Pharmacy Pharmacists Research Articles

Assessment of Postgraduate Year 1 Residency Program Director Preferences and Priorities in Evaluation of Pharmacy Residency Candidates

ObjectiveLimited and conflicting evidence exists evaluating how components of pharmacy residency applications are prioritized by residency program directors (RPDs). This study aims to identify what pharmacy residency programs prioritize when selecting candidates to interview given the incorporation of new American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Pharmacy Residency Standards. MethodsA Qualtrics survey was distributed to postgraduate year 1 RPDs across the United States. Programs were identified using the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists residency directory. Data were collected from October 23, 2023 to December 4, 2023, and priorities were captured using percentage weighting and rank order lists. ResultsOf the 1389 survey links disseminated, a total of 254 programs submitted responses for a response rate of 18.2%. According to RPDs, the highest weighted section of a residency application was the curriculum vitae (CV), with an average weight of 51.7%, followed by letters of recommendation, letter of intent, and supplemental application (if applicable) in descending order. Within the CV, programs valued work, leadership, and rotation experiences most. Ability to organize and manage time was reported to be the most important characteristic within letters of recommendation. ConclusionBased on the results of this study, when reviewing pharmacy residency applications, postgraduate year 1 RPDs prioritize the CV, followed by letters of recommendation and letter of intent. These findings could be used by RPDs when assessing current scoring rubrics and may help to inform the efforts of students and letter of recommendation writers when preparing individual components of an application.

Designing a Human Resource Empowerment Model for Pharmacists in Pharmacies in Tehran

Background: One of the most effective strategies to gain a competitive advantage in the current business environment is to enhance the efficiency of employees within organizations. The purpose of this research was to design a human resource empowerment model for pharmacists in pharmacies in Tehran. Methods: The research's statistical population includes two qualitative and quantitative components. In the qualitative part, 35 elite pharmacists from universities, industry, and the Ministry of Health were included, while the quantitative part involved a statistical sample of 220 individuals. For data analysis, the Grandad process of Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical tests, independent one-sample t-test, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were used. SPSS 25 and AMOS 24 software were used to analyze the research data Results: The findings showed that in the final development model of empowering pharmacists and personnel in Tehran courts, causal factors include psychological characteristics and training. The core category includes cultural and moral competence, as well as professional and technical competence. Background factors include commitment and skill. Intervening factors include moral values. Strategies include efficiency and speed. The consequences include creativity, innovation, and social responsibility.Results: The findings showed that in the final development model of empowering pharmacists and personnel in Tehran courts, causal factors include psychological characteristics and training. The core category includes cultural and moral competence, as well as professional and technical competence. Background factors include commitment and skill. Intervening factors include moral values. Strategies include efficiency and speed. The consequences include creativity, innovation, and social responsibility. Conclusion: It can be concluded that continuous training workshops should be organized for pharmacists in Tehran pharmacies to enhance their specialized knowledge. Periodic in-service courses should be provided to these individuals based on their professional activities. The organization should consider social activities and social behaviors as focal points.

Availability of self-care products for sexual and reproductive health provided by community pharmacists in Rwanda: A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT Access to and use of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services remain a global public health concern, particularly in developing countries. This study aimed to understand the attitudes and perceptions of pharmacists in Rwandan community pharmacies and to assess the availability of sexual and reproductive health products in these pharmacies. In a cross-sectional study conducted in Rwanda from 1 September 2023 to 30 November 2023, registered and licensed pharmacists from 864 community pharmacies were surveyed, employing a quantitative research approach. Systematic sampling was used to collect the data. A chi-square test was conducted for relationships between variables. SRH products for self-care were widely available in Rwandan community pharmacies, ranging from 82.3% to 97.3%, except for ovulation tests (28.4%). Chi-square tests indicated that married pharmacists were more likely to provide educational guidance on SRH products (χ 2 = 8.81, P-value = 0.012). Community pharmacists had positive attitudes and self-reported confidence in dispensing and providing education to pharmacy-based SRH users. The Rwandan community pharmacies had extensive availability of SRH products for self-care use. Pharmacists in these pharmacies had positive attitudes and self-reported confidence in dispensing and guiding the community on SRH products. Continuous professional training is recommended to enhance the quality and standards of SRH.

