With increased development of medical technology (MT), new challenges emerge related\nto education and training of pharmacists and other healthcare specialists. Currently, only a few\nuniversities in the EU promote MT education and research. Objectives: The aim of this study\nwas to evaluate the current status, views on, and need for the education on MT for the pharmacy\nstudents and practicing pharmacists in the Baltic and Nordic countries. Methods: The representatives\nof higher education institutions and community/hospital pharmacists from six Baltic and Nordic\ncountries participated in a qualitative cross-sectional exploratory internet-based study from May\nto October 2014. Results: Approximately two-third of the respondents considered professional\nknowledge about MT products important for pharmacists, but half of them had never participated\nin any MT courses. More practicing pharmacists than representatives of academia underlined the\nneed for increased MT education for pharmacy students in the future. Conclusions: The pharmacists\nin the Baltic and Nordic countries consider the professional knowledge about MT as pertinent in\ntheir education and work. The limited number and status of MT courses available today, however,\nis a major concern among both pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists in these countries.In the future, increasing education combining theory and practice about MT products would be one\npossible solution to overcome this challenge.
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