Perception of Community Pharmacists in Malaysia About Mental Healthcare and Barriers to Providing Pharmaceutical Care Services to Patients with Mental Disorders

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess community pharmacists' (CPs) perceptions toward mental healthcare, and the barriers faced in providing pharmaceutical care (PC) services to these patients. A 40-item survey was posted to CPs. Ninety-six pharmacists participated. The majority (84.2%) agreed there is a role for CPs to play in mental health care, while approximately 60% agreed it is their responsibility to provide PC to these patients. The biggest barrier to providing this service is the lack of knowledge, cited by close to 50% of respondents. This corresponds with the revelation that close to 60% believe that they have a poor or fair understanding of mental disorders. About 30% of respondents said they do not stock psychotropic drugs at all, mainly due to medico-legal reasons, and low prescription requests. Our findings highlight the need for more training of CPs in managing patients with mental disorders.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Antecedents of willingness to provide pharmaceutical services for mental illness individuals

“…In addition, 92.6% of respondents knew about mental illness. According to the research of Wong et al that pharmacists who work in community pharmacies and hospitals have good knowledge of mental illness and have neutral perceptions of individuals with mental illnesses [14].…”

Prescription, over-the-counter (OTC), herbal, and other treatments and preventive uses for COVID-19

“…However, some barriers to provide pharmaceutical care have been detected. 256 , 257 It seeks to reduce the discrepancies between what is indicated by the doctor and the drugs that are finally used by the patient. In this way, it is possible to reduce DRPs, which achieves three specific impacts: reduction of workload, reduction of morbidity and mortality, and reduction of (re)hospitalizations ( Fig.…”

Opportunistic Risk Screening of Depression by Community Pharmacists: Noble Intervention to Mend the Mind during COVID-19

“…Meanwhile, the researchers with positive finding recommend that budding pharmacists require special training to liaise with experienced people. A similar study was conducted on 96 community pharmacists, which resulted that only around one-third of them had adequate mental health literacy ( 19 ). From the Ministry of Health Malaysia’s corner, ‘Benchmarking Guideline for Community Pharmacists’—updated periodically—serves as a set of rules and regulations that sustain the standards of community pharmacy practice ( 20 ).…”

“…This does strengthen the undertaken communication as well as raise the Malaysian pharmacist’s professional position. Pioneer-governing bodies like the Malaysian Pharmacist Society confirm that 2,889 community pharmacies are active in urban zones with their focus on the integrated healthcare system ( 19 ). Meanwhile, few suburbs and rural areas are still devoid of the same.…”