The Impact of Counseling on Patient Compliance with Antihypertensive Medication: A Literature Review

Hypertension is one of the main risk factors for heart problems. Apart from causing heart failure, hypertension can result in kidney failure and cerebrovascular disease. Patient behavior with high sodium and fat intake, unhealthy lifestyle and low compliance with taking antihypertensive medication can result in the failure to achieve therapeutic goals resulting in a decrease in the quality of life of hypertensive patients. Therefore, a method is needed to improve these things, one of which is the counseling method. The counseling method used is medication-taking counseling. The results of this research use the journal review method by analyzing 6 national journals and inter national journals. The results of the study explain that non-adherence to antihypertensive treatment not only has a major impact on blood pressure control, but also on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Therefore, clinical pharmacy services provided by pharmacists in pharmacies in the form of counseling are very important to achieve success. Various studies show that counseling provided by pharmacists and PILS (Patient Information Leaflets) has an influence on the level of compliance in taking anti-hypertension medication.

Analysis of Barriers to Medical Opioid Pain Medication Using the Japanese Version of the Barriers Questionnaire II (JBQ-II): Pharmacists and Nurses Perspective in Japan

Background Some Japanese patients with cancer pain have negative beliefs regarding opioid therapy. The Japanese version of the Barriers Questionnaire II (JBQ-II) determines barriers to cancer pain management. Few studies reported JBQ-II scores in Japan, and none focused on pharmacists. Accordingly, we aimed to explore the relationship between health care professionals’ knowledge of and willingness to use opioids, and their JBQ-II scores. Additionally, the variances in JBQ-II scores among nurses, hospital pharmacists, and pharmacy pharmacists were assessed. Methods This cross-sectional survey employed the JBQ-II for nurses and pharmacists in hospitals and pharmacies across Japan. Participants were requested to respond to the JBQ-II concerning their affiliation, knowledge of opioid analgesics, and willingness to utilize these drugs for medical practice. Results A total of 55 hospital pharmacists, 25 pharmacy pharmacists, and 24 nurses responded to the survey. The group-knowledgeable about medical use of narcotics had significantly lower total JBQ-II scores (25.43, standard deviation [SD]: 15.11) than those had by the group with insufficient knowledge (34.50, SD: 18.41). There was no statistically significant difference in total JBQ-II scores among those willing to use opioids medically. The total JBQ-II scores of hospital pharmacists, pharmacy pharmacists, and nurses were 31.00 (SD: 15.11), 33.96 (SD: 19.25), and 27.21 (SD: 15.56), respectively. However, the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions Health care professionals in Japan with knowledge about opioids for medical purposes had a significantly lower total JBQ-II score than those with insufficient knowledge. Thus, health care professionals’ knowledge plays a crucial role in reducing barriers to using narcotic drugs.

What do pharmacists know about managing childhood diarrhea?: A cross-sectional study

Childhood diarrhea is a prevalent disease in Indonesia. Therefore, pharmacists are required to possess extensive knowledge of the management and prevention of childhood diarrhea in order to provide suitable advice to patients. To connect with this situation, this study aimed to determine the level of pharmacists’ knowledge regarding the management of childhood diarrhea therapy and its prevention. To achieve this aim, a descriptive observational study was employed. The sample in this study were pharmacists in pharmacies in the greater Malang area, Indonesia, who were selected by a convenience sampling technique. The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire on pharmacists’ knowledge of managing and preventing childhood diarrhea. The collected data were analyzed descriptively. A total of 158 pharmacists participated in this study. Most respondents were female (84.81%) and aged between 26 and 35 (60.76%). Most respondents had been practicing in pharmacies for 1–5 years (39.87%), and the average weekly pharmacist practice hours were 25–35 (41.77%). Most respondents had poor knowledge (68.35%) of pediatric therapy management and prevention. Further research is needed to identify pharmacists’ needs to optimize pharmacists’ knowledge regarding the therapeutic management and prevention of diarrhea diseases in children.

