Community Pharmacists’ Perceptions about Pharmaceutical Care of Traditional Medicine Products: A Questionnaire‐Based Cross‐Sectional Study in Guangzhou, China

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate community pharmacists' perceived responsibility, practice behaviors, knowledge, perceived barriers, and improvement measures towards provision of pharmaceutical care in relation to traditional medicine (TM) products in Guangzhou, China. A self-completion questionnaire was used to survey licensed pharmacists working at community pharmacies. This study found that the community pharmacists in Guangzhou, China, were involved in the provision of TM products during their daily practice but only provided pharmaceutical care in this area with a passive attitude. Extrinsic barriers such as lack of scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of TM products and unclear definition of their roles and responsibilities were highlighted while intrinsic factors such as insufficient TM knowledge were identified.

Community pharmacists’ perceptions about pharmaceutical service of over-the-counter traditional Chinese medicine: a survey study in Harbin of China

“…Similar findings have been reported in previous studies [12, 24–28]. Insufficient knowledge was the most reported barrier.…”

“…According to the legislation, the pharmaceutical service system separated the practice of general pharmacists and TCM pharmacists on either WM or TCM exclusively in the same way that pharmacists in other countries such as Canada, Singapore and Australia would provide service on WM only [24]. General pharmacists were not expected to be involved in the supply and counseling of OTC TCM, which explained why pharmacists did not recognize TCM as their core responsibility and thus the lack of motivation in their practice as observed in this study.…”

Attitudes towards complementary alternative medicine among Malaysian adults

“…The need for pharmacists to be actively involved in CAM use and providing guidance is seemingly appropriate. Unfortunately, it has been demonstrated that many pharmacists are still ill-equipped with CAM knowledge (Chen et al, 2016). With the increase in CAM usage among the population, the need for ensuring adequate counseling on its use is highly recommended.…”

Integrating traditional Chinese medicines into professional community pharmacy practice in China – Key stakeholder perspectives

“…Although they are subject to prescribed obligations and responsibilities in the regulatory system and assessment process [32], they were often found ill-equipped to provide professional services [70][71][72]. The implications of this argument has been discussed in detail in previous studies [33][34][35][36] What is relevant to the focus of this study was whether these pharmacists are positioned and supported to address the patients' needs in a coordinated manner. Ideally, a holistic approach that engages both types of pharmacists skillsets in patient care is encouraged [73,74].…”

“…The interview guide was developed by conducting a careful review of the literature related to the integration of traditional and complementary medicines into pharmacy practice in the US and Australia [28,30,32,33], and pharmacy practice in China [34][35][36] (see Appendix). The interview questions focused on key areas including: (1) integrative medicine; (2) community pharmacists' responsibilities with regards to HMs; (3) factors that prevented community pharmacists from taking up such role; and (4) what it would take to improve their practice.…”