Pharmaceutical Society Research Articles

MPharm students’ response to pharmacy staff shortages during lockdown

IntroductionDuring the first lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacy students, particularly those with previous experience, were encouraged to help address staff shortages in pharmacy practice (1).AimThis study investigated the response of pharmacy students at Keele University to the request for help to address staff shortages in practice during lockdown.MethodsAn online survey using Google Forms was developed based on addressing the aim of the study and a working knowledge of pharmacy practice. The survey was piloted on academic pharmacists, and after minor amendments, was disseminated to all students in years 2, 3 and 4 of the MPharm course, along with a participant information sheet. Questions regarding consent were incorporated into the Google Form. The survey consisted of a range of question types: tick-box, Likert scale, multiple-choice and free text. A reminder email was sent out to increase response rate. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 24.0.ResultsThe online survey was distributed to 352 students. A total of 106 responses were collected; providing a response rate of 30.1%. Fifty-nine (55.7%) of these students did not undertake paid employment in a pharmacy during lockdown, compared to 47 (44.3%) who did. Of the 47 who did, most obtained paid employment in a community pharmacy (n=42; 89%), the rest in hospital. Seventy percent of respondents (n = 74) had undertaken work experience in a community pharmacy prior to lockdown. A number of reasons were given for choosing not to work in a pharmacy, including needing time to study for exams or living with a vulnerable family member, but the most frequent reason reported (40.7%) was that students found it difficult to find work. For those students who did work in a pharmacy during lockdown, the reported reasons varied, with the most frequent being to gain experience (n = 35; 74.5%), followed by a sense of duty to help the community (n=31; 66.0%). The time spent working ranged from 8 to 40 hours per week. The majority of students reported working in the dispensary and on the medicines counter, undertaking a wide range of activities. Final year students and those who had previously undertaken work experience in a pharmacy were statistically more likely to obtain paid employment during lockdown. Perceived advantages to working during lockdown included the opportunity to improve communication and clinical skills and apply theory to practice, as well as being able to ‘give back’ to the community. 97.9% (n= 46) reported feeling under pressure whilst working, although 72.3% (n=34) reported that they enjoyed working despite this.ConclusionPharmacy students had various reasons for choosing to work in practice or not during lockdown. Those who did work reported benefiting from the experience in a number of ways. This suggests that pharmacy students with prior experience of pharmacy working, should be encouraged to offer their support in times of staff shortages if future lockdowns occur.Reference(1) Supporting the COVID-19 response: Joint Guidance: Facilitating deployment of pharmacy undergraduate students to support the pharmacy workforce. Health Education England, NHS Education for Scotland, Health Education and Improvement Wales, Pharmacy Schools Council, Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association. 09 April 2020, pp.1–9. Available at: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/MPharm%20student%20deployment%20joint%20guidance%20FINAL.pdf [Accessed 14 October 2021].