Factors Related to Submission of Tracing Reports Regarding Cancer Chemotherapy by Pharmacy Pharmacists

In Japan, use of a report for providing information from pharmacies to medical institutions called as "tracing report (TR)" is not widespread especially in the field of cancer chemotherapy. Identification of the factors related to submission of TRs could enhance the necessity of TRs. The purpose of this study is to clarify the factors related to submission of TRs regarding cancer chemotherapy through a questionnaire survey. A questionnaire survey was conducted at the live web-based seminar regarding cancer chemotherapy held for pharmacists in January 2023. After the questionnaire survey, the participants were divided into those who had submitted at least one TR regarding cancer chemotherapy within one month before the seminar (TR group) and those who had not (non-TR group). The multivariate analysis was conducted to identify factors related to submission of TRs regarding cancer chemotherapy. Of 118 participants, the responses from 93 pharmacy pharmacists involved in dispensing drugs who agreed to participate in this study and fulfilled all questionnaire were analyzed. TR group included 21 participants and non-TR group included 72. As a result of multivariate analysis, "Years of experience in counseling and following-up with patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy (odds ratio: 4.81, p=0.02)" and "Types of workplaces (odds ratio: 3.79, p=0.02)" significantly increased the incidence of submission of TRs regarding cancer chemotherapy. It was revealed that experience of intervention in cancer chemotherapy cases and an environment in which prescriptions for cancer chemotherapy can be handled on a daily basis are important for submission of TRs regarding cancer chemotherapy.

What should be done to improve the efficiency in dispensing-related tasks

Objective: To determine areas in which pharmacists believe efficiency should be improved in dispensing-related tasks and understand the needs in health care settings. Methods: A web-based survey was conducted among pharmacists in Japan to identify dispensing-related tasks that could be improved to increase pharmacists’ work efficiency. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used for analysis. Results: Overall, 549 responses were analysed. Respondents included 301 (54.8%) community pharmacy pharmacists, 36 (6.6%) drugstore pharmacists, and 212 (38.6%) hospital pharmacists; 423 (77.0%) pharmacists had been working for more than 10 years. The results showed that 90.9% of pharmacists recognised the need to improve efficiency in dispensing-related tasks and to focus on interpersonal tasks. Regarding tasks that should be made more efficient, pharmaceutical inventory management, dispensing of one-dose packages, and counting dispensing were suggested by 66.8%, 46.3%, and 42.4% of respondents, respectively. If they could streamline their business, improving patient medication guidance and follow-up as well as investigating new drugs and diseases were reported by 40.8% and 38.8% of pharmacists, respectively. Conclusions: This survey research has identified dispensing-related tasks that need to be improved in terms of efficiency to meet the social needs of pharmacists.

Changes in Attitudes to Medical Care among Pharmacy Pharmacists before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Questionnaire Survey

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a major negative effect on the number of patients visiting pharmacies in Japan. The decrease in pharmacy visits during the pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic period may have increased the likelihood of adverse health outcomes; thus, it is important that pharmacy pharmacists take measures to prevent health disadvantages. In this study, we distributed a questionnaire survey to 104 pharmacy pharmacists (mainly in Kagoshima and Kumamoto Prefectures), and investigated changes in the extent of implementation and perceptions of measures considered necessary to protect patients' health between the pre-pandemic and pandemic period. The results showed that the proportions of respondents "sharing patient information between primary care doctors and pharmacy pharmacists" and conducting "follow-up after prescribing medications mainly via telephone" increased between the pre-pandemic period and September 2022. The perceived necessity of the above two measures, as well as "online medication instructions" and "a prescription refill system," increased during the same period. However, the proportion of respondents who perceived "0410 correspondence," which was introduced during the pandemic, as a necessity did not change. Moreover, many pharmacists indicated that, at their own discretion, they continued to correspond with patients in relation to the above, and to respond to specific requests during normal daily practice. Our results could help community-based pharmacists tackle serious public health problems, such as COVID-19.

