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Farmacia Hospitalaria : Organo Oficial... 2023
Topics: Humans; Pharmacy; Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmacies
PubMed: 36801093
DOI: 10.1016/j.farma.2023.01.005 -
La Tunisie Medicale Dec 2023Access to medication is a major public health issue worldwide and can be considered as an indicator of the quality of public health services in a country.
INTRODUCTION
Access to medication is a major public health issue worldwide and can be considered as an indicator of the quality of public health services in a country.
AIM
To evaluate patient satisfaction with the services provided by the external pharmacy in the drug distribution circuit in public healthcare facilities in Tunisia.
METHODS
To achieve this goal, a satisfaction survey was conducted on a sample of 200 patients at the external pharmacies of two university hospitals in Tunis, namely the La Rabta University Hospital and the Charles Nicolle University Hospital.
RESULTS
This survey revealed that despite the efforts made by the state and the importance of the drug market in Tunisia, 80% of patients reported difficulties in finding their medication in the healthcare facilities where they consult, and more than 60% are forced to obtain them from private pharmacies. The survey also highlighted a contrast between the quality of services provided by the external hospital pharmacy and those of private pharmacies. Indeed, only 25% of the surveyed patients were satisfied with the services provided by the external pharmacy. Although this satisfaction was conditioned by several factors, the main concern of the patients remained the availability of medication. In fact, with little difference in terms of care, 80.5% of the participants favored the idea of transferring the services provided by the external pharmacy to private pharmacies.
CONCLUSION
In summary, this study has highlighted the need to rethink the drug supply and distribution system and to explore alternative approaches to significantly improve access to medication and the quality of services provided by external pharmacies in Tunisian public hospitals.
Topics: Humans; Pharmacies; Tunisia; Pharmacy; Delivery of Health Care; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 38477198
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Managed Care & Specialty... Jun 2019The study referred to in this letter received no outside funding but was sponsored by Humana through regular employment activities by Schwab, Racsa, and Worley, who are...
The study referred to in this letter received no outside funding but was sponsored by Humana through regular employment activities by Schwab, Racsa, and Worley, who are employed by Humana Healthcare Research (formerly Comprehensive Health Insights). The study found benefits related to using mail-order versus community pharmacies for dispensing antihyperglycemic agents in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Humana owns mail-order pharmacies under the Humana Pharmacy subsidiary. Mourer and Meah are paid employees of Humana Pharmacy Solutions. Rascati is employed by the University of Texas College of Pharmacy at Austin.
Topics: Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents; Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmacies; Postal Service
PubMed: 31134858
DOI: 10.18553/jmcp.2019.25.6.725 -
Research in Social & Administrative... Sep 2019Control of blood glucose and a reduced risk of complications are important treatment goals in diabetes. Medication non-adherence can influence the outcome of diabetes.... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Control of blood glucose and a reduced risk of complications are important treatment goals in diabetes. Medication non-adherence can influence the outcome of diabetes. Involvement of a pharmacist in diabetes care might help patients to achieve better treatment outcomes. Existing literature reviews have focused on a limited number of interventions and outcome measures, and have involved different healthcare professionals. None of the previous reviews have used a standardized effect size to compare the effects of different pharmacist-led interventions and different outcome measures.
OBJECTIVE
To review pharmacist-led interventions to improve medication adherence in patients with diabetes and to assess the effectiveness of these interventions on medication adherence.
METHODS
Six databases were systematically searched between March and September 2017 for randomized controlled trials: PubMed, Cochrane library, EMBASE, CINAHL, JSTOR, and Web of Science. The outcome measures used were: medication adherence, HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), post-prandial blood glucose (PPG), or random blood glucose (RBG). Cohen's d, a standardized effect size, enabled a comparison of studies with different outcome measures. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the quality of the studies.
RESULTS
Fifty-nine studies were included in this review. Pharmacist-led interventions enhanced outcomes in patients with diabetes (standardized mean difference (SMD) -0.68; 95% CI -0.79, -0.58; p < 0.001). Sub-group analysis by intervention strategy, the type of intervention and outcome measures produced similar results. Further analysis showed that education, printed/digital material, training/group discussion, were more effective than other interventions.
CONCLUSION
This finding supports the role of the pharmacist in diabetes care to enhance medication adherence.
