Future Pharmacy Research Articles

The Need to Introduce Simulation-Based Teaching in Pharmacy Education in Saudi Arabia.

Pharmacists worldwide, including Saudi Arabia, are now increasingly expected to play a more patient-centred role. The transition of pharmacists from a dispensing role to a more patient-centred clinical role requires the adoption of innovative learning techniques in pharmacy teaching and learning to transform the future pharmacy workforce. One such innovation in pharmacy education is simulation-based pharmacy teaching. The use of simulation in pharmacy education allows pharmacy students to not only improve their clinical knowledge and skills, but also serves as a tool to improve their critical thinking that is a pre-requisite in sound clinical decision-making. Given the importance of patient-oriented teaching in pharmacy education, the majority of institutions offering pharmacy education in the developed countries have successfully integrated simulation-based teaching in their respective curricula to meet both patient and practice needs. However, most of the universities offering undergraduate pharmacy programs in the developing world, including Saudi Arabia, have limited application of patient-focused teaching in their respective programs. This article aims to highlight the importance of introducing simulation-based teaching in pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia.

A Comparison of Approaches to Student Pharmacist Business Planning in Pharmacy Practice Management

Objective. To compare second-year student pharmacists' perspectives on two approaches for completing a pharmacy practice management business planning project. Methods. A mixed-methods approach was used to compare two options (traditional and experimental) for completing business plan projects that were offered to teams of second-year student pharmacists as part of a required pharmacy management course. Teams who chose the traditional project were required to develop a unique, pharmacy-related business plan while those who chose the experimental concept were paired with a pharmacy-focused firm within Tennessee and tasked with designing a potential service for the firm's consideration. At semester's end, all students were asked to complete a brief survey to provide insight on their experiences with either of the group projects. Students and firm stakeholders were also asked to participate in a group and individual interview, respectively. Results. Student group comparisons indicated that the experimental project provided a more real-world, business planning experience. Additionally, groups that did the experimental project were more likely to report seeing how business and pharmacy practice were connected, indicate a better understanding of the principles of pharmacy management, and be perceived as more marketable for a future pharmacy career. Firm representatives indicated that insight provided by the students was valuable and that they had plans to implement what was proposed. Conclusion. Connecting student pharmacists with a pharmacy-focused firm provided a real-world management experience that better complemented the course's principles, and created a mutually beneficial innovation-focused partnership.

Projection of future pharmacy service fees using the dispensing claims in hospital and clinic outpatient pharmacies: national health insurance database between 2006 and 2012

BackgroundPredicting pharmacy service fees is crucial to sustain the health insurance budget and maintain pharmacy management. However, there is no evidence on how to predict pharmacy service fees at the population level. This study compares the status of pharmacy services and constructs regression model to project annual pharmacy service fees in Korea.MethodsWe conducted a time-series analysis by using sample data from the national health insurance database from 2006 and 2012. To reflect the latest trend, we categorized pharmacies into general hospital, special hospital, and clinic outpatient pharmacies based on the major source of service fees, using a 1% sample of the 2012 data. We estimated the daily number of prescriptions, pharmacy service fees, and drugs costs according to these three types of pharmacy services. To forecast pharmacy service fees, a regression model was constructed to estimate annual fees in the following year (2013). The dependent variable was pharmacy service fees and the independent variables were the number of prescriptions and service fees per pharmacy, ratio of patients (≥ 65 years), conversion factor, change of policy, and types of pharmacy services.ResultsAmong the 21,283 pharmacies identified, 5.0% (1064), 4.6% (974), and 77.5% (16,340) were general hospital, special hospital, and clinic outpatient pharmacies, respectively, in 2012. General hospital pharmacies showed a higher daily number of prescriptions (111.9), higher pharmacy service fees ($25,546,342), and higher annual drugs costs ($215,728,000) per pharmacy than any other pharmacy (p < 0.05). The regression model to project found the ratio of patients aged 65 years and older and the conversion factor to be associated with an increase in pharmacy service fees. It also estimated the future rate of increase in pharmacy service fees to be between 3.1% and 7.8%.ConclusionsGeneral hospital outpatient pharmacies spent more on annual pharmacy service fees than any other type of pharmacy. The forecast of annual pharmacy service fees in Korea was similar to that of Australia, but not that of the United Kingdom.

