy in 2021","authors":"","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy10010021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy10010021","url":null,"abstract":"Rigorous peer-reviews are the basis of high-quality academic publishing [...]","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91281772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Peer review is the driving force of journal development, and reviewers are gatekeepers who ensure that Pharmacy maintains its standards for the high quality of its published papers [...].
同行评议是期刊发展的推动力,审稿人是确保《药学》保持其发表论文高质量标准的看门人[…]。
{"title":"Acknowledgment to Reviewers of Pharmacy in 2020","authors":"Pharmacy Editorial Office","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy9010029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy9010029","url":null,"abstract":"Peer review is the driving force of journal development, and reviewers are gatekeepers who ensure that Pharmacy maintains its standards for the high quality of its published papers [...].","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"208 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77739501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The editorial team greatly appreciates the reviewers who have dedicated their considerable timeand expertise to the journal's rigorous editorial process over the past 12 months, regardless ofwhether the papers are finally published or not [...].
{"title":"Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Pharmacy in 2019","authors":"Pharmacy Editorial Office","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy8010012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy8010012","url":null,"abstract":"The editorial team greatly appreciates the reviewers who have dedicated their considerable timeand expertise to the journal's rigorous editorial process over the past 12 months, regardless ofwhether the papers are finally published or not [...].","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75890077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Abuga, D. Ongarora, J. Karumbi, M. Olulo, W. Minnaard, I. Kibwage
Background: Quality pharmaceutical services are an integral part of primary healthcare and a key determinant of patient outcomes. The study focuses on pharmaceutical service delivery among private healthcare facilities serving informal settlements within Nairobi County, Kenya and aims at understanding the drug procurement practices, task-shifting and ethical issues associated with drug brand preference, competition and disposal of expired drugs. Methods: Forty-five private facilities comprising of hospitals, nursing homes, health centres, medical centres, clinics and pharmacies were recruited through purposive sampling. Structured electronic questionnaires were administered to 45 respondents working within the study facilities over an 8-week period. Results: About 50% of personnel carrying out drug procurement belonged to non-pharmaceutical cadres namely; doctors, clinical officers, nurses and pharmacy assistants. Drug brand preferences among healthcare facilities and patients were mainly pegged on perceived quality and price. Unethical business competition practices were recorded, including poor professional demeanour and waiver of consultation fees veiled to undercut colleagues. Government subsidized drugs were sold at 100% profit in fifty percent of the facilities stocking them. In 44% of the facilities, the disposal of expired drugs was not in conformity to existing government regulatory guidelines. Conclusions: There is extensive task-shifting and delegation of pharmaceutical services to non-pharmaceutical cadres and poor observance of ethical guidelines in private facilities. Strict enforcement of regulations is required for optimal practices.
{"title":"Sub-Standard Pharmaceutical Services in Private Healthcare Facilities Serving Low-Income Settlements in Nairobi County, Kenya","authors":"K. Abuga, D. Ongarora, J. Karumbi, M. Olulo, W. Minnaard, I. Kibwage","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy7040167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7040167","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Quality pharmaceutical services are an integral part of primary healthcare and a key determinant of patient outcomes. The study focuses on pharmaceutical service delivery among private healthcare facilities serving informal settlements within Nairobi County, Kenya and aims at understanding the drug procurement practices, task-shifting and ethical issues associated with drug brand preference, competition and disposal of expired drugs. Methods: Forty-five private facilities comprising of hospitals, nursing homes, health centres, medical centres, clinics and pharmacies were recruited through purposive sampling. Structured electronic questionnaires were administered to 45 respondents working within the study facilities over an 8-week period. Results: About 50% of personnel carrying out drug procurement belonged to non-pharmaceutical cadres namely; doctors, clinical officers, nurses and pharmacy assistants. Drug brand preferences among healthcare facilities and patients were mainly pegged on perceived quality and price. Unethical business competition practices were recorded, including poor professional demeanour and waiver of consultation fees veiled to undercut colleagues. Government subsidized drugs were sold at 100% profit in fifty percent of the facilities stocking them. In 44% of the facilities, the disposal of expired drugs was not in conformity to existing government regulatory guidelines. Conclusions: There is extensive task-shifting and delegation of pharmaceutical services to non-pharmaceutical cadres and poor observance of ethical guidelines in private facilities. Strict enforcement of regulations is required for optimal practices.","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75177534","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Achieving and maintaining weight loss for large segments of the population remains elusive, despite evidence demonstrating the value of many weight management programs. This study aimed to gather patients’ perceptions on weight management education needs, and ideas for the structure of a weight management program to be delivered in community pharmacies. This was an exploratory mixed methods study combining qualitative focus group interviews with a cross-sectional survey. Three focus group interviews were conducted, along with a brief survey based on focus groups findings and sent to all eligible participants. The survey allowed for individual responses on the program components and narrowing down of focus group findings. Nearly half of the respondents (45.9%) wanted further education on limiting carbohydrate and sugar intake. Participants were most interested in identifying different exercises appropriate for those with physical limitations (48.6%). Most participants preferred 1 h meetings (70.3%) that contain a mix of one-on-one and group meeting formats (67.6%). The results of the study suggest a three-month weight management program, with a combination of group and individual in-person meetings occurring twice per month, would be of most interest to patients.
