Community Pharmacy Practice Outlines

Community Pharmacy Practice

• Community pharmacy is the branch of pharmacy that delivers medication and medical services to the public, traditionally known as Retail Pharmacy or Dispensing Chemist.
• Community pharmacists play a positive and useful role in the public healthcare system, providing information about medications and medical health for free and without the need for a prior appointment.

Community Pharmacists' Qualifications

• Educational qualification: Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy Bachelor Degree holders are qualified to practice pharmacy.
• Knowledge of medications with experience of pharmaceutical care and health promotion.
• Communication skills: The pharmacist must have good communication skills with patients and other health care professionals.
• Proficiency: Provide professional service to the community, maintaining a high grade of standard in development of products, services, and communication.
• Documentation skills: Keeping records to maintain documentation of dispensing.

Medication Adherence

• Definition: The extent to which the person's behavior, including medication-taking, corresponds with agreed recommendations from a healthcare provider.
• Medication adherence: Patient's commitment to taking medications with correct doses, routes of administration, and at the correct timing.
• Medication non-adherence: Patient's refusal to take a medication prescribed as part of the therapeutic plan as required.

Causes of Medication Non-Adherence

• Patient does not understand the instructions and benefits.
• Patient cannot afford the drug product.
• Patient prefers not to take medications.
• Patient forgets to take the medication.
• Taking multiple medications (“Polypharmacy”).
• Patient cannot swallow or self-administer the drug product appropriately.
• Patient does not notice the benefits (drug has delayed onset) or notices the benefits rapidly so he/she stops the therapy.
• Patient's concerns about Adverse effects.
• Drug product is not available for the patient.
• Patient does not want to adhere to the lifestyle changes required with some medications.

Roles of Health Care Providers

• Negotiate with the patient about their beliefs and wishes when prescribing medications to determine the suitable dose, frequency, dosage form, route of administration, and cost of therapy (Concordance).
• Counsel the patient about:
  • What, Why, When, How, How long to take medicine.
  • Common adverse effects associated with the therapy.

Improving Medication Adherence

• Counselling the patient: Providing verbal information to patients about their illness and its treatment.
• Tailoring of medication: Personalizing or individualizing the patient's medical plan according to their needs, wishes, and lifestyle.
  • Fit medications into the normal daily routine of the patient.
  • Reduce the frequency of dosing.
  • Decrease the number of medications and use combination of drugs in a single tablet if available.
  • Make changes to the therapy if needed.

Expired Medications

• The expiration date can be found printed on the label or stamped onto the bottle or carton, sometimes following “EXP.”
• Expired medications can be less effective due to a change in chemical composition or a decrease in strength and risk of bacterial growth with some drugs leading to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance.
• How to deal with expired medications:
  • Follow any specific disposal instructions on the label.
  • Use a drug take-back program, if available by the ministry of health or the assigned drug store.
  • Throw the medicines away in the household trash after mixing them with a substance like dirt or coffee and then sealing the mixture in a container.
  • Some medicines are specifically recommended for flushing down a toilet or sink because they could be harmful.