Community pharmacists’ experiences and beliefs towards providing pharmacy services to deaf and hard of hearing patients: a mixed-method study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract Introduction Provision of pharmacy services to patients requires the pharmacist to well communicate with the patients. Research has shown that healthcare providers, including community pharmacists, face many challenges while providing services to deaf and hard-of-hearing patients (DHOH). Aim To investigate community pharmacists’ experiences and beliefs about providing pharmacy services to DHOH in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods This was a sequential explanatory mixed-method study involving a survey and semi-structured interviews. At first, a web-based, self-administered survey was disseminated to community pharmacists in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the period October to November 2020. The survey was disseminated through the official twitter account of Saudi Pharmaceutical Society. Two reminders were sent. It was made clear that the survey targeted community pharmacists working in Riyadh city. To calculate an appropriate sample size, according to Hair et al, the general rule to have a minimum sample size would be five observations per variable (5:1), and an acceptable sample size would be ten observations per variable (10:1). In this survey, there are 16 items, and hence the acceptable sample size was 160 participants. The semi-structured telephone-based interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of survey respondents to gather in-depth information on experiences, beliefs, and barriers about providing pharmacy services to DHOH. The interviews were conducted until saturation occurred. Survey data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 24), and the semi-structured interviews were analysed by Framework analysis. Results A total of 175 community pharmacists completed the survey. The majority were: male (84.6%), aged between 25 to 35 years (74.9%). Of the respondents, 32.2% and 29.1% had experience in community pharmacy of 1-5 and 6-10 years, respectively. The number of DHOH patients the pharmacists met during the past 6 months were as follows: 68 (38.9%) pharmacists met 1-2 patients, 71 (40.6%) %) pharmacists met 3-4 patients, and 19 (11%) %) pharmacists met ≥ 5 patients. The provided services included: prescription medications (by 82.9%), counselling on prescription medications (by 56.6%), OTC medication dispensing (by 4.3%), and counselling on OTC medications (by 52.6%). Forty participants (22.8%) reported their awareness of the basics of Saudi sign language (SSL). Of the participants, 101 (57.7%) believed that they have handled communication barriers appropriately, while 61(35%) acknowledged unmanageable communication barriers. Among the main barriers identified were the lack of knowledge of the basics of SSL. (70.9%) and the inability to recognize disability (52.6%). The semi-structured interviews further explored pharmacists’ experiences and views on providing such a service. Of the main themes emerged were: (1) Experience; interviewees preferred written communication with DHOH patients regardless of their literacy level, while spontaneous hand gesturing was the least preferred method of communication, and they also acknowledged that their roles in providing services, to the DHOH, need to be improved (2) Beliefs; interviewees believed that awareness of the basics of SSL is important to ensure safe medication use. The barriers emerged from the interview were classified as pharmacist-related, system-related, and patient-related. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind to be conducted in Saudi Arabia. The study highlighted that when providing pharmacy services to DHOH patients, community pharmacists encountered multiple barriers. These barriers need to be addressed for better support and provision of pharmacy services to DHOH. Further studies with large sample size, are warranted to better understand the situation. References (1) Hair J, Black W, Babin B, Anderson R. Multivariate data analysis. 7th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited; 2014 (2) Scheier DB. Barriers to health care for people with hearing loss: a review of the literature. J N Y State Nurses Assoc. 2009 Mar 22;40(1):4-11. (3) Ferguson MC, Shan L. Survey evaluation of pharmacy practice involving deaf patients. Journal of pharmacy practice. 2016 Oct;29(5):461-6.

Implementation of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Professional Standards for Homecare to invoice management of Home Parenteral Nutrition

Home Parenteral Nutrition (HPN) is a high tech homecare service. Patients are under the care of specialist Intestinal Failure teams, and funding for homecare is provided by NHS England. The Hackett report in 20111 sought to improve financial and clinical governance arrangements for patients receiving medicines via the homecare route. A workgroup developed Professional Standards for Homecare Services (Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 20132). Standard 9.2 refers to Financial governance, and states “payments due to that contractor under the homecare service are not unreasonably withheld or delayed”, and “product access and contract pricing is in accordance with their service specification”.

Views and perceptions on the designated prescribing practitioner role, barriers, and facilitators for its implementation in community pharmacy: a theory-based quantitative study

Abstract Introduction Scottish Government aims to increase numbers of pharmacist independent prescribers (IP) in community to improve healthcare access. This includes utilising qualified IPs as Designated Prescribing Practitioners (DPP) to increase capacity to supervise pharmacists on IP courses. Aim To investigate views and perceptions of practice-based stakeholders and identify potential influences on DPP implementation for Scottish community pharmacists (CP) Methods A theory-based cross-sectional online survey of stakeholders involved in DPP role implementation (e.g. Directors of Pharmacy, Prescribing Leads, IP qualified CPs) was employed. Participation invites were shared with Scottish health boards and CP organisations via email and social media. Snowball sampling was used so no key individual was omitted. The questionnaire was informed by Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) DPP Framework (1) and Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (2). It examined views and awareness of DPP role, implementation drivers, and obstacles. The tool was reviewed for credibility and dependability then piloted. Data were analysed descriptively. Results Ninety-nine responses were received (NB: Since this was a national survey of multiple stakeholders without a defined sample list, response rate was indeterminate). Two-fifths (n=39, 40.2%) were community pharmacists with majority qualified for more than 10 years (n=76, 76.8%). Only 18 had previous involvement with IP courses. The table shows awareness and views of the role based on RPS framework. Respondents had positive attitudes to DPP implementation with the majority supporting it (72, 73.5%) and believing that its advantages outweigh any disadvantages (74, 75.5%). Facilitators of successful implementation were having clearly defined leadership roles (89, 90.9%), piloting (85, 87.6%), and incentives (65, 88.8%). Drivers for uptake of role included improving patient care (94, 96%) and the profession (91, 92.8%), self-development (91, 92.8%), developing individual pharmacists (89, 90.8%), payment (77, 79.4%), and being recognised by peers/employers (73, 75.2%). Conclusion There was positivity regarding DPP role, its acceptability in, and advantages for CP. Resource-related concerns were expressed that need further consideration to ensure effective implementation. This is the first study internationally to explore views on DPP role. Given the Scottish focus, findings may lack generalisability. Future research should focus on theory-based evaluation of structures and processes of implementation. References (1) Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Designated Prescribing Practitioner Competency Framework [internet]. London: Royal Pharmaceutical Society; 2019 [Cited 28/09/2021]. Available from: https://www.rpharms.com/resources/frameworks/designated-prescribing-practitioner-competency-framework (2) Damschroder LJ, Aron DC, Keith RE, Kirsh SR, Alexander JA, Lowery JC. Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: a consolidated framework for advancing implementation science. Implement Sci. 2009;4:50.

