Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2017 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 6 Articles
Introduction\nUnderstanding how pharmacy technicians and other pharmacy support workforce cadres assist pharmacists in the healthcare system will facilitate developing health systems with the ability to achieve universal health coverage as it is defined in different country contexts. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the present global variety in the technician and other pharmacy support workforce cadres considering; their scope, roles, supervision, education and legal framework.\n\nMaterial and methods\nA structured online survey instrument was administered globally using the Survey Monkey platform, designed to address the following topic areas: roles, responsibilities, supervision, education and legislation. The survey was circulated to International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) member organisations and a variety of global list serves where pharmaceutical services are discussed.\n\nResults\n193 entries from 67 countries and territories were included in the final analysis revealing a vast global variety with respect to the pharmacy support workforce.\n\nRoles and competency\nFrom no pharmacy technicians or other pharmacy support workforce cadres in Japan, through a variety of cadre interactions with pharmacists, to the autonomous practice of pharmacy support workforce cadres in Malawi.\n\nResponsibilities\nFrom strictly supervised practice with a focus on supply, through autonomous practice for a variety of responsibilities, to independent practice.\n\nSupervision\nFrom complete supervision for all tasks, through geographical varied supervision, to independent practice.\n\nEducation\nFrom on the job training, through certificate level vocational courses, to 3ââ?¬â??4 year diploma programs.\n\nLegislation, regulation and liability\nFrom well-regulated and registered, through part regulation with weak implementation, to completely non-regulated contexts.\n\nConclusion\nThis paper documents wide differences in supervision requirements, education systems and supportive legislation for pharmacy support workforce cadres globally. A more detailed understanding of specific country practice settings is required if the use of pharmacy support workforce cadres is to be optimized....
Palliative care is increasingly delivered in the community but access to medicines,\nparticularly ââ?¬Ë?out of hoursââ?¬â?¢ remains problematic. This paper describes the experience of developing\na model to deliver pharmaceutical palliative care in rural Scotland via the MacMillan Rural Palliative\nCare Pharmacist Practitioner (MRPP) project. The focus of the service was better integration of the\nMRPP into different care settings and professional teams, and to develop educational resources for\nthe wider MDT including Care Home and Social Care staff on medicine related issues in palliative\ncare. A variety of integration activities are reported in the paper with advice on how to achieve this.\nSimilarly, many resources were developed, including bespoke training on pharmaceutical matters\nfor Care Home staff. The experience allowed for a three step service and sustainability model for\ncommunity pharmacy palliative care services to be developed. Moving through the steps, the key\nroles and responsibilities of the MRPP gradually shift towards the local Community Pharmacist(s),\nwith the MRPP starting from a locality-based hands-on role to a wider supportive facilitating role for\nlocal champions. It is acknowledged that successful delivery of the model is dependent on alignment\nof resources, infrastructure and local community support....
Professional identity development, seen as essential in the transition from student to\nprofessional, needs to be owned by the universities in order to ensure a workforce appropriately\nprepared to provide global health care in the future. The development of professional identity\ninvolves a focus on who the student is becoming, as well as what they know or can do, and requires\nauthentic learning experiences such as practice exposure and interaction with pharmacist role models.\nThis article examines conceptual frameworks aligned with professional identity development and\nwill explore the role for self-determination theory (SDT) in pharmacy professional education. SDT\nexplains the concepts of competence, relatedness and autonomy and the part they play in producing\nhighly motivated individuals, leading to the development of one�s sense of self. Providing support\nfor students in these three critical areas may, in accordance with the tenets of SDT, have the potential\nto increase motivation levels and their sense of professional identity....
Practical sessions in pharmacology in India still use live animal experiments at many institutions. In view of rising ethical issues on the use of animals in experiments, interactive non-animal alternative methodologies such as Computer Assisted Learning are being adopted by various medical colleges worldwide. Objective of this study was to assess the undergraduate students view points and experiences of computer assisted learning simulations in teaching experimental pharmacology and receive suggestions to improve the same. Students introduced to the CAL method of learning experimental pharmacology were surveyed using a questionnaire. Their opinion on the effectiveness, acceptability and suggestions were obtained. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics. More than 75% of the students accept CAL as an effective alternative to animal experiments and 84% felt their understanding improved after CAL. However, 60% of the students opined animal handling skill are necessary and should be included in practical sessions in addition. CAL is an innovative tool that is an effective alternative for teaching experimental pharmacology. It provides improved understanding of theory and achieves the fixed set of objectives but cannot completely replace animal experiments. Hence, live animal experiments should also be conducted in addition to benefit the students....
In the United States, federally-funded health plans are mandated to measure the quality\nof care. Adherence-based medication quality metrics depend on completeness of administrative\nclaims data for accurate measurement. Low-cost generic programs (LCGPs) cause medications fills\nto be missing from claims data as medications are not adjudicated through a patientââ?¬â?¢s insurance.\nThis study sought to assess the magnitude of the impact of LCGPs on these quality measures.\nData from the 2012ââ?¬â??2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) were used. Medication fills\nfor select medication classes were classified as LCGP fills and individuals were classified as never,\nsometimes, and always users of LCGPs. Individuals were classified based on insurance type (private,\nMedicare, Medicaid, dual-eligible). The proportion of days covered (PDC) was calculated for each\nmedication class and the proportion of users with PDC ââ?°Â¥ 0.80 was reported as an observed metric for\nwhat would be calculated based on claims data and a true metric which included missing medication\nfills due to LCGPs. True measures of adherence were higher than the observed measures. The effectââ?¬â?¢s\nmagnitude was highest for private insurance and for medication classes utilized more often through\nLCGPs. Thus, medication-based quality measures may be underestimated due to LCGPs....
Early assessment and management of risk factors is known to have significant impact\nin preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its associated burden. Cardiovascular disease\nrisk assessment and management (CVDRAM) is best approached by teamwork across health\ncare professionals. This study aimed at assessing health care students� (HCSs) knowledge about\nthe parameters needed for estimating CVD risk, their self-assessed preparedness/confidence and\nperceived barriers for the provision of CVDRAM services through a survey administered to third\nand fourth year pharmacy, medical, and nursing students in Qatar. Although all student cohorts\nachieved similar knowledge scores, less than half (n = 38, 47%) were able to identify all of the six\nmain risk factors necessary to estimate absolute CVD risk, and a third (32%) were unable to identify\ntotal cholesterol as an independent risk factor necessary to estimate CVD risk. Training on the use\nof CVD risk assessment tools differed among the three student cohorts. All student cohorts also\nperceived similar levels of preparedness in CVDRAM. However, pharmacy students reported the\nhighest preparedness/confidence with the use of the latest CVDRAM guidelines. The majority of\nstatements listed under the barriers scale were perceived by the students as being moderate (median\nscore = 3). Poor public acceptance or unawareness of importance of estimating CVD risk was the only\nbarrier perceived as a major by nursing students. Future integration of interprofessional educational\n(IPE) activities in the CVDRAM curricula of HCSs may be a suitable strategy to minimize barriers\nand foster collaborative practice for the provision of CVDRAM services in Qatar....
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