Effect of a Family Pharmacist System on Medication Adherence of Patients with Dyslipidemia during a COVID-19 Epidemic

The pharmacy pharmacist's function as a family pharmacist is expected to improve adherence to medication in patients suffering from chronic diseases, including dyslipidemia. This is true even in infectious disease epidemics. In this study, using anonymously processed receipt data from 700 insurance pharmacies in our group, we evaluated medication adherence in patients taking statin drugs before, during the first and second years of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in terms of medication persistence and medication possession, and compared the results between the family pharmacist group (FP group) and non-family pharmacist group (NoFP group). The odds ratios of good medication adherence (medication persistence and medication possession) rates for the FP group relative to the NoFP group were 1.446 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.210-1.727] in the pre-epidemic period, 1.428 (1.192-1.710) in the first year of the epidemic, and 1.270 (1.113-1.450) in the second year of the epidemic. The FP group was significantly higher in all time periods. Therefore, it is suggested that the family pharmacist function improves adherence to statins not only before but also during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Assessment of the availability of medicines for patients with mental and behavioral disorders according to the results of a survey of physicians and pharmacists in Ukraine

The aim: to analyze the results of a questionnaire survey of secondary care physicians and pharmacy pharmacists, participants of the government program "Affordable Medicines" (hereinafter the Program) regarding the assessment of the availability of medicines for patients with mental and behavioural disorders.
 Materials and methods: in the research process, legal acts, protocols for the treatment of patients with mental and behavioural disorders, the results of a questionnaire survey of doctors and pharmacists - participants of the Program, scientific publications related to questionnaires of doctors and pharmacists on the topics of generic drug replacement and co-payment were used patients. The research was conducted using the methods of questionnaire survey, systematization and generalization of data.
 Research results: 134 doctors and 336 pharmacists from 22 regions of Ukraine took part in the questionnaire survey. According to the results of the survey, it was established that doctors of 11 specialties prescribe medicinal products (pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of patients with mental and behavioural disorders with depressive disorders. Most patients with this disease turn to a secondary care physician without visiting a primary care physician, which negatively affects the availability of medicines for patients, as well as the reliability of statistical indicators of the prevalence and incidence of patients with depressive disorders.
 The main problem affecting the availability of drugs for patients with depressive disorders is the lack of drugs in the Program in the presence of the corresponding INN in the Unified Clinical Protocol of primary, secondary (specialized) and tertiary (highly specialized) medical care "Depression", which forces patients to buy drugs on their own cost, and as a result, it leads to a decrease in the availability of medicines for vulnerable sections of the population under the conditions of the war in Ukraine.
 As for the issue of generic replacement of drugs according to the results of the questionnaire: 72.4 % of doctors believe that such replacement can only be carried out by a specialist doctor, while 67.9 % of pharmacists confirmed that they carry out generic replacement of prescribed drugs in case of their absence in pharmacies 76.1 % of doctors and 80.6 % of pharmacists support the need for regulatory and legal settlement of the issue of generic drug replacement in order to increase their access and availability for patients. 74.4 % of the surveyed pharmacists confirmed the desire of patients to receive medicines free of charge due to the Program.
 Conclusions: The results of the conducted questionnaire survey of doctors and pharmacists showed the importance of the regulatory settlement of issues regarding drug prescriptions under INN, generic substitution of drugs and patient co-payment, as all the listed mechanisms have an impact on increasing the availability of drugs for patients with mental and behavioural disorders. The obtained results also indicate the need to conduct a questionnaire in the future to evaluate the work of the Program and the changes that affect the work of all project participants

