Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the use of electronic-prescriptions reduces the amount of interventions being performed by pharmacists in a retail community setting. METHODS: Investigators directly observed local community pharmacist for a period of 3 weeks, during the working hours of 9am to 6pm. Information recorded with each intervention was the type of prescription, drug in question, reasons for intervention, final outcome, and time spent performing intervention. RESULTS: After 3 weeks of direct observation a total of 21 interventions were performed on electronic-prescriptions versus 154 interventions on other types of prescriptions (handwritten, faxed, verbal). The percentage of prescriptions that needed interventions was 11.7% of electronic-prescriptions versus 10.3% of all other types (p = 0.565). CONCLUSIONS: In this limited study, the rate of interventions appears to be similar between electronic-prescriptions and other types of prescriptions as a whole.

Community Pharmacists are the most accessible health care providers in Canada. Utilizing these cadres in effectively addressing substance abuse and addiction problems would help minimize the health and socioeconomic negative outcomes associated with the disease of addiction. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to: 1) Comprehend pharmacists’ encounters with PWSAD including satisfaction, feelings, situation management, red flags, and outcome(s), 2) Identify skills and educational needs for community pharmacists concerning providing optimum services to PWSAD, 3) Define the types of educational/training programs pharmacists require to improve their services toward PWSAD, 4) Identify immediate needs to improve current services (e.g. referral guide) and inquire about possible obstacles facing community pharmacists in providing services to PWSAD. Qualitative methodology was deemed as the most appropriate method for the research purpose. To recruit study participants, a questionnaire was sent to all community pharmacists in the city of Saskatoon. The survey results also provided general understanding of community pharmacists’ perspectives about addiction. Another survey was sent to all pharmacy schools in Canada, inquiring about the main educational material concerning addiction in undergraduate curricula. The inquiry concerned with the type of educational knowledge covered including pharmacological aspects, social aspects or others. Those pharmacists selected to be interviewed where asked to comment on the education and skill needs for community pharmacists and the suitable means to address such needs. Data analysis revealed four major themes; Work Environment, Lack of Knowledge, Health System and Educational and Training Needs. Each theme represents barriers facing community pharmacists to provide optimum health care for PWSAD. It was evident for educational and training needs that the demand is to have training on the social aspects of the disease such as communication skills and inter-professional interactive learning sessions. The need to focus on the social aspects of addiction was one of the major demands, expressed by participants. This work will influence future educational plans as well as provide suggestions to improve the contemporary educational plans based on a view from the practice field. It is not surprising as the university survey also showed lack of emphasis on the social aspects of addiction within the pharmacy curricula across Canada. Based on research findings, recommendations were categorized to two main streams; recommendations at the undergraduate level and recommendations at the continuous education and practice level. It is recommended to shift the focus of addiction educational material from pharmacology and law endorsement to social issues and patient care at the undergraduate level. On the other hand, implementing inter-professional sessions as well as protocol that pharmacists can follow during their encounter with PWSAD are key recommendations at the continuous education and practice level.

Class of 2012 Abstract / Specific Aims: The purpose of this study was to assess the overall satisfaction of Tucson area pharmacists in the community retail setting and to identify the facets of community practice that have the greatest contribution to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Methods: Surveys were sent by facsimile to all community retail pharmacies in the Tucson area. All pharmacists working in these stores were encouraged to respond to the survey by faxing back the paper copy or by responding to the online version of the survey at surveymonkey.com. Respondents were asked to rate their job satisfaction and demographic data were also collected. Main Results: Questionnaires were completed and returned by 32 pharmacists, an estimated response rate of 10%. After reviewing the returned surveys, four questions were chosen from the satisfaction portion to determine their relationship to the job satisfaction ratings. Those four variables were “recognition one receives for good work”, “opportunity to use abilities”, “hours of work”, and “patient contact”. Those four satisfaction variables were then analyzed using the demographic grouping variables “other experience”, “store type” and “degree earned”. Following analysis, only hours of work was found to play a significant role with pharmacy job satisfaction when grouped by other experience. Conclusions: The area of community pharmacy practice that affects job satisfaction the most is hours of work, which is especially true when pharmacists have work experience outside of community practice.

