What Do the Hospital Pharmacists Think about the Quality of Pharmaceutical Care Services in a Pakistani Province? A Mixed Methodology Study

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the perception of hospital pharmacists regarding quality of pharmaceutical care services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Province, Pakistan, through qualitative as well as quantitative approach. For qualitative study, snow ball sampling technique was used. In quantitative part, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 112 hospital pharmacists (out of 128 accessed ones) from both private and public hospitals in six major divisions (divisions are the third tier of government in Pakistan, between the provinces and districts) of KPK. The qualitative study yielded five major themes during thematic analysis: (a) patients reporting, (b) lack of patient counseling, (c) lack of participation in health awareness programs, (d) pharmacists reducing the prescribing errors, and (e) insufficient number of pharmacists. A great proportion (67.9%) of the pharmacists was unsatisfied with their participation in health awareness programs. Findings of both phases revealed that hospital pharmacists in Pakistan are not actively participating in the provision of pharmaceutical care services. They are facing various hurdles for their active participation in patient care; major obstacles include the unavailability of sufficient number of pharmacists, lack of appropriate time for patient counseling, and poor relationship between pharmacists and other health care providers.

Current views of community and hospital pharmacists on pharmaceutical care services in the United Arab Emirates: A mixed methodological study

“…The questionnaire was designed after reviewing several literature reviews from previous studies. Accordingly, Murtaza G et al's (2015) questionnaire was used in this study. 13 Murtaza G et al's (2015) questionnaire was designed after a comprehensive review of literature and tested for validity and reliability.…”

“…Accordingly, Murtaza G et al's (2015) questionnaire was used in this study. 13 Murtaza G et al's (2015) questionnaire was designed after a comprehensive review of literature and tested for validity and reliability. 13 We adopted this questionnaire and modified it slightly to suit the purpose and population of the present study.…”

Exploring community pharmacists perception towards responsible provision of patient care services: A quantitative assessment

“…Pharmaceutical care practice has been found to have a significantly positive influence on patient's healthcare outcomes and disease management [1,2]. Thus, it requires coordination among community pharmacists and other healthcare providers along with awareness, training, and communication skills for the successful implementation of pharmaceutical care practice [3]. In most developing countries, the availability and proper use of medication are the major problems faced by the healthcare system.…”

A transition from the BPharm to the PharmD degree in five selected countries

“…Pharmacists in all countries provide clinical pharmacy services but at different levels of implementation; for example, pharmacists in developed countries have many supporting systems for the implementation of pharmaceutical care practice. On the other hand, in developing countries pharmaceutical care implementation still encounters a number of challenges, including the absence of a recognized reimbursement system 17,18. Pharmacists in the U.S. can be given the authority to be supplementary or independent prescribers via collaborative practice agreements that depend on state regulations; while pharmacists in Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, and Thailand have prescribing authority for ‘pharmacist only medicines (POM)’ and the over-the counter (OTC) medicines for the symptomatic treatment of minor conditions.…”