Assessment of prices, availability and affordability of essential medicines in Juba County, South Sudan
ConclusionsIn South Sudan, medicines are poorly available in all sectors. Medicines are affordable in the public sector but Most medicines are unaffordable in private pharmacies, private clinics and faith-based health facilities. Poor medicines availability in the public sector contributes to the overall unaffordability of medicines in all the other sectors. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - December 30, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Pharmacist-led vaccination services in the Middle East
AbstractSuccessful Vaccine uptake relies heavily on the effectiveness of vaccination services. Expanding the scope of pharmacists ’ involvement in vaccination services can significantly improve vaccination coverage. The level of pharmacists’ engagement in immunization services varies globally. The aim of this paper is to describe the current role of pharmacists in vaccination services in the Middle Eastern countries. The p rovision of vaccination services by pharmacists in the region has evolved notably in recent years. The extent of pharmacists’ involvement in immunization services varies from one country to another...
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - December 29, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Development of the Pharmacist ’s Stress Scale for Home Care (PSS) and evaluation of its reliability and validity
ConclusionsThe scale developed in this study is considered to be useful for the measurement of stress of pharmacists derived from interpersonal work and home care services. Leaving the job and burnout are expected to be prevented by perceiving the stress level of the pharmacists by themselves using this scale and coping with stress. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - December 28, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Changes in prescribing of psychotropic vs some physical health medication in primary care through the COVID-19 pandemic in England: a national-level survey
ConclusionsThe increase in anxiolytic/hypnotic prescribing above trend links to pandemic effects on anxiety/worry. If anything, there was a slight fall in prescribing of the main antidepressants prescribed, which given prevailing circumstances at the time, suggests that access to services may have restricted access to timely assessment. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - December 21, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Evaluation of parents ’ attitudes and practices related to antibiotic use for their children in Kosovo: a cross-sectional survey
ConclusionsOur findings suggest that antibiotic management by parents in Kosovo is not satisfactory, and more attention should be given to their knowledge of the side effects of antibiotics, bacterial resistance and reduction in the self-medication. Health education, adequate measures and interventions are needed to overcome this situation and ensure rational use of antibiotics in Kosovo. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - December 13, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Pharmacogenetic testing and monitoring of complete blood counts among Veterans newly prescribed thiopurine treatments: a retrospective cohort study
This study aims to evaluate trends in PGx testing and CBC monitoring among Veterans prescribed azathioprine, thioguanine, or mercaptopurine to demonstrate VA ’s efforts to improve medication safety after an adverse event. To assess testing patterns, we used VA electronic health report data to identify 20,524 Veterans who first began thiopurine treatment between January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2021. Aggregate monthly counts of thiopurine prescriptions and associated lab tests were tabulated, and the trend in the proportion of patients tested was analyzed using the Mann–Kendall test. The proportion of patients undergoin...
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - December 11, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Correction: mRNA vaccine development during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective review from the perspective of the Swiss affiliate of a global biopharmaceutical company
(Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - December 11, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Advancing medical affair capabilities and insight generation through machine learning techniques
ConclusionThere are numerous opportunities for innovation within the intersection of healthcare and data science. Pharmaceutical manufacturers, with one of their medical affairs responsibilities being the collection of unsolicited inquiries, particularly from HCPs, stand poised to leverage machine learning capabilities to optimize its processes. The abundance of data generated by the growing effort to use it in meaningful ways presents an opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to harness machine learning techniques. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - December 1, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Potentially inappropriate medicine use and predicting risk factors in hospitalized older adult patients: findings of a prospective observational study from Ethiopia
ConclusionsNearly three-fourths of the participants had potentially inappropriate medicine in their medicine list. Therefore, generating local evidence on the clinical, economic, and humanistic consequences may help in determining whether the Beers criteria should be taken into account when prescribing medicine to older adults. Interventions targeting older adult patients with heart failure might reduce inappropriate medicine use. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - November 30, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Assessing consumers ’ perception and demand on the community pharmacists’ dispensing
ConclusionsIn general, the public prefers to consult doctors for medical treatment and visit community pharmacies predominantly to collect prescriptions or purchase over-the-counter medications. Nonetheless, they are also open to utilizing services provided by community pharmacists, particularly screening services and treatment for minor illnesses. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - November 29, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Adherence to treatment and harmful effects of medication shortages in the context of severe crises: scale validation and correlates
ConclusionThe Harmful Impact of Medication Shortage scale could be an efficient tool to measure the detrimental effects of medication shortages among the Lebanese adult population with chronic diseases, particularly affecting treatment adherence. Future studies and evidence are still needed to confirm our findings and help build global mitigation policies addressing medication shortages. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - November 29, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Behaviour and associated determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and advocacy: a nationwide survey of pharmacy professionals in Qatar
ConclusionRespondents were least positive regarding emotion-related behavioral determinants for acceptance and professional role and identity for advocacy. Behavior change technique interventions that target these issues have the potential to influence the vaccine hesitancy of pharmacy professionals and other individuals. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - November 28, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Differences in healthcare service utilization in patients with polypharmacy according to their risk level by adjusted morbidity groups: a population-based cross-sectional study
ConclusionsPolypharmacy population compared to non-polypharmacy was characterized by a more advanced age, predominance of women, high-risk, complexity, numerous comorbidities, dependency and remarkable healthcare utilization. These findings could help healthcare policy makers to optimize the distribution of resources and professionals within PC and HC systems, aiming for the improvement of polypharmacy management and rational use of medicines while reducing costs attributed to healthcare utilization by these patients. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - November 28, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Reliability and validity of the Malay version of the drive-thru community pharmacy service questionnaire and the Malaysian public ’s awareness, attitudes, and perceptions of drive-thru community pharmacy during COVID-19
ConclusionsThe translated questionnaire was valid and reliable in assessing the perceptions toward drive-thru community pharmacy service during COVID-19 in Malaysia. The participants expressed good awareness and favorable attitudes and perceptions toward drive-thru community pharmacy service during COVID-19. Furthermore, they  perceived those services helped to increase social isolation and stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - November 28, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research

Evaluation of outpatient prescription patterns of COVID-19 drugs in Iran: comparison of real practice with local therapeutic recommendations
ConclusionIn this study, we showed frequent use of drugs with unproven efficacy in outpatient cases of Covid-19 mostly attributed to corticosteroids and antibiotics use. Our research highlights the discrepancy between recommendations for care and clinical practice and the need for strategy to bridge gaps in evidence-based informed decision-making. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - November 27, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research