What impact does medicines shortages have on patients? A qualitative study exploring patients’ experience and views of healthcare professionals

Atif, Muhammad; Sehar, Azka; Malik, Iram; Mushtaq, Irem; Ahmad, Nafees; Babar, Zaheer‐Ud‐Din

doi:10.1186/s12913-021-06812-7

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…For the management of diabetic patients, proper pharmaceutical treatment is crucial to achieving the desired outcome. Community pharmacists help in controlling blood sugar levels and enhance the quality of life by providing pharmaceutical care and prescription management services [ 10 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite continuous government initiatives, and literature and policy that demand pharmacy services to be implemented, deficiency of acknowledgment of the entire breadth of pharmacy services has limited pharmacists' ability to establish themselves as skilled and acknowledged healthcare providers in Pakistan [ 10 ]. Along with a few exceptions, advanced patient-centered pharmacy services are not being provided in Pakistani hospitals and private-sector pharmacies [ 18 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Current Practices and Perceived Role of Community Pharmacists in Type 2 Diabetes Services in Pakistan

Arif¹,

Khan²,

Hammad³

et al. 2023

Cureus

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BackgroundDiabetes mellitus is a chronic illness which is becoming more prevalent in developing countries, and it is being managed mostly in hospitals or clinics in underdeveloped nations. Other strategies for treatment delivery in emerging nations must be considered as the number of diabetic patients grows. Community pharmacists are a valuable choice for diabetes care. However, only developed countries have data on community pharmacists' diabetes treatment practices. MethodologyA non-probability consecutive sampling strategy was used to gather a self-administered questionnaire from 289 community pharmacists. Six points Likert scale was employed to score current practices and pharmacists' perceived role. A response rate of 55% was attained. Characteristics associated with present behaviors and perceived roles were analyzed using Chi-square and logistic regression. ResultsThe majority of the respondents were males, 234 (81.0%). Out of 289, 229 (79.2%) were of 25-30 years of age and were pharmacists as well as qualified persons (QP) 189 (65.4%). A QP is one who has the legal authority to sell drugs to customers. The majority had <5 years of working experience as a community pharmacist, 268 (92.7%), and did not have diabetes training, 237 (82.0%). Most community pharmacies were stand-alone, 110 (38.1%), and had a single or a group of proprietors, 248 (85.8%). Open hours of most of the pharmacies were 16-20 hours per day, 202 (69.8%), and most had one pharmacist, 243 (84.1%), i.e., working as a pharmacist as well as a qualified person. Approximately 203 (70.2%) of the pharmacies had customers >2000 in a month and >100 customers purchased anti-diabetes medications per month. Only 44 (15.2%) community pharmacies had a designated room or space for patient counselling. The majority of pharmacists were also in favor of providing services other than dispensing such as counselling the patients about prescribed medicines, direction of use, use of devices for insulin administration, training on self-monitoring of glucose, and healthy lifestyle and diet practices. Pharmacy setting, ownership, patient counseling area, and the number of customers per month were key factors in the provision of diabetes services. The main obstacles identified were a lack of pharmacist availability and academic competency. ConclusionIn Rawalpindi and Islamabad, most community pharmacies only provide a basic dispensing service for diabetes patients. Most of the community pharmacists agreed to extend their duties. The expansion of pharmacist professional responsibilities would help control the rising diabetes burden. The facilitators and hurdles identified would serve as a foundation for the introduction of diabetic care in community pharmacies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Practices and Perceived Role of Community Pharmacists in Type 2 Diabetes Services in Pakistan

Arif¹,

Khan²,

Hammad³

et al. 2023

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The provision of healthcare services in CCs was focused more on managing family planning services, reproduction and child care, and basic health services, which might have influenced their preference and willingness [ 55 ]. The shortage of supplies and resources, including medicines and diagnostic facilities in CCs, UHCs, and Upazila Health Complex resulted in a lower preference for using NCD services, which is similarly reported in primary healthcare settings in several countries [ 56 – 59 ]. The cost, physical distance, and wait time also influenced the utilization of PHC facilities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Preference and willingness to receive non-communicable disease services from primary healthcare facilities in Bangladesh: A qualitative study