Student pharmacist perceptions of participation in hands-on naloxone counseling

Background and purposeOpioid overdose is a leading cause of death across the United States. Rho Chi Pharmacy Honor Society students at the University of Kentucky initiated a project to provide fellow students a volunteer opportunity to educate at-risk patients about naloxone using a physician-approved protocol. The goal was to improve student counseling skills by allowing them to apply knowledge learned during didactic and simulated training. Educational activity and settingThird and fourth year pharmacy students at the University of Kentucky voluntarily provided opioid overdose and naloxone counseling to patients at the health department and other locations. Students who counseled at the health department were asked to complete an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved, anonymous, electronic survey at the end to gauge their perceptions of the experience. FindingsThirty-five of forty-five participating students responded to the survey, indicating a 78% response rate. The results suggested that student comfort with naloxone counseling increased after real-world counseling, compared with their perceived comfort levels entering the experience. The majority of the respondents (77%, n = 27) reported a change in their personal views on drug addiction and the associated patient population. Ninety-one percent (n = 32) of students plan to pursue certification to dispense naloxone as part of their future pharmacy practice. Most (94%, n = 33) perceived the counseling experience as practical application of their didactic education. Discussion and conclusionsAs opioid addiction and accidental overdose plagues the nation, pharmacists are prepared to lead the battle against this disease. Pharmacy education and hands-on opportunities provide students with the practical knowledge and skills necessary to have impact on their patients and the opioid epidemic.

Development and Implementation of a Combined Master of Science and PGY1/PGY2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency Program at a Large Community Teaching Hospital.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to share experiences after the development of a health-system pharmacy administration residency with a MS degree and express the need for additional programs in nonacademic medical center health-system settings. Summary: Experiences with the development and implementation of a health-system pharmacy administration residency at a large community teaching hospital are described. Resident candidates benefit from collaborations with other health-systems through master's degree programs and visibility to leaders at your health-system. Programs benefit from building a pipeline of future pharmacy administrators and by leveraging the skills of residents to contribute to projects and department-wide initiatives. Tools to assist in the implementation of a new pharmacy administration program are also described and include rotation and preceptor development, marketing and recruiting, financial evaluation, and steps to prepare for accreditation. Conclusion: Health-system pharmacy administration residents provide the opportunity to build a pipeline of high-quality leaders, provide high-level project involvement, and produce a positive return on investment (ROI) for health-systems. These programs should be explored in academic and nonacademic-based health-systems.

Analysis of Drug-Related Problems Identified by Future Pharmacists in Medical Wards of Tertiary Hospitals in the State of Pahang, Malaysia

: Objective: Clinical attachments undertaken by pharmacy students in Malaysia are one of the important platforms in order to prepare future candidates for patient-centred pharmacy practice. The lack of data regarding the identification of drug-related problems (DRPs) and the suggestion of relevant interventions by final year pharmacy students has directed the current research to describe pharmacy students’ abilities in identifying DRPs in their final year clinical placements. Methods: As a descriptive cross-sectional study, it involved the analysis of the clinical case reports of final year pharmacy students during their six-week clinical attachments between February and April 2017 across three different tertiary hospitals in the state of Pahang, Malaysia. A six-member team, who had received the required training by the study’s principal researcher, performed the data extraction from the clinical attachment reports. Results: A total of 385 clinical case reports, identified 880 DRPs. The two most common types of identified DRPs were the untreated condition (17.4 %), followed by inappropriate drug selection (16.3 %). Nearly 47.7 % of total detected DRPs were related to the indication and efficacy domains of therapy assessment. Additionally, there was a positive correlation found between the number of underlying diseases and the number of identified DRP, rs(372) = .14, p = .007. Conclusion: During the final year clinical attachments, the majority of the students were able to identify a considerable number of DRPs in the hospital setting under the supervision of their preceptors. The characterisation of the identified DRPs could be instrumental in refining the experiential clinical learning among future pharmacy practitioners.Key words: Drug-related problem, Experiential learning, Pharmacy students, Clinical attachment.