Class of 2017 Abstract / Objectives: To assess the perceived confidence level of community pharmacists in utilizing weight-based dosing, dispensing prescriptions, counseling, and recommending over-the-counter medications for the pediatric population in rural and non-rural settings. Methods: A 33-item questionnaire generated through REDCap was distributed to 11,280 pharmacists registered with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy via email from March 14 to April 4 of 2017. The survey collected information on the participants’ experiences in managing pediatric prescriptions and demographics. Results: Of the 11,280 surveys distributed, a total of 857 responses were submitted by the end of the survey period (7.6%) and 482 responses were included in the analysis; 49 (10.2%) were practicing in rural areas and 433 (89.8%) were practicing in non-rural areas (including urban and suburban) in Arizona. There was no significant difference in the rural group compared to the non-rural group regarding experiences with dispensing pediatric medications. In regards to the confidence level, there was a significant difference between the two groups in calculating and recommending weight-based dosing for prescription and OTC pediatric medications (p = 0.022 and 0.031, respectively) and identifying a dosing error in pediatric prescriptions (p = 0.016). Conclusions: Community pharmacists practicing in rural and non-rural settings in Arizona had similar experiences with dispensing pediatric medications and confidence levels in managing medications for pediatric patients.

Class of 2009 / OBJECTIVES: To compare the attitudes of community pharmacy managers who did and did not contract with Mirixa to provide Medicare Part D medication therapy management (MTM) services in 2006. METHODS: Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: United States in 2006. Participants: 100 pharmacy managers contracted to provide MTM services in 2006 and 100 pharmacy managers not contracted to provide MTM services in 2006. Intervention: Telephone-administered survey of independent community pharmacy managers. Main outcome measures: Pharmacist knowledge of and attitudes toward Medicare Part D MTM services. RESULTS: 200 pharmacy managers completed the study (n = 100 for each group). Pharmacists who contracted with Mirixa to provide MTM services in 2006 were more familiar with Medicare Part D MTM (80% vs. 59%, P = 0.001). Significantly more pharmacists contracted with Mirixa to provide MTM services agreed that they were qualified to provide MTM services (96% vs. 88%, P = 0.01) and strongly agreed that an annual personal medication review would benefit patient outcomes (59% vs. 45%, P = 0.04). No significant difference was found between groups with regard to other variables addressed in the survey. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest that familiarity with Medicare Part D MTM services was a key factor in whether pharmacists chose to contract to provide MTM in 2006. Additionally, significantly more pharmacists who contracted felt strongly that personal medication reviews would improve patient outcomes.