Kabir

Karim

Billah

2022

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background In Bangladesh, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasing rapidly and account for approximately 68% of mortality and 64% of disease burden. NCD services have been significantly mobilized to primary healthcare (PHC) facilities to better manage the rising burden of NCDs. However, little is known about community members’ preference and willingness to receive NCD services from PHC facilities; therefore, this particular subject is the focus of this study. Methods A qualitative study was conducted from May 2021 to October 2021. Data were collected via 16 focus group discussions involving community members and 14 key informant interviews with healthcare professionals, facility managers, and public health practitioners. Based on a social-ecological model (SEM), data were analyzed thematically. The triangulation of methods and participants was conducted to validate the information provided. Results Preference and willingness to receive NCD services from PHC facilities were influenced by a range of individual, interpersonal, societal, and organizational factors that were interconnected and influenced each other. Knowledge and the perceived need for NCD care, misperception, self-management, interpersonal, and family-level factors played important roles in using PHC facilities. Community and societal factors (i.e., the availability of alternative and complementary services, traditional practices, social norms) and organizational and health system factors (i.e., a shortage of medicines, diagnostic capacity, untrained human resources, and poor quality of care) also emerged as key aspects that influenced preference and willingness to receive NCD services from PHC facilities. Conclusion Despite their substantial potential, PHC facilities may not take full advantage of managing NCDs. All four factors need to be considered when developing NCD service interventions in the primary healthcare system to better address the rising burden of NCDs.

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“…While a few publications reviewed the costs of specific shortages, they were incomplete since personnel costs were excluded [26][27][28]. Studies on humanistic effects, such as patient related factors that determine the resolution of medicines shortages [29] or patients' concerns as a result of the shortage, are even more scarce especially on specific medicine shortages [30]. Indirect impact and health outcomes are seldom reported in the literature [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medicine shortages: impact behind numbers

Postma

Notenboom

Smet³

et al. 2023

J of Pharm Policy and Pract

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Introduction Current research to assess the impact that medicine shortages have on patients is limited to general aspects, such as the prevalence of shortages and product characteristics. The aim of this study is to assess the overall impact that medicine shortages have on economic, clinical, and humanistic outcomes. Methods A cohort of all known products in shortage in the Netherlands between 2012 and 2015 were characterized by their route of administration, anatomical therapeutic chemical class, and whether they were originator or generic products. A representative sample of 324 shortages (18% of all shortages) was rated as having low, medium, or high impact on the five elements that determine the impact of shortages on patients: availability of an alternative product, underlying disease, susceptibility of the patient, costs (for patients and society at large), and number of patients affected. Ratings were converted into numerical scores per element and multiplied to obtain an overall impact score. Results Two elements were most frequently rated as having a high impact: disease (29%) and costs (20%). Nearly half of the shortages (47%) rated high on at least one element, while nearly 10% rated high on multiple elements. Thirty percent of the shortages rated high on direct impact, which is represented by these elements: alternative product and disease. An additional 17% of the shortages rated high on indirect impact, which is represented by these elements: costs, susceptibility, and number of patients. High impact scores could not significantly be attributed to characteristics of the products in shortage. Conclusions An assessment of the medicine shortages’ impact using a framework based on economic, clinical, and economic outcomes showed that all three outcomes affect the overall impact that medicine shortages have on patients.

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What impact does medicines shortages have on patients? A qualitative study exploring patients’ experience and views of healthcare professionals

Cited by 21 publications

References 51 publications

Current Practices and Perceived Role of Community Pharmacists in Type 2 Diabetes Services in Pakistan

Current Practices and Perceived Role of Community Pharmacists in Type 2 Diabetes Services in Pakistan

Preference and willingness to receive non-communicable disease services from primary healthcare facilities in Bangladesh: A qualitative study

Medicine shortages: impact behind numbers

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