Japanese Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Self-Development Skills and Continuing Professional Development

The role of healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, is changing. Lifelong learning and continuing professional development (CPD) are more critical than ever for both current and future pharmacists in the face of global health challenges and new technologies, services and therapies that are continually and rapidly introduced into their daily practice. Currently, Japanese pharmacists' licences are not renewable, although most developed countries have a renewal system. Therefore, understanding Japanese pharmacists' perceptions of CPD is the first step in reviewing undergraduate and postgraduate education. The target population was Japanese pharmacists, i.e., community pharmacy pharmacists and hospital pharmacists. The participants were administered a questionnaire with 18 items related to continuing professional development. Our study found that regarding item "Q16 Do you think you need further education in your undergraduate education to continue your professional development?", (a) the ability to identify one's own problems and issues, (b) the ability to make plans to solve problems and issues, (c) the ability to carry out plans to solve problems and issues and (d) the ability to repeat steps of self-development, approximately 60% of pharmacists answered that these aspects were "necessary" or "quite necessary". As part of universities' responsibility for the lifelong education of pharmacists, it is necessary to systematically conduct teaching seminars or undergraduate education or postgraduate education on self-development while training pharmacists to meet the needs of citizens.

Student pharmacists delivering academic detailing on adult pneumococcal vaccination to community pharmacists

BackgroundAcademic detailing is an educational outreach approach to disseminate evidence-based information to health care professionals and improve clinical decision making. Pharmacists and physicians are recognized as the most qualified individuals to perform academic detailing; however, trained student pharmacists may also serve as suitable academic detailers. ObjectivesTo describe our academic detailing intervention that used trained student pharmacists to disseminate an updated pneumococcal vaccination clinical pathway (i.e., decision-support tool) and education to community pharmacists in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. MethodsWe updated an academic detailing initiative that included a pneumococcal vaccination clinical pathway and education for community pharmacists in 2021. Two University of Rhode Island (URI) College of Pharmacy pharmacist faculty members trained 6 student pharmacists to perform academic detailing. Student pharmacists visited URI-affiliated community pharmacies throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts. After each session, each participant received a 6-question anonymous paper survey to assess the effectiveness of the updated pathway and academic detailing session. The survey used a 5-point Likert-type scale. We assessed the percentage agreement with each question. ResultsAcademic detailing was delivered to 76 community pharmacists from May to August 2021. Most respondents agreed (89.2%, 58/65) that their knowledge of which patient populations met eligibility for the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine improved. Respondents were confident they could apply the knowledge gained (93.8%, 61/65) and intended to apply the pathway (93.8%, 61/65) to clinical practice. Most respondents expected vaccination practices to change because of the academic detailing and education materials received (83.6%, 51/61). Almost all respondents (95.4%, 62/65) found the educational materials easy to understand. ConclusionTrained student pharmacists can deliver academic detailing regarding adult pneumococcal vaccination to community pharmacists. Enlisting the help of student pharmacists may be a sustainable approach to academic detailing and provides students with valuable opportunities to practice delivering educational outreach to community pharmacists.

Patient Safety Management Practiced by Pharmacy Pharmacists Using Their Training at Oncology Hospital

Recent changes in the environment surrounding community pharmacists include "follow-up after dispensing" becoming mandatory, initiation of "certified pharmacy system with specific functions," with the discussions on post-graduate training, lifelong training and specialization, refill of prescriptions, as well as pros and cons of hospital pharmacies in preparation for the 2022 dispensing fee revision. In this regard, since 2019, I have been receiving training at The Cancer Institute Hospital of Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research (JFCR). In addition, to implementing community pharmacists' perspectives into collaboration between community pharmacists and hospital pharmacists, a tracing report model incorporating the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) ver. 5.0 has been created. And, a regimen of drugs and operation describing necessary supportive care has been published in The Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR website. As a practice of patient safety management at pharmacies, we are working on the standardization of questionnaire criteria to assess the severity of adverse medication reactions in cancer patients and the measurement of health-related quality of life using EuroQol 5 dimensions 5-level (EQ-5D-5L), introduced with cooperation of universities, hospitals, and pharmacies. As medical care is advancing day by day, especially in cancer medication therapy, patient safety management by pharmacists becomes essential, when dealing with the complexity of administration schedule and the wide variety of side effects. For patient safety management, community pharmacists need to practice with pharmaceutical and medical knowledge, and have skills to acquire and convey information, with a researcher's perspective.

