Class of 2007 Abstract / Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the need for an integrative medicine continuing education (CE) program for pharmacists and what pharmacists are looking for in such a CE program. Methods: A focus group was conducted with four pharmacists. They were led on a discussion about their experiences with alternative/herbal medicines and desire to learn more, opinions on CE for pharmacists, and compensation for CE credits. The members of the focus group were also given a demographics questionnaire about their gender, age, years in practice, and practice setting. Results: The focus group thought that most pharmacists would want to learn more about integrative medicine, including alternative and herbal products. They would like to have a CE program that is structured around disease states and presents evidence based medicine. It was agreed that inclusion of law CE credits would make the program more desirable. The length of the program could be between 2 hours (if presented on-line) to an entire day (if conducted with presentations). The major limitation in this study was the generalizability of the results due to the small size of the focus group and its members being form the same practice site. Conclusions: It was determined that there is a need for an integrative medicine CE program for pharmacists. If remuneration is sought for the program, then pharmacists will expect certification upon completion. More studies should be conducted to determine the ideal content in herbal/alternative medicine CE programs.

Class of 2006 Abstract / Objectives: To describe the current response rate of pharmacists to mailed surveys and to identify the factors that influence pharmacist response rates. A number of hypotheses have been presented. Design: A systematic literature review. Methods: Included articles were evaluated for variables of interest using a data extraction form. Variables included length of survey, use of incentive, proximity, use of announcement, the anonymity of the survey, use of a reminder, and presence of return postage. Results: A total of 76 articles were identified of which 54 met inclusion criteria. The mean response rate for the survey was 45.8 percent. The effect on response rate was evaluated in regard to survey length, the inclusion of an incentive, and the geographical origination of the survey. The change in response rate for each single increase in the number of questions in a survey changed the response rate by 0.001 percent. Response rate for surveys without an incentive provided was 44.6 percent (SD = 0.168), while the response rate for those with an incentive was 50.7 percent (p > 0.277). Twenty seven surveys were deemed to seek responses from pharmacists in a close proximity to the organization sending out the survey (e.g., within the same state or region). Twenty-seven did not focus on a specific state or region. The mean response rates were 45.5 percent and 46.1 percent, respectively (p=0.882). There was no statistical significance in any of the other variables examined. Conclusions: This review of literature addressing pharmacist response rate to mailed surveys revealed that pharmacists’ response to surveys is not significantly affected by survey length, inclusion of an incentive, or survey origin.

The Australian health system is undergoing substantial changes in response to consumer demands, rising health costs and consequent shifts in government policies. This thesis explored ways community pharmacists could implement new styles of practice. Results indicate that pharmacists can assist consumers to better manage their medications and reduce harm, but it requires a different practice approach to that currently offered. This research has contributed to the establishment of the nation program, Home Medications Review. / thesis (PhDPharmacy)--University of South Australia, 2005.

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.

No description available.

The Australian health system is undergoing substantial changes in response to consumer demands, rising health costs and consequent shifts in government policies. This thesis explored ways community pharmacists could implement new styles of practice. Results indicate that pharmacists can assist consumers to better manage their medications and reduce harm, but it requires a different practice approach to that currently offered. This research has contributed to the establishment of the nation program, Home Medications Review. / Thesis (PhDPharmacy)--University of South Australia, 2005.

The Australian health system is undergoing substantial changes in response to consumer demands, rising health costs and consequent shifts in government policies. This thesis explored ways community pharmacists could implement new styles of practice. Results indicate that pharmacists can assist consumers to better manage their medications and reduce harm, but it requires a different practice approach to that currently offered. This research has contributed to the establishment of the nation program, Home Medications Review. / thesis (PhDPharmacy)--University of South Australia, 2005.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Köln.

Thesis (Pharm.D.)--Butler University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 22).

In recent years health care personnel have seen changes to their roles and responsibilities. A number of reports both from within the occupation and from government have recommended changes in the roles of community pharmacists so that they become more active in the provision of health care. The new roles and services suggested have become known as "extended roles" and include health promotion, treatment of minor ailments, provision of advice on prescribed medicines to the public and to other health care personnel. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the extended roles of the community pharmacist. The investigation initially took an exploratory approach and used unstructured interviews with pharmacists to ascertain influences on every day practice which could have implications on implementation of extended roles. The findings from the initial qualitative stage were incorporated into a national survey of community pharmacists. A number of interrelated factors were found to be important including work practices, financial considerations, people's expectations, relationships with GPs and pharmacists' own definitions of their roles. These findings are explained in terms of the progressive division of labour in the market for the provision of health care. Recommendations are made for extending the role of the community pharmacist