Health secretary's aide hears plea for government clarity on community pharmacy's future

Health secretary's aide hears plea for government clarity on community pharmacy's future

Practical strategies and perceptions from community pharmacists following their experiences with conducting pharmacy practice research: a qualitative content analysis.

While prior research identified barriers to conducting research in community pharmacies, there remains a need to better understand facilitators to ensure successful collaborations between academic researchers and pharmacists. Our objective was to determine the experiences and perspectives of community pharmacists who have recently conducted a pharmacy practice-based research study to gain in-depth understanding of challenges as well as facilitators and identify strategies and solutions. We conducted a qualitative study involving one-on-one semi-structured telephone interviews with community pharmacists following the completion of a practice-based research study in their pharmacies. Interview transcripts were analysed using inductive content analysis involving open coding, creating categories and abstraction into final themes. Eleven pharmacists participated in the qualitative interviews. We identified six major themes including: (1) barriers (e.g. time constraints); (2) facilitators (e.g. ideal pharmacy layout); (3) support and resources from academic researchers (e.g. helpfulness of training, easy-to-use study materials); (4) pharmacist-initiated strategies for conducting research (beyond prior suggestions from researchers); (5) suggestions for future pharmacy practice research; and (6) motivation for conducting pharmacy practice research. These findings informed practical strategies targeted at academic researchers and pharmacists, respectively, to facilitate the conduct of research in community pharmacists across various stages of the research process. Our study adds to better understanding of community pharmacists' perspectives on conducting research and identifies practical solutions that can be readily implemented by academic researchers and pharmacists participating in research.

Assessment of student pharmacists’ ethical decision-making

IntroductionIn previous research, investigators have expressed concern about the ethical ambivalence of pharmacists in decision-making. The objectives of this study were to examine student pharmacists’: 1) attitudes and responses regarding specific common ethical situations and 2) perceived level of difficulty in making ethical decisions. MethodsA self-administered 38-item survey was given to second and third year student pharmacists at Purdue University. The survey comprised five sections, including: 1) attitudes towards common ethical situations, 2) responses to specific ethical scenarios, 3) emergency lending, 4) perceived level of difficulty in resolving ethical dilemmas, and 5) demographics. ResultsOver 90% of students agreed or strongly agreed that pharmacists have the right to refuse to dispense a medication for clinical reasons, while 45.3% agreed or strongly agreed that pharmacists had the right to refuse to dispense for moral or religious reasons. Greater than 20% of students were undecided about dispensing syringes without a prescription, pseudoephedrine tablets to a frequent purchaser, and lethal doses of narcotics. In eight out of nine cases involving ethical decision-making, over 70% of students perceived the decision to be somewhat problematic. Discussion and conclusionsExploration of student pharmacists’ perceptions of specific ethical situations assists in identifying areas of uncertainty in decision-making and informing educational interventions that may foster ethical development of future pharmacy professionals.