In recent years, a significant change in the pharmacist’s scope of practice is the expansion of prescriptive authority (PA). In Saskatchewan, pharmacists adopted an interdependent prescribing model to support interprofessional collaboration, public safety though the optimal use of drug therapy, and the optimization of pharmacy competencies. In acquiring this new prescriptive authority, the community pharmacist also assumes new responsibilities and obligations, as well as transforming their relationships with patients and physicians. The purpose of this research is to assess rates of adoption by pharmacists of PA (Level 1 and Minor Ailments Prescribing) within community pharmacy practice in Saskatchewan. To gain a better understanding of how pharmacists are responding to new and evolving models of practice, this study proposes to measure their experiences with PA services and how it is affected by aspects of their professional practice. To investigate the study’s research questions, a cross-sectional study using a mail-in questionnaire with an online option was initiated. All registered community pharmacists in Saskatchewan (998) were asked to participate in the study. Of the 998 distributed questionnaires, 501 were returned back by the respondents yielding a response rate of 51.3 percent. The results disclose that a vast majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they were confident in their ability to provide Level 1 (94%) and Minor Ailment (75%) prescribing. Respondents indicated that 74.2 percent of the time they actually provide Level 1 (L1) prescribing services to their patients and slightly more than half (52.5%) of the time provided Minor Ailment (MA) prescribing services. The majority of respondents (81.4 %) indicated that on average it took twenty minutes or less to provide MA prescribing service to their patients. Most pharmacist respondents strongly supported the statement that the pharmacies they worked at consistently provided Prescriptive Authority services (L1- 90% Strongly Agreed or Agreed, MA- 52.9% Strongly Agreed or Agreed) and that they get full support from managers (L1- 95.6% Strongly Agreed or Agreed, MA- 88% Strongly Agreed or Agreed) for their involvement in PA services. Respondents indicated some concern regarding the limited knowledge of patients on what pharmacists can do for them as a prescriber. In terms of overall relationships with patients, respondents indicated that patients were satisfied with the services pharmacists provide as a prescriber. Respondents reported that they had a good relationship with physicians. However, they did express concerns about their limited interactions with physicians as MA prescribers. Respondents generally reported supportive environments and positive interactions with patients and physicians. However, while expressing confidence in their ability to provide all prescriptive authority services, Level 1 services that supported traditional dispensing services were generally more consistently provided, supported, and perceived as being valued by patients and physicians compared to Minor Ailment Prescribing. The results also support the notion that pharmacists are highly confident to provide PA services to the patients and their relationships with the patients and physician improved day by day. Nevertheless, there is little evidence to suggest that patient’s level of knowledge about pharmacist’s new role; pharmacist’s interaction with physicians and physicians’ knowledge on PA have affected the provision of Prescriptive Authority services.

Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To identify and describe practical incentives and barriers for community health center pharmacists in adopting a practice based research network (PBRN) that facilitates sustainable collaboration. METHODS: Directors of pharmacy at Community health centers listed as members of Arizona Association of Community Health Centers (AACHC), with on-site pharmacies, were contacted via telephone. During initial contact an IRB approved script was used to recruit the pharmacy director’s participation, at which time the subject’s disclaimer form was read and an appointment for a future phone interview was scheduled. Phone Interviews were conducted using a standardized questionnaire, and all results were manually recorded on a standardized data collection form. Data collected included, site specific information including the: educational background of the pharmacy director, and his or her perceived inducements and barriers to participating in a pharmacy based PBRN with the University of Arizona. RESULTS: Phone interviews were completed by 8 directors of pharmacy, 4 women (50%) and 4 men (50%). A total of 5 participants (62.5%) had a BS degree, 2 (25%) had PharmD degrees and 1 (12.5%) had both as BS and a PharmD degree. The mean length of time in current position was 5.56 yrs (SD= 4 yrs.). 75% of the participants indicated that they considered working with the University of Arizona (UofA) as an inducement, the same number of participants felt that their staff and practice as a whole would also consider it an inducement. Overall participants indicated that both their personal (75%) and staff‘s (87.5%) motivation to improve the pharmacy profession was considered an inducement, as well as their opportunity for professional growth (75%). All of the participants (100%) indicated they did not have adequate staffing to support research at this time and therefore felt it was a barrier to participation. When asked about resources as a whole, including staff, time and technology 87.5% of the participants felt this was a barrier. Other common barriers were; anticipated time requirements (75%), current schedule/time allowances (75%), staff’s outside commitments (75%). Out of the 8 participants only 2 (25%) are currently participating in PBRNS at this time, 3(37.5%) have research ideas that they are interested in working on, and 3(37.5%) indicated that they were not currently participating nor did they have any current interests. The major themes identified as inducements to participation were patient benefit, time/staffing involvement, and professional growth. CONCLUSIONS: The most common barriers to participating in a PBRN were: working with the UofA, motivation to improve the profession of pharmacy and the opportunity for professional growth. The most common inducements were staffing, current resources, anticipated time requirements, current schedules and outside commitments.

Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: Describe the characteristics and research interests of Community Health Centers (CHC) pharmacists and pharmacies in a pharmacy based practice based research network (PBRN). METHODS: Pharmacy directors of eight Arizona CHC pharmacies were initially contacted by telephone and asked to participate in a survey. The survey was then sent to these directors via email and a second telephone conversation was set up to re-­‐administer the survey and gather the answers to the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of demographic, clinical and practice related questions targeted at identifying areas of interest for research in developing a community pharmacy practice based research network (PBRN). RESULTS: The data regarding the demographics and characteristics of the Arizona CHC pharmacies, pharmacists, and patients showed that only two pharmacies served more than 300 patients per day and dispensed more than 400 prescriptions per day. The data found that an average of 46% of the patients that went to these pharmacies did not consider English as their primary language and that an average of 49% of the patients were Hispanic/Latino. The data collected regarding the clinical interests of these pharmacies showed that asthma had the highest level of clinical interest among the eight CHC pharmacies (average rank = 3.1). For the public health interests of the CHC pharmacies, patient adherence/compliance was ranked the most important (average rank = 3.1). In regards to internal practice site interests job satisfaction was the most highly ranked interests among these CHC pharmacies (average rank = 3.1). CONCLUSIONS: The data suggests asthma, job satisfaction and patient compliance/adherence are the top areas of interest in the clinical, internal worksite, and public health sectors. The data collected from this study will help to establish a pharmacy based PBRN in Arizona and provide a starting point in terms of research topics that will be explored. The establishment of an Arizona pharmacy based PBRN is very important since it will provide cohesiveness between research and community based practice of Community Health Centers in Arizona and is a step in the right direction in terms of growth of these centers.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Pharmacovigilance involves the management of sub-standard drugs, medication errors, ―off-licence‖ drugs, abuse and misuse, lack of efficacy, poisoning, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), drug interactions, expired stock destruction and drug-related mortality. Regulators and the pharmaceutical industry rely on healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, to report ADRs. The majority of pharmacists work in retail community pharmacies and they are often the first point of contact when ADRs are experienced, since self-medication, misuse of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, vitamins and traditional medicines, increase the probability of ADRs. In South Africa (SA) ADRs have been known to cause adult deaths and hospital admissions. In first-world communities, pharmacovigilance is more common among pharmacists, however in South Africa, ADR reporting compares poorly. Studies in the public sector have found that pharmacists lack pharmacovigilance knowledge and underreport ADRs. In comparison the pharmacovigilance knowledge and practice patterns among retail community pharmacists is poorly documented.

There is poor oral health awareness in Nigeria. This is mainly attributed to limited access to correct information on oral health as well as a lack of oral health care providers. The impact of the poor oral health awareness is worse in Northern Nigeria due to the uneven distribution of oral health care workers and training facilities. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to describe the roles of community pharmacists (CPs) in Plateau State, Nigeria as sources of oral health information. Theoretical framework for this study was the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Background knowledge and practices of oral health care by CPs were assessed as related to their demographic characteristics. A 1 sample t-test was used to assess CPs' knowledge of oral health. A binary logistic regression model was conducted to evaluate if some demographic variables could predict Plateau State CPs' interest in becoming more involved in provision of services on oral health problems. According to the study findings, the CPs had a good disposition towards engaging in oral health prevention services by providing some oral health services to patients with oral health problems. In addition, 94.7% of the CPs were willing to advance the cause of oral health care. The disposition of CPs towards oral health could serve as a platform to help propagate oral health care and awareness in their communities. Engaging the CPs might help reduce oral health disparities by increasing oral health awareness, improving oral health-seeking behavior and oral hygiene practices, and improving quality of life via cost effective delivery of pharmacy-based oral health care services.