{"title":"Building a Patient-Centered Weight Management Program: A Mixed Methods Project to Obtain Patients’ Information Needs and Ideas for Program Structure","authors":"Austin Arnold, Erin R. Holmes, Meagen M Rosenthal","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy7040165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7040165","url":null,"abstract":"Achieving and maintaining weight loss for large segments of the population remains elusive, despite evidence demonstrating the value of many weight management programs. This study aimed to gather patients’ perceptions on weight management education needs, and ideas for the structure of a weight management program to be delivered in community pharmacies. This was an exploratory mixed methods study combining qualitative focus group interviews with a cross-sectional survey. Three focus group interviews were conducted, along with a brief survey based on focus groups findings and sent to all eligible participants. The survey allowed for individual responses on the program components and narrowing down of focus group findings. Nearly half of the respondents (45.9%) wanted further education on limiting carbohydrate and sugar intake. Participants were most interested in identifying different exercises appropriate for those with physical limitations (48.6%). Most participants preferred 1 h meetings (70.3%) that contain a mix of one-on-one and group meeting formats (67.6%). The results of the study suggest a three-month weight management program, with a combination of group and individual in-person meetings occurring twice per month, would be of most interest to patients.","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88233587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nour Hamada, P. Quintana Bárcena, K. Maes, O. Bugnon, J. Berger
Documentation of community pharmacists’ clinical activities, such as the identification and management of drug-related problems (DRPs), is recommended. However, documentation is not systematic in Swiss community pharmacies, and relevant information about DRPs, such as consequences or involved partners, is frequently missing. This study aims to evaluate the interrater and test-retest reliability, appropriateness and acceptability of the Clinical Pharmacy Activities Documented (ClinPhADoc) tool. Ten community pharmacists participated in the study. Interrater reliability coefficients were computed using 24 standardized cases. One month later, test-retest reliability was assessed using 10 standardized cases. To assess the appropriateness, pharmacists were asked to document clinical activities in their own practice using ClinPhADoc. Acceptability was assessed by an online satisfaction survey. Kappa coefficients showing a moderate level of agreement (>0.40) were observed for interrater and test-retest reliability. Pharmacists were able to document 131 clinical activities. The good level of acceptability and brief documentation time (fewer than seven minutes) indicate that ClinPhADoc is well-suited to the community pharmacy setting. To optimize the tool, pharmacists proposed developing an electronic version. These results support the reliability and acceptance of the ClinPhADoc tool.
