Pharmacy-based alcohol-misuse services: current perspectives

Abstract

ContextGlobally, the use of alcohol is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Opportunistic screening and brief interventions (SBIs) have been shown to be effective in reducing alcohol consumption in certain primary care settings and provide a means of reaching some of those who do not seek treatment for alcohol-related problems. Further, community pharmacies have the potential to reach consumers at an early stage of their alcohol use and incorporate intervention and advice into their role in providing medications.AimThe purpose of this review was to inform pharmacists and stakeholders of the evidence base for SBI in community pharmacy settings. To date, there has been limited research on the effectiveness of alcohol SBI in community pharmacies, with a systemic review only identifying two randomized trials.MethodsThis narrative review reports on the period 2007–2017, covering feasibility studies, pilot programs, and surveys of consumers and pharmacy staff attitudes relating to alcohol SBI in this setting. Studies were identified via MEDLINE, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and reference lists of relevant publications.FindingsThe findings indicated that the provision of community pharmacy alcohol SBI requires training in communication and intervention skills and in some cases increasing confidence and alcohol-related knowledge. Consumers were generally receptive to the SBI approach but requested private areas for delivery of such.ConclusionThe high prevalence of “at risk” alcohol use in many countries and the low level of treatment seeking by this group means that novel approaches to engage opportunistically with these people is imperative in reducing alcohol-related harms. However, before committing routine health funding, these novel approaches need rigorous evaluation.

Successful implementation and provision of enhanced and extended pharmacy services

“…weight management, smoking cessation). [19][20][21][22][23][24] Pharmacists are increasingly also more involved in public health services such as the provision of pharmacist-administered vaccination services [25][26][27] with pharmacists in the United States already providing this service since 1995. 28 A 2013 review highlighted that many studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of professional services provided by pharmacists that resulted in positive patient health outcomes.…”

Health-promoting services provided in pharmacies

“…Alcohol consumption control: Three studies reported this service for the pharmacies. [ 3 11 20 ] The studies by Todd et al . and Brown et al .…”

“…They stated that the pharmacies can be effective in the identification of individuals with high risk of alcohol consumption and then making them aware of the consequences of drinking, as long as providing education about its importance in those with chronic diseases like diabetes. [ 20 ]…”

“…The assessment showed that of the 18 included studies eight had good quality[ 3 6 10 11 12 13 14 15 ] and 10 had moderate quality. [ 1 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ] To assure uniform handling of the data, a form was used for data extraction which included title, author(s), year of publication, country of study, study purpose, applied methodology, and the results-the mentioned functions for the pharmacies. The narrative analysis method was used to analyze and report the data.…”

Australian Community Pharmacy Harm-Minimisation Services: Scope for Service Expansion to Improve Healthcare Access

“…Little research has been conducted to explore the barriers and facilitators for providing the staged supply service in community pharmacy. There are other public health-related services that pharmacies can provide in relation to minimising harm, e.g., alcohol screening, which was considered as a positive service delivered by community pharmacy [ 46 , 47 ]. However, these services are not remunerated by the Australian government or state departments.…”