Abstract
Purpose : To evaluate the use of routine diagnostic tools among community pharmacists in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods : This is a cross-sectional study with pre-tested questionnaire administered to 94 pharmacists in community pharmacies in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria. Descriptive statistics was used to summarise data and categorical variables were compared with Chi-square at a significance level of p <0.05. Results : With a response rate of 94.7 %, the study showed that 78 (87.6 %) of the respondents use routine diagnostic tools, 48 (53.9 %) document results of routine diagnostic tests, 72 (80.9 %) make interventions on the results but only 37 (41.6 %) document the interventions made. Although all the respondents were aware of the concept of pharmaceutical care (PC), only 55.1 % of them had adequate knowledge of PC, while 93.3% were willing to undergo training to improve their knowledge on PC implementation. Conclusion : Most community pharmacists routinely use diagnostic tools in Ibadan. However, there is need for improvement on documentation practices. Keywords : Routine diagnostic tools, Community pharmacists, Pharmaceutical care
Highlights
Point-of-care (POC) testing typically involves performing a robust diagnostic test that rapidly produces reliable results outside a laboratory at or near the patient to aid in disease screening, diagnosis, and/or patient monitoring [1,2,3]
Screening tests were conducted less than five times a week, except for blood pressure measurement which was more frequent and less than half of the records kept by respondent pharmacies [12]
Community pharmacists in all the 94 pharmacies registered with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) in the 11 local governments were enlisted for the study
Summary
Point-of-care (POC) testing typically involves performing a robust diagnostic test that rapidly produces reliable results outside a laboratory at or near the patient to aid in disease screening, diagnosis, and/or patient monitoring [1,2,3]. POC testing has become established worldwide and finds vital roles in public health [5] These testing devices have been used in community clinic settings and pharmacies in a number of countries [6]. In Nigeria, there are indications that majority of DM patients check their blood glucose status only on the appointment days in the clinic [18] In this respect, community pharmacists, who are accessible to patients, can take up the challenge of doing routine diagnostic tests. It evaluated awareness of the respondents on pharmaceutical care concept as well as the documentation of pharmaceutical care interventions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