{"title":"Clinical Pharmacy Activities Documented (ClinPhADoc): Development, Reliability and Acceptability of a Documentation Tool for Community Pharmacists","authors":"Nour Hamada, P. Quintana Bárcena, K. Maes, O. Bugnon, J. Berger","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy7040162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7040162","url":null,"abstract":"Documentation of community pharmacists’ clinical activities, such as the identification and management of drug-related problems (DRPs), is recommended. However, documentation is not systematic in Swiss community pharmacies, and relevant information about DRPs, such as consequences or involved partners, is frequently missing. This study aims to evaluate the interrater and test-retest reliability, appropriateness and acceptability of the Clinical Pharmacy Activities Documented (ClinPhADoc) tool. Ten community pharmacists participated in the study. Interrater reliability coefficients were computed using 24 standardized cases. One month later, test-retest reliability was assessed using 10 standardized cases. To assess the appropriateness, pharmacists were asked to document clinical activities in their own practice using ClinPhADoc. Acceptability was assessed by an online satisfaction survey. Kappa coefficients showing a moderate level of agreement (>0.40) were observed for interrater and test-retest reliability. Pharmacists were able to document 131 clinical activities. The good level of acceptability and brief documentation time (fewer than seven minutes) indicate that ClinPhADoc is well-suited to the community pharmacy setting. To optimize the tool, pharmacists proposed developing an electronic version. These results support the reliability and acceptance of the ClinPhADoc tool.","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87209493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vaccines represent fundamental public health interventions aimed to counteract or, at least, partially mitigate the severe epidemiological and economic burden generated by communicable disorders, in terms of (i) outcome-related, (ii) behavior-related productivity gains, and (iii) community externalities in developed settings as well as in developing countries. Despite their importance, several parents choose not to immunize their children due to the rising phenomenon of anti-vaccination movements that divulge vaccine-related “fake news” and “post-modern, post-factual truths”. Vaccine hesitancy represents a threat that can seriously jeopardize the implementation and success of vaccination campaigns. Within this framework, from a public health perspective, community pharmacies can play a vital role in that pharmacists can: (i) act as immunizers (vaccine distributors, educators, facilitators and administrators), (ii) improve vaccine-related health literacy and vaccination coverage rates as well as (iii) remove barriers and obstacles to the access to healthcare settings offering immunization services and (iv) counteract vaccine hesitancy.
{"title":"Pharmacists as Immunizers: The Role of Pharmacies in Promoting Immunization Campaigns and Counteracting Vaccine Hesitancy","authors":"N. Bragazzi","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy7040166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7040166","url":null,"abstract":"Vaccines represent fundamental public health interventions aimed to counteract or, at least, partially mitigate the severe epidemiological and economic burden generated by communicable disorders, in terms of (i) outcome-related, (ii) behavior-related productivity gains, and (iii) community externalities in developed settings as well as in developing countries. Despite their importance, several parents choose not to immunize their children due to the rising phenomenon of anti-vaccination movements that divulge vaccine-related “fake news” and “post-modern, post-factual truths”. Vaccine hesitancy represents a threat that can seriously jeopardize the implementation and success of vaccination campaigns. Within this framework, from a public health perspective, community pharmacies can play a vital role in that pharmacists can: (i) act as immunizers (vaccine distributors, educators, facilitators and administrators), (ii) improve vaccine-related health literacy and vaccination coverage rates as well as (iii) remove barriers and obstacles to the access to healthcare settings offering immunization services and (iv) counteract vaccine hesitancy.","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"204 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86951391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
William J. Hitch, Irene Park Ulrich, A. Warren, D. Stick, Danielle Leyonmark, Mackenzie Farrar
Transitions of care create complex management challenges for providers and leave patients vulnerable to medication errors and hospital readmissions. This article examines the evolution of an interdisciplinary team of pharmacists and nurse care managers and their impact on safe and effective transitions from the acute care settings back into primary care. This article explores successes and challenges of this primary-care-based clinic in managing patients safely through often-complex situations, and explores future directions for improving care processes and outcomes.
{"title":"Evolution of Interdisciplinary Transition of Care Services in a Primary Care Organization","authors":"William J. Hitch, Irene Park Ulrich, A. Warren, D. Stick, Danielle Leyonmark, Mackenzie Farrar","doi":"10.3390/pharmacy7040164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7040164","url":null,"abstract":"Transitions of care create complex management challenges for providers and leave patients vulnerable to medication errors and hospital readmissions. This article examines the evolution of an interdisciplinary team of pharmacists and nurse care managers and their impact on safe and effective transitions from the acute care settings back into primary care. This article explores successes and challenges of this primary-care-based clinic in managing patients safely through often-complex situations, and explores future directions for improving care processes and outcomes.","PeriodicalId":19920,"journal":{"name":"Pharmacy: Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87514138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}