Topics: Adult; Diabetes Mellitus; Humans; Medication Adherence; Pharmacies; Pharmacists; Professional Role; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 30685443
DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2018.09.021 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2022
Topics: Delivery of Health Care; Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmacies; Pharmacy; Policy
PubMed: 35619821
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.901847 -
British Dental Journal Aug 2020
Topics: Pharmacies; Pharmacists; Pharmacy; Trust
PubMed: 32811913
DOI: 10.1038/s41415-020-2010-z -
The New England Journal of Medicine Dec 2012
Topics: Drug Compounding; Government Regulation; Pharmacies; United States; United States Food and Drug Administration
PubMed: 23134355
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe1213569 -
Farmacia Hospitalaria : Organo Oficial... 2023
Topics: Humans; Pharmacy; Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmacies
PubMed: 36963995
DOI: 10.1016/j.farma.2023.03.001 -
Research in Social & Administrative... Mar 2023There is an urgent need for health care systems to be more efficient and efficacious. An approach to integrate public and private provider organizations such as... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
There is an urgent need for health care systems to be more efficient and efficacious. An approach to integrate public and private provider organizations such as community pharmacies and public primary health care (PHC) merits consideration. The objective of this review was to identify the types of integration in health care settings and discuss their applicability to the potential integration of community pharmacy and PHC.
METHODS
A narrative review using Medline, Scopus and SciELO databases was performed in which terms related to health were combined with terms related to integration. Levels and Types of integration: 14 types of integration were identified (two in breadth, seven as enablers and five in system levels). A model was created which classifies and assigns the types of integration to the different levels of the health system and to the breadth, intensity, and enablers of the integration process. Due to the nature of community pharmacy and PHC system, a horizontal integration at the micro level, supported by meso and macro levels policy, is suggested. The different elements of intensity and enablers can significantly influence the process.
CONCLUSION
The application of principles, concepts and types of integration suggest that it might be feasible and practical to integrate community pharmacies and PHC. However, the conflictive historical context would need to be overcome with appropriate policy and incentives.
Topics: Humans; Pharmacies; Primary Health Care; Delivery of Health Care; Community Pharmacy Services
PubMed: 36336618
DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2022.10.007 -
Journal of the American Pharmacists... 2021Adderall (amphetamine-dextroamphetamine) is a controlled substance with harmful adverse effects if abused or misused. We assessed the availability of Adderall from...
OBJECTIVES
Adderall (amphetamine-dextroamphetamine) is a controlled substance with harmful adverse effects if abused or misused. We assessed the availability of Adderall from common search engines, and evaluated the safety and marketing characteristics of online pharmacies selling Adderall.
DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.
SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS
From December 2019 to February 2020, the phrase "buy Adderall online" was queried in four search engines: Google (N = 100), Bing (N = 100), Yahoo (N = 50) and DuckDuckGo (N = 50). Online pharmacies that claimed to sell Adderall and had unique Uniform Resource Locators, were active, free-access, and in English language were included.
OUTCOME MEASURES
Online pharmacies were categorized as rogue, unclassified, or legitimate on the basis of LegitScript classifications. Safety and marketing characteristics, and costs were collected.
RESULTS
Of the 62 online pharmacies found to sell Adderall, 61 were rogue or unclassified. Across all rogue and unclassified online pharmacies, prescriptions were not required (100%), pharmacist services were not offered (100%), and quantity limits were not placed on the number of Adderall purchases (100%). Rogue and unclassified online pharmacies appealed to cost, offering price discounts (61%), bulk discounts (67%), and coupon codes (70%). Contrary to their claims, cheaper prices were available for all formulations and dosages of Adderall from GoodRx than from these online pharmacies. Rogue and unclassified online pharmacies promoted and enabled the illicit purchase of Adderall, appealing to privacy (74%), offering purchase through cryptocurrency (74%), and claiming registration or accreditation of their sites (33%).
CONCLUSION
Rogue online pharmacies are pervasive in search engine results, enabling the illicit purchase of Adderall without a prescription. Consumers are at risk of purchasing Adderall, a medication with high abuse potential, from unsafe sources. Law enforcement, regulatory agencies, and search engines should work to further protect consumers from unregistered and illegitimate online pharmacies selling Adderall.
Topics: Amphetamines; Controlled Substances; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Internet; Pharmaceutical Services, Online; Pharmacies
PubMed: 32912756
DOI: 10.1016/j.japh.2020.07.022