Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Westville Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
PLoS One. 2021 Sep 23;16(9):e0257348. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257348. eCollection 2021.
The implementation of Universal Health Coverage in SA has sought to focus on promoting affordable health care services that are accessible to all citizens. In this regard, pharmacists are expected to play a pivotal function in the revitalization of primary health care (PHC) during this transition by the expansion of their practice roles.
To assess the readiness and perceptions of pharmacists to expand their roles in an integrated health care system. To determine the availability and pricing of primary health care services currently provided within a community pharmacy environment and to evaluate suitable reimbursement for the provision of such services by a community pharmacist.
Community pharmacists' across SA were invited to participate in an online survey-based study. The survey consisted of both open- and closed-ended questions. Descriptive statistics for closed-ended questions were generated and analysed using Microsoft Excel® and Survey Monkey®. Responses for the open-ended questions were transcribed, analysed, and reported as emerging themes.
Six hundred and sixty-four pharmacists' responded to the online survey. Seventy-five percent of pharmacists' reported that with appropriate training, a transition into a more patient-centered role might be beneficial in the re-engineering of the PHC system. However, in order to adopt these new roles, appropriate reimbursement structures are required. The current fee levied by pharmacists in community pharmacies that offered these PHC services was found to be lower to that recommended by the South African Pharmacy Council; this disparity is primarily due to a lack of information and policy standardisation. Therefore, in order to ensure that fees levied are fair, comprehensive service package guidelines are required.
This study provides baseline data for policy makers on pharmacists' readiness to transition into expanded roles. Furthermore, it can be used as a foundation to establish appropriate reimbursement frameworks for pharmacists providing PHC services.
南非实施全民医保的目的是为了提供负担得起的医疗服务，使所有公民都能享受到医疗服务。在这方面，药剂师有望在这一过渡时期通过扩大其执业角色，在基层医疗保健（PHC）的振兴中发挥关键作用。
评估药剂师在综合医疗体系中扩大其角色的准备情况和认知。确定目前在社区药房环境中提供的初级卫生保健服务的可用性和定价，并评估社区药剂师提供此类服务的适当报销。
邀请南非各地的社区药剂师参与一项基于在线调查的研究。该调查包括开放式和封闭式问题。使用 Microsoft Excel®和 Survey Monkey®生成和分析封闭式问题的描述性统计数据。对开放式问题的回答进行了转录、分析，并作为出现的主题进行了报告。
664 名药剂师对在线调查做出了回应。75%的药剂师报告说，经过适当的培训，向以患者为中心的角色转变可能有助于重新设计 PHC 系统。然而，为了采用这些新角色，需要适当的报销结构。在所调查的社区药房中提供这些 PHC 服务的药剂师目前收取的费用比南非药房理事会建议的费用要低；这种差异主要是由于缺乏信息和政策标准化。因此，为了确保收取的费用公平，需要制定全面的服务套餐指南。
本研究为政策制定者提供了关于药剂师准备向扩大角色过渡的基线数据。此外，它可以作为建立药剂师提供 PHC 服务的适当报销框架的基础。
