This thesis is a policy analysis of the Pharmacy In A New Age (PIANA) initiative launched by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) in 1995. It leads to an understanding of how pharmacy services develop as a part of the Welfare State. The chosen interpretation was to explore the pharmacy policy sub-system using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), the Systems Approach and the dimensions of power associated with decision-making. The PIANA initiative identified five areas where pharmacists' input into future healthcare systems would be valued: o the management of prescribed medicines; e the management of long-term conditions; the management of common ailments; the promotion and support of healthy lifestyles; and, advice and support for other healthcare professionals. Research was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative methods to ascertain pharmacists' perceptions towards the implementation of the PIANA initiative. From the interviews it was determined that isolation, remuneration, skill mix and competitive retail environment were factors thought to impede the implementation of new pharmacy services in the community setting. Hypotheses were generated and subsequent questionnaire based research explored pharmacists' views relating to the development of the extended pharmacy services and which organisations were trusted to influence the policy process. The study group comprised 2359 pharmacists living in Great Britain who were registered With the RPSGB on March 12 th 1999. The response rate was 50.1 % (n= 1182). Statistical analysis demonstrated that the management of prescribed medicines was ranked most important role and that pharmacists employed in GP surgeries were thought best placed to carry out this role. The author suggests that clinicallytrained pharmacists based in GP surgeries would be best placed to manage prescribed medicines. Community pharmacists ranked the management of common ailments as their second most important role and were perceived to be best located by all pharmacists. Hospital ranked the advice and support of health care professionals as the second most important; community pharmacists ranked this as the fifth most important. The conclusionsd raw on the literaturea ssociatedw ith implementationT. he author considers that the methods employed, were appropriate to analyse the pharmacy policy process. The analysis identified that the RPSGB was unable to unilaterally influence the policy process and that the plethora of pharmacy organisationsm ay be detrimentatl o policy implementationT. he authorc oncludes that local leadersw ho are associatedw ith severalp harmacyo rganisationsfu rther compromise the situation. Employees of Primary Care Organisations were found to possess the triple dimensions of power associated with decision-making and are key policy brokers for emerging pharmacy services. Future policy implementation research should focus upon this group. The majority of pharmacists were unable to identify a legitimate organisation to support the local implementation of pharmacists' non-dispensing roles, this may impede the implementation process. The majority of pharmacists agreed that they would have to change the skills that they used in order to survive. Educators and trainers should ensure that pharmacists develop competencies to the expected professional standards required to develop and deliver new roles. 16

No description available.

Disputats, Göteborg 2006. / Härtill 5 uppsatser. Med sammanfattning på svenska.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Göteborg : Göteborgs universitet, 2006. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Class of 2005 Abstract / Objectives: The level of nurses’ satisfaction relative to pharmacy services provided at a rural medical center was evaluated and compared to data collected in a previous study at the same institution. Information obtained was utilized to determine potential areas for pharmacy service improvements. Methods: This project employed a survey research design in order to acquire demographic and descriptive data. The instrument contained 43 items including 34 scaled, 7 demographic, and 2 open-ended items. Aspects assessed by this instrument included accessibility of pharmacists, accuracy of medication delivery, quality of drug information services, and perceptions of pharmacists’ value by nursing staff. All inpatient nurse practitioners, licensed practical nurses, and registered nurses who were employed at the medical center in the winter of 2004 were eligible to participate in this study. Results: A total of 199 surveys were returned for a response rate of 43.9%. The overall level of nurses’ satisfaction with pharmacy services at the medical center had not significantly changed between the years of 2000 and 2004; however, several specific areas of pharmaceutical services changed over time. The level of nurses’ satisfaction with pharmacy services was increased in relation to the communication between pharmacists and nurses and decreased in relation to technology associated pharmacy services. Implications: The data obtained using the instrument was evaluated in order to make recommendations to the medical center Department of Pharmacy. An instrument was developed and validated to discern nurses’ level of satisfaction with pharmacy services. This methodology may be used at other institutions.

Class of 2009 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To assess patients’ satisfaction with pharmaceutical care services provided in a community health center diabetes management clinic. METHODS: Patients who received diabetes-related pharmaceutical services from the clinical pharmacist at El Rio Health Center in Tucson, Arizona from November 2008 to January 2009 were contacted during a visit to the diabetes clinic and asked to complete the consumer assessment of pharmaceutical services questionnaire. The questionnaire included 14 likert-type items with response options ranging from “Never” to “Always” or “Disagree” to “Agree.” In addition, the patient’s most recent hemoglobin A1C (HgbA1C) was obtained from the electronic medical record. The survey instrument was also translated from English to Spanish to serve the Hispanic participants who could not communicate fluently in English. A descriptive cross-sectional analysis was completed in order to assess patient satisfaction. Dependent variables extracted from the survey were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test. Interval and ratio data were analyzed by calculating means, standard deviations, and an independent t-test. Nominal data were analyzed using the Chi-Square test. RESULTS: A total of 46 patients completed the questionnaires, including 17 men and 29 women (mean age = 56, SD = 11.3, 80% Hispanic). All patients had seen the clinical pharmacist at least 3 times. Overall, this study showed that majority of the patients were satisfied with the service provided in the clinic. There was no statistically significant difference between English and Spanish patient populations in terms of satisfaction with pharmaceutical services provided about their disease management. CONCLUSIONS: Patients in this clinic were highly satisfied with the pharmaceutical care services provided by the clinical pharmacist.

