Perceptions of the role of pharmacy assistants in providing patient counselling in community pharmacies in Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: Patient counselling is a part of pharmaceutical services, where there is interaction between pharmacy workers with patients to provide drug information to improve patient safety. Pharmacy assistants are on the frontline of community pharmaceutical services in Indonesia, but regulations do not give them the authority to provide patient counselling. Aim of the research: This study explored pharmacy workers' perceptions about the role of pharmacy assistants to provide patient counselling within the community. Material and methods: This was an exploratory qualitative study with 17 participants, comprising 9 pharmacists and 8 pharmacy assistants recruited through purposive sampling. Data were collected from May to June 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data on pharmacy workers' perceptions regarding patient counselling provided by pharmacy assistants. Data analysis was performed thematically. Results: This is the first study to date to explore the perceptions of pharmacy workers regarding the role of patient counselling by pharmacy assistants. Pharmacy workers believed that modified patient counselling could be conducted by pharmacy assistants, taking into account the following 6 aspects: the use of the term counselling, content and context, duration of interactions with patients, competency of service providers, infrastructure, and training needs. Conclusions: To be accepted by stakeholders, patient counselling provided by pharmacy assistants should be modified to consider aspects of competence and supportive infrastructure. StreszczenieWprowadzenie: W ramach poradnictwa dla pacjentów, które stanowi część usług farmaceutycznych, dochodzi do interakcji pomiędzy pracownikami apteki a pacjentami w celu przekazania informacji o lekach dla poprawy bezpieczeństwa pacjentów. Asystenci farmaceutyczni stoją na pierwszej linii usług farmaceutycznych w społeczności lokalnej w Indonezji, jednak przepisy nie dają im uprawnień do udzielania porad pacjentom. Cel pracy: Niniejsze badanie dotyczyło postrzegania przez pracowników aptek roli asystentów farmaceutycznych w udzielaniu porad pacjentom w ramach społeczności lokalnej. Materiał i metody: Było to jakościowe badanie eksploracyjne obejmujące 17 uczestników, w tym 9 farmaceutów i 8 asystentów farmaceutycznych, których rekrutowano w drodze doboru celowego. Dane gromadzono od maja do czerwca 2020 r. W celu zebrania danych jakościowych na temat percepcji pracowników aptek pod kątem porad udzielanych przez asystentów farmaceutycznych przeprowadzono badanie metodą wywiadu częściowo ustrukturyzowanego. Analiza danych została przeprowadzona w sposób tematyczny. Wyniki: Jest to pierwsze badanie poświęcone postrzeganiu przez pracowników aptek roli, jaką w poradnictwie dla pacjentów odgrywają asystenci farmaceutyczni. Pracownicy aptek uważali, że zmodyfikowane poradnictwo dla pacjentów może być prowadzone przez asystentów farmaceutycznych, uwzględniając następujące aspekty: użycie terminu poradnictwo, treść i kontekst, czas trwania interak...

Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians’ Perceptions of Scopes of Practice Employing Agency Theory in the Management of Minor Ailments in Central Indonesian Community Pharmacies: A Qualitative Study

“…The relationship between pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in delivering minor ailment services was developed post hoc from the perspective and application of the Agency Theory. These relationships were developed from the researchers' knowledge, interview descriptions and the selected literature [14,[23][24][25][26][27]. This was subsequently applied post hoc to the results of the study (Figure 1).…”

Modified pharmacy counseling improves outpatient short-term antibiotic compliance in Bali Province

“…The MPC model is a practical guide or tool designed to provide clarifications to pharmacy workers working in community pharmaceutical services and to facilitate the development of their skills based on the required competencies. The expected benefits are that the model would increase the pharmacy workers' awareness regarding the significance of providing pharmaceutical counseling, which would have a positive influence on their duties; facilitate an understanding in the concepts of pharmaceutical counseling and effective communication; and enable them to practice the acquired skills in their respective work units [20], [21].…”

“…The MPC model is a practical guide or tool designed to provide clarifications and to make it easier for pharmacist assistants working in community pharmacy services to develop their skills based on the required competencies. This model was developed by considering various aspects of competence and infrastructural support [21]. The advantage of this guidance system is that it is based on a modification of the guidelines issued by the government; further, it is expected that it will be easy to adopt and that it can be used independently by service providers.…”