Pharmacogenomics: Relevance and opportunities for clinical pharmacology

Pharmacogenomics: Relevance and opportunities for clinical pharmacology

Perceptions of pharmacists on the quality of automated blood pressure devices: a national survey

A recent study found that only 23.8% of blood pressure (BP) devices available for purchase from Australian pharmacies were validated for accuracy. The extent to which pharmacists are aware of this, and other issues related to the accuracy of BP devices, is not known and gathering this information was the aim of this study. An online survey of Australian pharmacists was distributed via the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia between 1 October and 25 November 2020. Questions were focused on the views of pharmacists related to the accuracy of BP devices. Two hundred and ten pharmacists completed the survey. The accuracy of BP devices sold by pharmacists was considered ‘quite’ or ‘extremely important’ to most respondents (94%). However, most respondents (90%) were unaware that less than one-quarter of BP devices sold by Australian pharmacies were validated, and this was ‘quite’ or ‘extremely surprising’ to many (69%). Many respondents (64%) associated a particular brand of BP device with greater accuracy. There was low awareness on proper ways to identify accurate BP devices, such as checking reputable online databases (43%). BP devices were stocked in respondents’ pharmacies based on perceived quality (50%), accuracy (40%), or as determined by the pharmacy chain (36%). In conclusion, providing accurate BP devices to consumers is important to pharmacists, but they were generally unaware that most devices available from pharmacies were not validated for accuracy. Pharmacist education, alongside advocacy for policies including regulations and strategic action, is required to ensure only validated BP devices are sold in Australia.

Australian pharmacy student perceptions of employment in the pharmaceutical industry

AbstractBackgroundIn Australia, the predicted oversupply of pharmacists is contributing to concern regarding employment prospects. Traditionally, there have been low numbers of pharmacists employed in the Australian pharmaceutical industry and a lack of data on pharmacy students’ perceptions of employment within this sector.AimTo determine pharmacy students’ understanding and perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry as an employment option.MethodAustralian pharmacy students graduating in 2018 were invited to complete an online survey. Participants were recruited via Facebook sites for the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association, the Early Career Pharmacists group of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) and through intern training networks of the PSA, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and Chemist Warehouse. Australian universities were also approached via e‐mail to assist in distribution of the survey to their 2018 graduates.ResultsComplete responses were received from 124 students, representing 17 universities. Most respondents perceived the pharmaceutical industry as a good employment option (61%). However, they generally lacked understanding (77%), information and sufficient exposure to industry to fully comprehend the potential employment opportunities available. Furthermore, placements in the pharmaceutical industry are not universally available to pharmacy students, and less than 20% had undertaken such a placement. Respondents desired industry placements (81%), education (86%) and more exposure to this career option during their studies (86%).ConclusionFurther research is needed on how Australian universities, the pharmaceutical industry and the pharmacy profession can collaborate to raise awareness of industry as a career option and equip graduates for these employment opportunities.

Burnout in the Pharmaceutical Activity: The Impact of COVID-19.

