School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia.
Int J Clin Pharm. 2011 Oct;33(5):859-67. doi: 10.1007/s11096-011-9554-6. Epub 2011 Aug 19.
The study aimed to assess and compare medication counselling and dispensing practices at community pharmacies in three major cities of Pakistan.
A total of 1113 patient dispenser interactions were observed from a randomly selected sample of 371 pharmacies by using convenient sampling technique in the three respective cities namely Islamabad (118), Peshawar (120) and Lahore (133). The data collection tool was adapted from WHO structure observation form and was modified according to the objectives of the study.
The process of prescription handling at community pharmacies in terms of patient dispenser interaction, prescription validation and medication counseling was assessed. The data was coded, entered and analyzed by using SPSS Version 16.
A total of 1113 patient dispenser interactions were observed at the community pharmacies in the three respective cities namely Islamabad (n = 354), Peshawar (n = 360) and Lahore (n = 399). Out of 1113 patient/dispenser interactions the providers present at the community pharmacies were; pharmacist (degree of B-pharm/pharm D) 1.6% (n = 18), pharmacy assistant (diploma in pharmacy) 7% (n = 78), diploma holder (certified course of drug dispensing) 5.6% (n = 62) and salesmen (no medicine related education) 85.8% (n = 955).There was no significant difference in the practice between pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, diploma holders and salesmen. Prescription validation was carried out in 18% (n = 206) of the cases, drugs verification in 32% (n = 360) of the cases while labelling of drugs was performed in only 6% (n = 76) of the cases. Completely counselling about medication was provided in 3.1% (n = 35) of the cases while no counselling at all was given in 52.7% (n = 582) of the cases.
The process of medication counselling and dispensing practices at community pharmacies in Pakistan is not satisfactory. The patients are largely handled by unqualified salesmen. Thus there is a strong need to improve medication counselling and dispensing practices at community pharmacies by improving the skills of the dispensers through a mix of interventions, and law should be implemented to ensure presence of qualified person which in turn will result in the provision of better patient oriented services at community pharmacies.
本研究旨在评估和比较巴基斯坦三个主要城市社区药店的药物咨询和配药实践。
采用便利抽样技术，从随机选择的 371 家药店中抽取 1113 名患者与药剂师的互动进行观察。在三个城市（伊斯兰堡[118 例]、白沙瓦[120 例]和拉合尔[133 例]）分别进行数据收集。数据收集工具改编自世界卫生组织的结构观察表，并根据研究目的进行了修改。
评估社区药店在处方处理方面的患者与药剂师的互动、处方验证和药物咨询情况。数据使用 SPSS 版本 16 进行编码、输入和分析。
在三个城市（伊斯兰堡[354 例]、白沙瓦[360 例]和拉合尔[399 例]）的社区药店共观察到 1113 名患者与药剂师的互动。在社区药店的药剂师中，有药剂师（B 药学/药学博士学位）1.6%（n=18），药剂师助理（药学文凭）7%（n=78），持文凭者（药物配药认证课程）5.6%（n=62）和销售人员（无医学相关教育）85.8%（n=955）。药剂师、药剂师助理、持文凭者和销售人员之间的实践没有显著差异。18%（n=206）的情况下进行处方验证，32%（n=360）的情况下进行药物验证，仅 6%（n=76）的情况下进行药物标签。完全提供药物咨询的比例为 3.1%（n=35），完全不提供咨询的比例为 52.7%（n=582）。
巴基斯坦社区药店的药物咨询和配药实践过程不尽如人意。患者主要由不合格的销售人员处理。因此，通过混合干预措施提高药剂师的技能，需要大力改善社区药店的药物咨询和配药实践，同时应实施法律，确保有合格人员在场，从而在社区药店提供更好的以患者为中心的服务。