Development of an Integrated Immunology and Vaccines Pharmacy Elective

Objective: To describe an elective course on immunology and vaccines for pharmacy students that extends beyond basic immunization training.&#x0D; Design: A three credit-hour Immunology and Vaccines elective was developed and taught by an immunologist, policy research expert, and pharmacist. The learning objectives of the course included: understanding how the immune system works with vaccines to provide protection against infectious diseases, the history and policies involved in immunization practice, and how to counsel the vaccine hesitant individual. Classes were conducted using a variety of formats; group projects, lectures, films, literature reviews and guest speakers. An end-of-course evaluation was used to gauge student opinion on course value. Students were evaluated by four exams and a final group presentation.&#x0D; Conclusion: Students indicated that this course was valuable to their future pharmacy careers and provided insight into why people choose not to vaccinate and how they could use the course insight to properly educate such individuals.&#x0D; Conflict of Interest&#x0D; We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties&#x0D; &#x0D; Type: Note

Saudi Managed Care Pharmacy (SMCP): New Initiative System of MOH Prescriptions Dispensed Through Community Pharmacies

Saudi Managed Care Pharmacy (SMCP) is one the initiative's project at King of Saudi Arabia. It is application part of Saudi Vision 2030 and could be transformation model of pharmacy practice at Ministry of Health. The project spent several years for meeting and discussions until completed idea born on the ground. Task forces committee from consultant pharmacist and headed by the author had several meeting, discussions, and comparisons with some Gulf and international development countries. The authors used modified American Pharmaceutical Association (APHA) and American College of Clinical Pharmacy Ambulatory Care business model to formulate the project. The system will save millions of dollars and do several hundreds of pharmacy jobs. The Vision, Mission, Value and goals of the program, Saudi Managed Care Pharmacy strength, weakness, opportunities, and threat (SWOT) Analysis, the requirement of SMCP, the requirement of SMCP, and Overcome the limitations in full text below. In addition to some suggested Policy and Procedures items for Managed Care Pharmacy and pharmacy practice and clinical pharmacy program for Managed Care Pharmacy. The system is potential pharmacy practice in the coming future and change overall pharmacy career in Saudi Arabia. Key words: Managed Care Pharmacy, Community Pharmacy, Health Insurance, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.

Innovative Approaches to Teaching Professionally Oriented Disciplines “Organization and Economics of Pharmacy”, “Management and Marketing in Pharmacy”

The article presents pedagogical innovations in teaching professionally oriented disciplines “Organization and Economics of Pharmacy”, “Management and Marketing in Pharmacy” at the Department of Organization and Economics of Pharmacy and Technology of Drugs of the Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, namely: innovative approaches to practical classes with the elements of business games, training in mini-groups, problematic question discussion; extraordinary defense of term papers and the 4-step monitoring of knowledge, abilities and skills required for future pharmacy professionals. The outlined innovations of classroom interactive training are aimed at involving the entire academic group of students in group discussions, teaching them to substantiate their thoughts, developing the abilities to make joint management decisions and bear responsibility for their fulfillment – these are the qualities, which are constantly improving when studying the disciplines “Organization and Economics of Pharmacy”, “Management and Marketing in Pharmacy”.

Teaching students to become effective educators through an academic elective course

Introduction2013 CAPE outcomes and 2016 ACPE accreditation standards state student graduates should be “able to educate all audiences by determining the most effective and enduring ways to impart information and assess learning”. Rationale and objectiveThe purpose of this article is to describe the implementation of a professional elective that achieves this outcome and improves students’ abilities to teach, communicate, and conduct peer and self-assessment. The Learn to Teach course is a 2-credit hour elective offered to second professional year pharmacy students over an 11-week quarter. MethodsQuantitative and qualitative data was collected from 2010 to 2015 and included students’ overall course grades, grades on the formal presentation, and student course evaluations. Peer and self-assessment scores were compared to faculty scores to see if there was any correlation. Results116 students have participated in the elective course from 2010 to 2015, 64% of which completed a course evaluation. The mean grade achieved in the course was 93.5%. The mean faculty formal presentation grade for the course was 90.9% and the mean peer assessment grade was 96.2%. The peer and faculty presentation grades showed a 23.8% correlation. Overall, students strongly agreed/agreed that the course objectives were clear (average score of 3.79/4) and course assessments correlated with the course objectives (average score of 3.81/4). ConclusionThe academic elective has been well received and successfully completed by professional students over the last several years. The skills taught in this academic elective course are applicable to a variety of future pharmacy careers.