ImportancePharmacists are among the healthcare professionals involved in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining essential services. In the context of restrictions and reorganization of human resources, as a result of policies recently applied to the health sector, following international guidelines, and given the scarcity of data on burnout in pharmaceutical activity, it was considered highly relevant to promote a nationwide survey aiming to collect more complete evidence on the burnout syndrome and to understand how pharmacists have viewed their work and the people they worked closely with.ObjectivesThe study aimed to assess the occurrence of pharmacist burnout and determine outcomes for each of its dimensions; identify potentially associated characteristics; and determine profiles and critical limits.DesignA cross-sectional observational study conducted by a multidisciplinary panel from the Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society (PPS). Professionals from community and hospital pharmacies who were at the forefront of the COVID-19 response were involved in (i) confirming the need and pertinence for conducting this research, (ii) identifying the main factors leading to pharmaceutical emotional distress (“burnout”), and (iii) disseminating the survey. The questionnaire was designed for digital voluntary, confidential, and anonymous participation and divided into four segments of data collection: (i) demographics, (ii) employment and workplace characterization, (iii) pandemic impact on labor activity, and (iv) burnout assessment (as described ahead).SettingAn electronic survey was addressed to all PPS members, and an account was created solely to manage the questionnaire data for the research team. The web-based and user-friendly platform Google Forms supported the data capture and provided an intuitive interface for validated data entry.ParticipantsIn a population of 15,565 pharmacists (members of the PPS), the minimum recommended sample size (Epi Info software), with a 5% margin of error and a 99.9% confidence interval, should be 1,012 individuals. A total of 1,362 pharmacists participated in the study. Of these, 91.4% (n = 1,246) were involved in direct patient care activity and 7.7% (n = 106) in non-direct patient care activity.

Assessing community pharmacists' attitudes towards identifying opportunities for deprescribing in clinical practice in Ireland.

The main objective of this study was to assess community pharmacists' thoughts regarding the role they can play in effectively integrating deprescribing into clinical practice in Ireland. The aim was to assess pharmacists' (1) knowledge of deprescribing, (2) confidence in deprescribing, (3) attitudes towards deprescribing and (4) barriers and facilitators to deprescribing in a community pharmacy setting. An online questionnaire was disseminated to pharmacists currently registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, with instruction only to complete if working in community pharmacy. Statistical analysis was conducted on the quantitative data, whereas thematic analysis was carried out on the open-ended responses. Results indicate good knowledge scores and positive attitudes surrounding deprescribing, with demographic factors having no significant effect on results. Although deprescribing knowledge is high, willingness to engage is hindered by obstacles such as time. Remuneration was identified as an enabler for deprescribing. Interdisciplinary educational opportunities and bidirectional communication channels with prescribers are viewed as the major facilitators of deprescribing. Community pharmacists demonstrate that they possess sufficient knowledge, confidence and willingness to play a greater role in facilitating deprescribing. To enable this role expansion, enablers such as education and funding need to be implemented, to overcome barriers such as insufficient time. Further studies are required to assess community pharmacists' deprescribing competence, to demonstrate their ability to fulfil this role in clinical practice in Ireland.

A review of the continuous professional development system for pharmacists

BackgroundThe Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society (PPS) implemented a system of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for pharmacists in 2004. This system has evolved throughout the years, and currently all active pharmacists in Portugal are required to participate in the CPD program. Each CPD cycle takes 5 years. In each cycle, pharmacists must collect 15 CPD points, through participation in educational activities. The PPS accreditation process is managed via an online platform, where education/training providers, as well as pharmacists themselves, can submit educational activities for accreditation. Pharmacists may access their CPD status and assess their development at any point. The objective of this study was to analyze and review the educational activities submitted by providers over a 11-year period (2009–2019).MethodsData from activities were retrieved from the PPS CPD online platform. All educational activities were labeled according to the area of pharmaceutical professional focus, type of promoter, and activity type.ResultsDuring the study 3685 activities were analyzed. Over the last decade, submitted activities for accreditation increased in 52.6%. A significantly high proportion (98.9%) of these activities has been accredited. Promoters of activities were mostly pharmacies sectoral associations (29.6%), consultancy/training companies (19.6%), the PPS (18.5%), pharmaceutical industry (17.7%) and wholesalers’ consortia (9.0%). Academia represented only 2.3% of the total amount of educational activities. The most frequent topics were related to “pharmacology & pharmacotherapy” (9.9%), followed by “counselling” (9.8%) and “management & administration” (7.2%). The most accredited type of activities was face-to-face (68.9%) and e-learning trainings (13.1%).ConclusionsThis study shows increasing interest in submitting CPD activities for accreditation between 2009 and 2019, but it also demonstrates that Academia could play a more interventive role in the lifelong learning education of Portuguese pharmacists.

