Study of good pharmacy practice in community pharmacy of three districts of Kathmandu valley, Nepal

Abstract

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Medicines are an essential component of health-care services. The community pharmacies have great value in terms of providing medicinal services in developing countries. Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) assesses whether the medicines are safe, effective, available, and accessible and are used correctly. The objective of the study is to assess the good pharmacy practice among community pharmacy of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This was a cross-sectional prospective study. A quota sampling approach was adopted to sample 94 community pharmacies. Data on the premises, storage, prescription handling and dispensing, pharmacy services and rational use of drug were collected using pre-tested questionnaire. </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> The overall compliance with GPP indicators for Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts were found to be 12.81 (55.69%), 11.13 (48.39%) and 12.99 (56.48%). On structure wise study, the GPP compliance was higher in others category (Metropolitan city, Sub-metropolitan city and Municipality) i.e. 13.49 (58.65%) and 11.9 (51.74%) in VDC. The studies showed the declining involvement of pharmacists or pharmacy assistants in community pharmacy for more than eight hours a working day i.e. Lalitpur (65%), Bhaktapur (56%) and Kathmandu (59%). Antibiotic dispensing without prescription was highly practiced in Lalitpur 50% compared to Bhaktapur (44%), Kathmandu (34%).</p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> It was found that all districts miserably failed to comply with the standards set by GPP particularly Bhaktapur. Pharmacies seemed to have established their place in the society more as a business entity rather than healthcare establishment.

Study on drug use pattern in primary healthcare centers of Kathmandu valley

“…Similarly, previous studies among community pharmacies and PHCs in Nepal also revealed higher non-pharmacy professionals in dispensary roles. 10,21 This can be considered as the reason for low dispensing time, improper labeling, and patient knowledge in medicine. The lack of qualified health personnel was considered in resulting inadequate labeling of medications and insufficient time to counsel patients on the appropriate use of medicine like administration procedures, possible drug-food interactions, and side-effects.…”

A nationwide exploratory survey assessing perception, practice, and barriers toward pharmaceutical care provision among hospital pharmacists in Nepal

“…More awareness needs to be created of the current GPP guidelines among pharmacists, and special training on GPP adherence may be conducted. Two studies conducted among community pharmacists reported poor compliance with GPP guidelines 26 , 62 . Though the setting is different, this may also have implications for pharmacy practice in hospital pharmacies.…”

“…Since many pharmacies in Nepal are still run by unqualified persons 26 , 27 , the status of PC in actual practice is questionable. To enhance the quality and standard of overall pharmaceutical service by pharmacists, the Nepal Pharmacy Council (NPC) developed the National Good Pharmacy guideline draft in 2005.…”

Regulatory Compliance and Associated Quality of Amoxicillin in Drug Retail Outlets of Southwestern Ethiopia

“…While research findings confirm the existence of the private drug retail outlets that do not comply with regulatory standards in many low-income countries, there are a lack of reports that evaluates the quality of medicines from these retailers. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Therefore, the quality amoxicillin 500 mg capsule samples were evaluated using the method mentioned in US Pharmacopeia after assessments of regulatory compliance of the drug retail outlets in Southwestern Ethiopia. In this study, 42 private drug retail outlets of Jimma town were evaluated for regulatory compliance using the Ethiopian regulatory standard checklists.…”

“…10 However, widespread regulatory infringement has been reported in private drug retail outlets, especially in developing countries. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] In these retail outlets, personnel requirements, structural design features for the premises, minimum equipment and material requirements, and provisions for good medicine storage and dispensing practices did not fully meet the regulatory standards of those countries. Conversely, while these findings confirm the existence of private drug retail outlets that do not comply with regulatory standards in many low-income countries, there are a lack of reports that evaluate the quality of medicines obtained from these retail outlets.…”