Patient Safety Management Practices by Community Pharmacy Pharmacists～Telephone Follow-up by Community Pharmacy Pharmacists in Cancer Drug Therapy～

As a patient safety management practice in outpatient cancer drug therapy at community pharmacies, continuous follow-up after the dispensing of medication is required. In 2013, QOL Pharmacy Kohoku and its affiliated stores started the "Telephone Follow-up for Cancer Patients" program, which utilizes telephones and information communication devices to communicate with patients and provide information to hospitals. Specifically, follow-up, including phone calls, is used to ascertain medication status and side effects before the next visit to the hospital, and feedback is provided to the prescribing source using trace reports. In some cases, this initiative has led to an early detection of side effects, reduction in the usage of anticancer drugs, and enhancement of supportive care, leading to patient safety and security. In addition, on August 1, 2021, a new pharmacy accreditation system was launched with two new functional categories, namely "Community Cooperative Pharmacies" and "Specialty Medical Institution Cooperative Pharmacies." Specialty medical institution-linked pharmacies are defined as pharmacies that can provide specialized and more advanced pharmacological management and dispensing of medications in cooperation with other pharmacies and medical institutions for patients who require specialized pharmacological management, such as in the case of cancer. Following our certification as a specialized medical institution collaborative pharmacy, we intend to continue the efforts we have invested to date and create a community that can assume a prevailing role in patient safety management.

Breaking outside the box: Use of escape rooms in pharmacy residency interviews

AbstractBackgroundThe American Society of Health‐System Pharmacists Pharmacy Resident Match continues to be a competitive process. In recent years, postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) applicants have outpaced available positions. An increase in the number of highly qualified applicants has made identification of standout candidates challenging for residency programs. There is a need to assess nonacademic attributes, such as: leadership, communication, teamwork, problem‐solving, and self‐awareness. These are essential to pharmacy resident success, though are not easily elicited with traditional interview questions.AimsThe purpose of this interview escape room activity was to observe and differentiate PGY1 pharmacy residency candidates' nonacademic attributes and clinical knowledge through real‐time, problem‐based engagement. This descriptive report details the program's use of team‐based escape rooms in the pharmacy residency interview process and provides recommendations for developing and implementing an interview escape room activity.Materials and MethodsThe interview escape room was conducted for a PGY1 program at a large, academic medical center in San Antonio, Texas, during the 2020–2022 residency recruitment seasons. Participants were observed and assessed using the Communication and Teamwork Skills assessment.ResultsThe escape room allowed candidates to showcase their academic and nonacademic skills in various ways. Candidates reported feeling more relaxed than in traditional interviews.DiscussionElements of developing an interview escape room activity include planning and design, theme selection, knowledge and puzzle pairing, content testing, execution, and feedback.ConclusionInterview escape rooms provide insight into the skillset of candidates in the areas of communication, leadership, and teamwork, and create a memorable interview experience for both candidates and residency leadership.