Avoidance of drug errors between hospital and home

Journal of Prescribing PracticeVol. 4, No. 1 Calculation SkillsAvoidance of drug errors between hospital and homeRuth BroadheadRuth BroadheadE-mail Address: [email protected]Senior Lecturer: Non-Medical Prescribing University of Central LancashireSearch for more papers by this authorRuth BroadheadPublished Online:4 Jan 2022https://doi.org/10.12968/jprp.2022.4.1.18AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article References Alqenae FA, Steinke D, Keers RN. Prevalence and Nature of Medication Errors and Medication-Related Harm Following Discharge from Hospital to Community Settings: A Systematic Review. Drug Saf. 2020;43(6):517-537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40264-020-00918-3 Google ScholarBritish Medical Association & Royal Pharmaceutical Society. British National Formulary 82. 2021. https://bnf.nice.org.uk/ (accessed 4 December 2021) Google ScholarBroadhead R. Professional, Legal & Ethical issues in Prescribing Practice. 2020. In: Dilyse NuttallRutt-Howard J. The Textbook of Non-Medical Prescribing. 3rd ed. Wiley; 2020. Google ScholarEnsing HT, Koster ES, van Berkel PI, van Dooren AA, Bouvy ML. Problems with continuity of care identified by community pharmacists post-discharge. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2017;42(2):170-177. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpt.12488 Google ScholarRoyal Pharmaceutical Society. A competency framework for all prescribers. 2021. https://www.rpharms.com/resources/frameworks/prescribing-competency-framework/competency-framework (4 December 2021) Google ScholarWorld Health Organisation. Global patient safety challenge: Medication without harm. 2017. https://www.who.int/initiatives/medication-without-harm (4 December 2021) Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails 2 January 2022Volume 4Issue 1ISSN (print): 2631-8385ISSN (online): 2631-8393 Metrics History Published online 4 January 2022 Published in print 2 January 2022 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

Official notice: amendments to regulations following November 2022 Assembly

At the meeting held on 16 November 2022, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Assembly members agreed amendments to the Society’s regulations to clarify various aspects of delegated authority. Regulations 13 & 15 will therefore be amended as follows (addition to regulation indicated in italics): Regulation 13: Investments … The Assembly may also appoint a Finance […]

What does it take to become a consultant pharmacist?

In 2020, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) took on responsibility for approving consultant pharmacist posts across the UK and for credentialing individuals as ‘consultant ready’. In this episode of The PJ Pod, we introduce you to a selection of these impressive individuals to find out what it means to be a consultant pharmacist, how much […]

Pharmacists fleeing war and conflict take up free RPS membership

A total of 12 people have taken up free Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) membership under a scheme to support people arriving in Great Britain after fleeing war and conflict. Ten of those pharmacists come from Ukraine, one comes from Sudan and one is from Syria. Under the scheme, which was launched in April 2022, pharmacists, […]

RPS membership to be offered free of charge to refugees fleeing war and conflict

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) is offering free Society membership to refugees fleeing war and conflict zones, including people coming to Great Britain from Ukraine. The offer is for three years of complimentary associate membership of the RPS, and applies to all pharmacists, pharmacy students and pharmaceutical scientists arriving in Great Britain after fleeing current […]

We must prepare for the many challenges of the clinical future ahead

When seeking nominations for election, I spoke to many pharmacists at different career stages. What shocked me is how many have left or decided not to renew their membership. This had nothing to do with recent controversies over directorships, FIP or Royal College status. Some wanted the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) to take on roles […]

First cohort to begin Welsh post-registration foundation pharmacist programme

More than 30 newly qualified pharmacists in Wales have signed up for a new, fully-funded post-registration foundation pharmacist programme starting in September 2022. The programme, run by Cardiff University in collaboration with Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW), was first announced in February 2022. It will use the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS’s) post-registration foundation pharmacist […]

RPS Scotland sets out vision of pharmacy in 2030

A vision for the future of pharmacy in Scotland in 2030 has been published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS). In ‘Pharmacy 2030: a professional vision‘, published on 2 February 2022, RPS Scotland sets out how it sees the future for the profession, where pharmacists will move from checking other professionals’ work “into having a […]

Pharmacists should be able to refer patients to NHS genomics services, says Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Pharmacists should be able to refer patients to NHS genomics services, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has said. In its response to an NHS England consultation on an update to the Clinical Genomics Service specification, Thorrun Govind, chair of the RPS English Pharmacy Board, said: “Pharmacy professionals should have the potential to signpost patients and […]

RPS ends membership of international pharmacy body

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has ceased its membership of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), owing to concerns over its cost. According a statement from president Claire Anderson, published on 18 March 2022, the RPS Assembly informed FIP in November 2021 of its intention to leave, effective from December 2021. FIP describes itself as the […]