Community pharmacy practice is changing, putting a greater emphasis on patient involvement and empowerment than on physical drug products. Developing practice philosophies, such as pharmaceutical care, are operationalised through an ever-evolving service proliferation. There is, however, a paucity of studies addressing the patients’ subjective perceptions of pharmacy services. The few studies that measure the impact of pharmacy services on humanistic outcomes show little or no effect. This might be due to the services, or the assessment instruments used. The aim of this thesis was to enhance the understanding of how patients perceive community pharmacy services, their preferences for community pharmacy services, and how these services could be evaluated from the patient perspective. This was done by: 1.exploring patients’ perceptions of an existing pharmaceutical care service using in-depth interviews; 2. exploring patient preferences for the ideal pharmacy visit using Q methodology, and characterising those patient groups that have different preferences and; 3. testing the validity of the Swedish version of the Pharmaceutical Therapy-Related Quality of Life (PTRQoL)-instrument, using think aloud methodology. Patients had vague, and sometimes erroneous, understandings about a pharmaceutical care service that they were currently receiving. They reported that the service had increased their feeling of safety, enhanced their knowledge, provided drug treatment control, and empowered them. Seven different viewpoints of the ideal pharmacy service were identified, which could be broadly divided into two groups, those emphasising the physical drug products as central to the encounter and those seeking a relationship with the pharmacist. Some differences between the group characteristics were identified, but not specific enough to guide individualised care practice. Several problems with the validity of the PTRQoL-instrument were detected. Overall, the thesis has highlighted various aspects of patient perspectives on community pharmacy services that could be used for the development andassessment of such services.

No description available.

Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To assess the comfort level of pharmacists and 4th year pharmacy students regarding their ability to develop business plans and their perception of available resources to help them. METHODS: A questionnaire sought information on the comfort level on multiple sections of a business plan: mission statement, executive summary, description of business/service, marketing, operations, and finances. The questionnaire was sent electronically to pharmacy preceptors and pharmacy students at The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. RESULTS: Questionnaires were completed by a total of 94 pharmacists and student pharmacists (30% response rate). Of those 94 respondents, 55 were pharmacists, 35 were student pharmacists, and 4 were left unknown. Individuals between the ages of 21-29 were less comfortable with business plan concepts (p-values range from 0.005 to 0.028). Men were more comfortable with the business plan than women (all p-values <0.002). Pharmacists had shown to be more comfortable than student pharmacists in all areas of the business plan (all p-values <0.005). Forty-six percent of the individuals said there are currently not enough resources available and 83% of individuals said that there is a definite need for more training opportunities. Live, web-based CE courses and elective pharmacy curriculum courses were thought as the most beneficial training opportunities (29%, 30%, and 22%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for more resources and training opportunities to improve the comfort levels that pharmacists and student pharmacists have for business plans in order to help implement new innovative ideas that will continue to expand pharmacy services.

Class of 2007 Abstract / Objectives: To assess the level of women’s satisfaction with pharmacist intervention, consultation, and services provided in HRT in order to analyze, and improve patient care at Don’s Compounding Pharmacy, Reno, NV. Methods: This descriptive study was done by offering to complete the 14-th questions survey to 300 female patients who had completed their HRT consultation at Don’s Compounding pharmacy. The data collection was performed from September, 19 2006 till January, 15 2007. The returned surveys were then organized and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Results: Of the 300 surveys offered to complete, 40 were filled out (a response rate of 13.3%). 90% of the participants were customers of the pharmacy up to 5 years. 65% of the participants have used HRT for up to 5 years. The Biest in combination with progesterone or alone was the most prescribed medication (27.5% and 20% respectively). The most often prescribed dosage form was the cream (47.5%). 57.5% of participants answered that a pharmacist has spent 0-5 minutes in average per consultation. All sources of information (pharmacist, physician, mass media, and family/friends) were helpful or very helpful; a pharmacist had the first place among all of them. However, the difference in helpfulness was not statistically significant (benefits and adverse event: P=0.26 and 0.42 respectively). The total satisfaction score with pharmacist’s intervention, education and services was 3.4 (agree, very agree). Conclusions: The majority of the patients from this local pharmacy were satisfied with services provided, and the education received. Despite this fact, time to spend with patients and the education regarding adverse drug events should be improved. The overall patient satisfaction was above the average. Future studies may be considered in studying improvement of the pharmacist’s services and interventions.