Development of Pharmacy Practice in European Countries—The Polish Perspective

Abstract

Polish pharmacy practice and the distribution of medicinal products in some European countries are still going through a significant transformation. Changes postulated by the pharmacists should strengthen their role, and the place of community pharmacies in the health care system in the context of—among others—the introduction and popularization of pharmaceutical care. Subsequently, these efforts may essentially ensure the professional independence of the pharmacists. The introduction of pharmaceutical care to the pharmacy practice in all European countries will help to improve the quality of patient care and treatment outcomes, and will lead to a better allocation of available resources. Herewith, we present an important voice in the international debate, showing the current changes in the pharmacy practice in Poland, a European Union (EU)-member from 2004. Indeed, this paper presents the perspective of the country in which the position of pharmaceutical care is not well-established, and the role of the pharmacist is still limited to dispensing medicinal products, more than decade after it joined EU.

Pharmacies for the Pharmacists—Ukrainian Fears and Polish Experiences

“…This might be an effect of price competition among pharmacies and from the observation that the biggest chains located in urban areas might be more business-focused [1]. It could also result, as pointed out byŚwieczkowski et al [4], from the role of Polish pharmacists, who are limited in dispensing medicines. Nevertheless, the German example showed that patient-oriented services have been rather successful, owing to pharmacists' activities and not from any law amendments or the market deregulation implemented in Germany [9].…”

“…Employees working in less profitable pharmacies could be afraid of restructuring, especially in urban areas. This may be mainly related to the fact that under the geographic and demographic restrictions a new pharmacy cannot be opened to replace a closed-down one [4].…”

“…These facilities and pharmacists employed there are supposed to provide access to medicines, health promotion, and advice concerning the safe and effective use of pharmaceuticals [1][2][3]. However, in some countries, the role of pharmacists is limited to dispensing medicines [4]. Considering the significant role of pharmacists in activities such as pharmaceutical care [2], as well as the importance of affordability of…”

Polish patients use Google as a source of information on medication recalls on the example of drugs containing valsartan – a Google Trends analysis.

“…For the second analysed phrase -"dyrektywa fałszywkowa" (ang. Falsified Medicine Directives) the values were λ1 = 6,33 [6,58] and λ2 = 3,15 [3,25], respectively. In both cases the difference was statistically significant with p < 0,001.…”

“…gdzie opieka farmaceutyczna i farmaceutyczne usługi kognitywne są na etapie projektowania i wstępnej implementacji, stanowi najbardziej fundamentalny obszar jej działalności [3]. Apteka definiowana jest również jako placówka ochrony zdrowia publicznego i z definicji powinna skupiać się nie tylko na potrzebach indywidualnego pacjenta, ale odrywać rolę w profilaktyce chorób i odpowiadać na potrzeby populacyjne [4].…”