Pharmacies

The purpose of this policy brief is to provide policy makers, researchers, and stakeholders with information about the closure of rural independently owned pharmacies, including pharmacies that are the sole source of access to local pharmacy services, from 2003 to 2008. This period coincides with the implementation of two major policies related to payment for prescription medications: Medicare prescription drug discount cards were introduced on January 1, 2004, and the Medicare prescription drug benefit began on January 1, 2006. In this brief, we focus on rural pharmacy closure because of the potential threat such closures present to access to any local pharmacy services in a community. Services include providing medications as needed (not waiting for mail order), overseeing administration of drugs to nursing homes and hospitals, and patient consultation. While Medicare Part D has provided access to drug coverage for some previously uninsured patients and mail order prescriptions to...

Community pharmacies play a vital role in promoting, maintaining and improving the health of the local community. This study explored community pharmacists' activities and attitudes towards the provision of sexual health services (SHS) in North East Scotland, as well as their needs with regard to the delivery of current and future SHS. North East Scotland. A questionnaire was conducted of community pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Grampian (n = 128). Self-reported provision of sexual health services; attitudes towards current and future sexual health services; previous training and perceived training needs; respondent demographics. In total, 73% (94/128) of community pharmacists responded. The average number of SHS/products per pharmacy was six out of a possible 13 (range: 4-10). Respondents expressed positive attitudes towards the provision of current and future SHS. However, they also reported that they had received little or no sexual health training but that th...

Malaria treatment policy recommends regular monitoring of drug utilization to generate information for ensuring effective use of anti-malarial drugs in Nigeria. This information is currently limited in the retail sector which constitutes a major source of malaria treatment in Nigeria, but are characterized by significant inappropriate use of drugs. This study analyzed the use pattern of anti-malarial drugs in medicine outlets to assess the current state of compliance to policy on the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). A prospective cross-sectional survey of randomly selected medicine outlets in Enugu urban, southeast Nigeria, was conducted between May and August 2013, to determine the types, range, prices, and use pattern of anti-malarial drugs dispensed from pharmacies and patent medicine vendors (PMVs). Data were collected and analyzed for anti-malarial drugs dispensed for self-medication to patients, treatment by retail outlets and prescription from hospitals. A ...

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are preventable medical errors, yet exposure to DDIs continues despite systems that are designed to prevent such exposures. The purpose of this study was to examine pharmacy characteristics that may be associated with dispensed potential DDIs. This study combined survey data from community pharmacies in 18 metropolitan statistical areas with pharmacy claims submitted to 4 pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) over a 3-month period from January 1, 2003 to March 31, 2003. Pharmacy characteristics of interest included prescription volume, the number of full-time equivalent pharmacists and pharmacy staff, computer software programs, and the ability to modify those programs with respect to DDI alerts, the use of technologies to assist in receiving, filling and dispensing medication orders, and prescription volume. The dependent variable in this study was the rate of dispensed medications that may interact. A total of 672 pharmacies were included in the analysis. ...

Widespread availability of monotherapies and falsified antimalarials is thought to have contributed to the historical development of multidrug-resistant malaria in Cambodia. This study aimed to document the quality of artemisinin-containing antimalarials (ACAs) and to compare two methods of collecting antimalarials from drug outlets: through open surveyors and mystery clients (MCs). Few oral artemisinin-based monotherapies and no suspected falsified medicines were found. All 291 samples contained the stated active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of which 69% were considered good quality by chemical analysis. Overall, medicine quality did not differ by collection method, although open surveyors were less likely to obtain oral artemisinin-based monotherapies than MCs. The results are an encouraging indication of the positive impact of the country's efforts to tackle falsified antimalarials and artemisinin-based monotherapies. However, poor-quality medicines remain an ongoing chall...