Is the future of pharmacy under threat from technology?

Is the future of pharmacy under threat from technology?

Could big data be the future of pharmacy?

Could big data be the future of pharmacy?

Impact of Independent Pharmacist Prescribing on the Future of Pharmacy

Pharmaceutical care as a philosophy is neither universal nor sustainable. Pharmacist prescribing will be the most unifying and transformative innovation in pharmacy practice, globally. Scope expansion supported by prescribing rights for pharmacists will impact pharmacy and other professions: community pharmacy will evolve into an independent profession; and pharmacy and medicine will merge. Important decisions in pharmacy education and practice policy must be made in view of these future changes.&#x0D; Conflict of Interest&#x0D; "We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties".&#x0D; &#x0D; Type: Commentary

Practicing pharmacy to leave a positive legacy for the future

Practicing pharmacy to leave a positive legacy for the future

Recognition of community-based pharmacist practitioners: Essential health care providers

ObjectivesTo introduce the term community-based pharmacist practitioner (CPP), detail how community pharmacists are transitioning into this essential role, suggest 4 tenets of CPPs, and discuss the role of CPPs in future pharmacy practice. SummaryThe focus and nature of community pharmacy is expanding into new practice settings and including enhanced patient care services. With these shifts toward better meeting the health care needs of the communities they serve, community-based pharmacists who provide patient care services have refined specialized skills and should be widely viewed and accepted by the profession, patients, other health care providers, and the public as health care practitioners. Four suggested tenets of CPPs are: deliver direct patient care, contribute to team-based care, manage patient care services, and serve as leaders for advancing patient care. ConclusionPharmacist-provided patient care services are expanding in a variety of community-based settings. The term “community-based pharmacist practitioner” highlights the unique skillset that pharmacists use when they provide patient care services, and it brings recognition to the value community pharmacists contribute to patients, communities, and the health care system.

Perception of the Relevance of Organic Chemistry in a German Pharmacy Students’ Course

Objective. To investigate German pharmacy students' attitudes toward the relevance of organic chemistry training in Julius Maximilian University (JMU) of Würzburg with regard to subsequent courses in the curricula and in later prospective career options. Methods. Surveys were conducted in the second-year organic chemistry course (50 participants) as well as during the third-year and fourth-year lecture cycle on medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry (66 participants) in 2014. Results. Students' attitudes were surprisingly consistent throughout the progress of the degree course. Students considered organic chemistry very relevant to the pharmacy study program (95% junior and 97% senior students), and of importance for their future pharmacy program (88% junior and 94% senior students). With regard to prospective career options, the perceived relevance was considerably lower and attitudes were less homogenous. Conclusions. German pharmacy students at JMU Würzburg consider organic chemistry of high relevance for medicinal chemistry and other courses in JMU's pharmacy program.

Teaching Certificate Program Participants’ Perceptions of Mentor-Mentee Relationships

Objective. To assess teaching certificate program (TCP) participants' perceptions of mentor-mentee relationships. Methods. A 15-item survey instrument was administered to all 2014-2015 participants of the Indiana Pharmacy Teaching Certificate (IPTeC) program. Results. One hundred percent of IPTeC program participants (83/83) responded to the survey. The majority of participants indicated that having a professional mentor was either very important (52%) or important (47%) to their professional development and preferred to choose their own professional mentor (53%). Mentor characteristics rated as highly important by mentees included having similar clinical practice interests (82%), having similar research interests (66%), and being available to meet face-to-face (90%). Age, race, and gender of the mentor were not rated by mentees as important. Conclusion. Teaching certificate program participants place high importance on having a professional mentor. Mentorship of pharmacists completing TCPs should be a priority for current pharmacy faculty members so adequate guidance is available to future pharmacy educators.