The Connected Community Pharmacy: Benefits for Healthcare and Implications for Health Policy

Abstract

The need for interoperability of healthcare Information Technology (IT) systems in order to provide safe, efficient, and coordinated healthcare is universally recognized. Various health economies, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia, are seeking to develop regional, state-wide, or national systems of healthcare interoperability. In England, the community pharmacy network is a significant health provider, with important implications for provision of healthcare in deprived areas because of its accessibility. Historically, however, community pharmacies have operated on a silo basis, and have not shared information on their activities with, or been able to access information from, other National Health Service (NHS) healthcare providers. The development of services such as the Electronic Prescription Service and the Summary Care Record in England have helped to connect community pharmacy with the NHS infrastructure, and more comprehensive systems and datasets are proposed to integrate community pharmacy with the NHS in future. This paper will review the benefits of the connected community pharmacy, based on developments to date and reviewing evidence from other countries. It will describe some of the future developments that will support the connected community pharmacy in England, and discuss some of the implications for pharmacists and health policy makers.

Knowledge of pharmacy workers on antihypertensive and anticonvulsant drugs for managing pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in Bangladesh

“…To safely and appropriately dispense drugs for pregnancy complications and prevent adverse outcomes, pharmacy workers, particularly those in private pharmacies, must have specific knowledge and skills, including contraindications for medicines, and their use and risks [33,34]. If pharmacy staffs are to effectively dispense antihypertensive or anticonvulsant drugs for management of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, they must know which drugs are safe and effective, and what to do in case of adverse events [35][36][37][38][39][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. Unfortunately, information supporting antihypertensive drug use during pregnancy, including benefits and risks, is frequently lacking and contradictory among pharmacy staff in Bangladesh.…”

“…While pharmacy staff should not prescribe any drug, it practices it is a common occurrence, and we recommend significant, effective measures to regulate private pharmacies’ dispensation of medications much more closely. Not merely developing pharmacy workers’ health care knowledge beyond medicine dispensing, but integrating them within the formal system as PHC providers with specified responsibilities and formal support should be considered in future policy and programming [ 44 ]. Officials in Bangladesh should also implement regulatory policy with routine processes to strengthen the capacities of private pharmacy staffs, particularly their knowledge of prescription medication indications.…”

Qualitative Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of Professional Services by Community Pharmacies in Nigeria

“…Focus groups was considered appropriate method for the initial exploratory phase of data collection because of its ability to generate rich, complex, nuanced and even contradictory accounts of how a homogenous group of people ascribe meaning to and interpret their experiences (FIP, 2015;Goundrey-Smith, 2018). The gender mix and ages of discussants in focus groups were not reflective of those of the population of community pharmacists in Southwestern Nigeria.…”

“…29 Clients do not generally need prior appointments to see their community pharmacists, neither do they pay consultation fees. Leveraging the positive reputation within their communities (3.59), strong relationships with family physicians (3.46), as well as their wide geographical spread, there are significant prospects for community pharmacists to deploy their clinical (3.51) and managerial skills (3.63) to bridge the gaps in access to quality care both in terms of accessibility, availability, acceptability, and affordability in order to attain universal health coverage (WHO, 2017;Goundrey-Smith, 2018).…”

Which factors may influence the implementation of drug dispensing in community pharmacies? A qualitative study

“…Studies show that patients often misunderstand the pharmacist's role and do not see community pharmacies as healthcare facilities [25,40,69]. In contrast, in England, for example, there are initiatives within the health system that encourage the public to view the pharmacist in the community pharmacy as a primary point of care, ensuring patient safety [70,71]. Thus, a patient-centered approach by the pharmacist and informing patients about all available pharmacy services can be an valuable strategy to promote the visibility of community pharmacies and pharmacists.…”