A variety of measures have been developed to calculate refill adherence from administrative data such as pharmacy claims databases. These measures have focused on improving the accuracy of adherence measures or clarifying the evaluation time frame. As a result, there are many measures used to assess adherence that may or may not be comparable or accurate. To compare available refill adherence measures. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify current or recently used measures of calculating adherence from administrative data. A MEDLINE search (January 1990-March 2006) was undertaken using the search terms adherence or compliance in the title combined with administrative, pharmacy, or records in any field, including subheadings medical, nursing, and hospital records. Non-English articles were excluded. Seven hundred fifteen articles were available for review. Review articles and letters were excluded from measure selection, but were included in the search terms and us...

In Korea, until recently, both physicians and pharmacists were allowed to prescribe and dispense drugs for outpatient care. Along with other deep-rooted structural problems, this worked against the quality and efficiency of the health care system. To rectify this problem, the Korean government launched a drug policy reform in July 2000. However, the drug policy reform was more drastic than initially intended--driven by political factors, the reform ended up bringing about complete separation of medical institutions and pharmacies. Also, unlike in many other countries, Korea did not take a gradual approach, but instead, it implemented the reform all at once and nation-wide. As a result, the reform has faced criticism and protests, thereby generating unprecedented social turmoil and even strikes by physicians. Still, it is not clear what benefits Korea gained from this reform, when we look at the price which has had to be paid, including greater inconvenience, worsened access to medic...

Resumen:
el objetivo principal de este estudio es analizar, por medio de indicadores económico-
financieros, los estados de cuenta de las farmacias Pague Menos S.A y Raia Drogasil S.A, dos de las más grandes cadenas de farmacias de Brasil. La búsqueda propone analizar una comparación entre los indicadores financieros de liquidez, endeudamiento, actividad y rentabilidad para las dos organizaciones en los periodos finalizados al 31 de diciembre de 2010 y 2011, es decir, se identificaron los índices, se compararon y posteriormente se determinó en cuáles de ellos se superan las compañías. La recolección de datos, esencialmente secundarios, son el balance general y estado de resultados. Finalmente, el análisis de los datos permitió identificar en cuáles indicadores se superan las organizaciones y, además,  pudo definir la posición financiera de las mismas en el ranking de facturación. El estudio de caso permite concluir que los indicadores de Raia Drogasil S.A superan los de Pague menos S.A, por lo que la primera establece una mejor estructura financiera.

Abstract:
The main objective of this study is to analyze, through economic and financial indicators, the statements of pharmacies Pague Menos S.A. and Raia Drogasil S.A., two of the largest drugstore chains in Brazil. The research aims to analyze a comparison of the financial indicators of liquidity, indebtedness, activity and profitability for both of the organizations up to 31st December 2010 and 2011. The indices were identified, compared and subsequently it was determined the indices in which one company exceeded the other. The collection of supporting data is based on the balance sheet and the income statement. Finally, thanks to the analysis of data, it was possible to identify the indicators in which one company exceeded the other, as well as define the financial position of the organizations in the ranking of billing. The case study allowed us to conclude that indicators of Raia Drogasil S.A exceed those of Pague Menos S.A, since the first company establishes a better financial structure.

This paper is the third part of a survey about patient information and the use of patient package leaflet. The aim of this research section is to analyse the role of the pharmacy and the pharmacist in the health-care field. By means of answers of interviewed people, informations were obtained about the purchase of drugs and other products in pharmacy, the consumer requirements, the non-medical products and self-medication channels of information, the patient-physician and patient-pharmacist quality of communication and the role of advertising for drugs and other products sold in pharmacy. From this survey, it emerged that most of the respondents go to pharmacy to purchase drugs exclusively and only a small number of people go to purchase other products. The pharmacist does not play a remarkable role in providing health information to the patient.