Review Artikel: Standar Pelaksanaan Pelayanan Farmasi Klinik di Apotek Berdasarkan Permenkes Nomor 73 Tahun 2016 di Indonesia

Pharmaceutical services are exclusive and responsible services to patients related to the use of pharmaceutical preparations. Pharmaceutical services have the goal of being able to achieve definite results in order to improve the quality of life of patients. The pharmacy was established as a pharmaceutical service facility that provides medicines and medical devices with guaranteed quality and safety. Clinical pharmacy services are the core of pharmacy practice services, especially by pharmacists who are responsible for pharmaceutical services in pharmacies. This study aims as material for consideration of data analysis of pharmaceutical services in pharmacies by pharmacists, especially in the PIO (Drug Information Services), Pharmacy Counseling and Treatment at Home section according to Permenkes No 73 of 2016. This study used the literature method. search on research journals, 25 research journals published from 2017-2022. The results of the study show that most of the pharmaceutical services by pharmacists in pharmacies are in accordance with Permenkes No 73 of 2016.

Medical Economic Benefit Derived from the Use of Tracing Reports by Pharmacy-Based Pharmacists for Pharmaceutical Intervention and Reduction of Leftover Medicines.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects on the medical economy of the use of tracing reports by pharmacy-based pharmacists for pharmaceutical interventions, including to reduce leftover medicines. These effects were estimated by analyzing 267 tracing reports issued by pharmacy pharmacists over a period of 1 year, 2020-2021. We estimate that these interventions created cost savings of USD108170.02/year (USD104800 via pharmaceutical interventions, USD3370.02 via interventions to reduce leftover medicines). The cost savings from pharmaceutical interventions prompted by patient follow-up was estimated to be USD47650. The medical economic effect per tracing report was estimated to be USD392.51 from pharmaceutical interventions, USD12.62 from reducing leftover medicines, and USD445.33 from pharmaceutical intervention prompted by patient follow-up. Overall, therefore, pharmaceutical interventions by pharmacy pharmacists using tracing reports, including those designed to reduce leftover medicines, may benefit the medical economy.

Exploration and Practice of the Integrated Teaching Method of Mind Mapping in the Standardized Training of New Pharmacists.

Objective The objective is to analyze the application effect of mind map in the standardized training of new pharmacists, providing reference information for the standardized training and teaching methods of new pharmacists. Methods 24 new pharmacists in pharmacy were selected as experimental samples. The mind map integration teaching method was applied in the standardized training, which involved two parts of pharmaceutical professional knowledge theory and practical skills. The relevant theoretical knowledge of the new pharmacists was evaluated by the examination paper. Their clinical practice ability was evaluated by the expert group on-the-spot assessment score, and the final scores were calculated by two parts. Paired t-test was used to analyze the training effect of theoretical knowledge and clinical practice ability of participants before and after training. Results All pharmacists have passed the examination. The average score of theory test was (85.8 ± 5.2), the average score of skill examination was (83.1 ± 6.0), and the total score was (84.1 ± 5.0). Before and after training, the total scores of 9 core competencies of pharmacists before and after training have significant difference (18.87 ± 4.06 and 21.40 ± 2.68, P < 0.01). Conclusion The standardized training for new pharmacists through the mind map integration teaching method can effectively improve their core competence and post competence. This training method is worth using for reference and promotion.

Survey of Pharmacists' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) concerning COVID-19 Infection Control after Being Involved in Vaccine Preparation: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Vaccination is crucial for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Vaccination for COVID-19 was implemented in Japan in community units, and community pharmacists were engaged in vaccine preparation. Capturing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of pharmacists regarding COVID-19 infection control is important for developing future community health action strategies and plans. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 141 pharmacists who were members of a pharmacist association in the Shinagawa Ward of Tokyo (1–31 July 2021) using a Google online questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic information and KAP questions regarding COVID-19. A correlation test was used for analyzing KAP scores. Significant correlations were found among all KAP scores. Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed “age” as a significant knowledge factor and “marriage”, “pharmacist careers”, “information source: official government website”, and “information source: word of mouth from family and friends” as significant attitude factors. Good KAP scores were recorded in this study, indicating increased comprehension of infection control measures and increased knowledge scores, as pharmacy pharmacists were practically involved in COVID-19 infection control measures through vaccine preparation. Policymakers should understand the value of pharmacists as healthcare professionals and should enhance public health through the effective use of pharmacists.