Retail pharmacies in developing countries are one of the most important sources of advice on pharmaceuticals. Among the reasons the clients give are ease of access; availability of medicines; quality of service (no waiting and convenient hours of operation); and cheaper products, availability of credit, or the option to buy drugs in small amounts. However, the appropriateness of prescribing by retail pharmacy staff has been found to be far from acceptable. In childhood diarrhea, for example, oral rehydration salts (ORS), the appropriate diarrhea treatment, are recommended much less than pharmaceuticals of limited value, such as antimotility agents, adsorbents, etc. Little information is available for reasons underlying such behaviors.In this paper, we present a conceptual framework in which to analyze factors that may affect retail pharmacy prescribing, and we suggest strategies for behavior change. We developed this framework after examining relevant literature on retail pharmacy prescribing.We propose that pharmacy factors, client factors, physician practice and regulatory factors are the four sets of important factors for understanding pharmacy prescribing behavior. For intervention, we present four types of interventions which could be used for changing the behavior of pharmacy staff: information alone, persuasion, incentives and coercion.The behavior and intervention frameworks presented in this paper should also help in guiding further research in this area. For example, new information on the effects of ownership type, availability vs actual role of professional staff and authority structure on pharmacy treatment behaviors would be useful areas for future research. Similarly, additional research is needed on the comparative effects of coercive, persuasive and incentive strategies on pharmacy treatment behaviors.

Tongues as sharp as blades and pens mightier than swords are amongst the most recurrent metaphors in Western culture. This book investigates the reality behind the image: the political uses of different forms of communication – oral, manuscript, and printed – in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Venice. From council debates to leaks and spies’ reports, from printed pamphlets to graffiti and rumours, political communication closely intertwined with the wider life and economic activities of this cosmopolitan and thickly populated capital of a large empire.
Today we take it for granted that communication and politics influence each other through spin-doctoring and media power. What, however, was the use of communication in an age when rulers recognised no political role for their subjects? And what access to political information did those excluded from government have? In answering, this book offers an original reinterpretation of early modern politics. While traditional political historians view events from the windows of government buildings, social historians have taught us to look at history from below. Neither perspective is sufficient in isolation, because even the most secretive oligarchs, ensconced in the Ducal Palace’s most restricted councils, were constantly preoccupied by their vociferous subjects in the squares below. In early modern Venice politics involved the patrician elite with the rest of the population, including women, in a thick web of continuous communication extending from government halls to the barbershops around Rialto.

Bu ödevde eczacılıkta iletişimin rolünü ve önemine vurgulanmak istenmiştir. Eczacılar tarafından etkili ve sağlıklı iletişim, farmasötik bakım uygulamalarını iyileştirmek ve hastanın tedaviden maksimum yarar sağlaması için esastır. İyi iletişim, eczane ekipleri ve hastalar arasında daha güçlü bir diyaloğu mümkün kılan, herkesin birbirini ve hastalarını toplu olarak desteklemesine olanak hasta memnuniyetini sağlar ve güveni teşvik eder.
ABSTRACT
In this assignment, it is aimed to emphasize the role and importance of communication in pharmacy. Effective and healthy communication by pharmacists is essential for improving pharmaceutical care practices and for the patient to get the maximum benefit from the treatment. Good communication ensures patient satisfaction and fosters trust, enabling everyone to support each other and their patients collectively, enabling stronger dialogue between pharmacy teams and patients.
Keywords: Pharmacy, Communication, Patient-Pharmacist Communication, Community Pharmacies
Date: January 2022
iii

Studies of pharmaceutical practice have called attention to the role played by pharmacists and pharmacy attendants in fostering self-medication and medicine experimentation among the public. Left undocumented is the extent to which clients passively follow the advice of pharmacy personnel or question their motive or expertise. While research has focused on pharmacists and pharmacy attendants as agents encouraging self-medication and medicine experimentation, adequate attention has not been paid to pharmacist–client interactions that are sensitive to the social, cultural, and economic context in which medicine sales and advice occur. This paper highlights the context in which pharmacy attendants engage in “prescribing medicines” to the public in Bombay, India. An ethnographic description of pharmacies and pharmaceutical-related behavior in Bombay is provided to demonstrate how reciprocal relationships between pharmacy owners, medicine wholesalers and pharmaceutical sales representatives (medreps) influence the actions of pharmacy staff. Attention is focused on the role of the medicine marketing and distribution system in fostering prescription practice, pharmacy “counter-pushing” and self-medication. In documenting the profit motives of different players located on the drug sales continuum, it is argued that the economic rationale and the symbiotic relations that exist between doctors, medreps, medicine wholesalers and retailers, need to be more closely scrutinized by those advocating “rational drug use”.