OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the uptake of Western Australian (WA) pharmacist vaccination services, the profiles of consumers being vaccinated and the facilitators and challenges experienced by pharmacy staff in the preparation, implementation and delivery of services. DESIGN Mixed-methods methodology with both quantitative and qualitative data through surveys, pharmacy computer records an...

BACKGROUND Despite pharmacists having increased involvement in managing minor illness, many patients continue to attend their GP with problems that could be managed by community pharmacists. OBJECTIVE Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of visits to the GP that GPs felt could be managed by a pharmacist, and to explore patients' reasons for such visits. METHODS This cross-sectional que...

BACKGROUND Overuse of antibiotics increases the incidence of bacterial resistance and contributes avoidable costs to the health care system. OBJECTIVE To determine the feasibility of a protocol-driven community pharmacy intervention that was designed to decrease broad-spectrum antimicrobial (BSA) use in patients with upper respiratory tract infections. METHODS The intervention involved phar...

PURPOSE The background and methods of an ongoing study to determine the effects of hospital pharmacists' enhanced communication with patients and their community providers are described. SUMMARY The Iowa Continuity of Care study is a randomized, prospective trial enrolling 1000 patients with selected medical conditions admitted to one large Midwest hospital. Patients will be randomized to a c...

BACKGROUND The United Kingdom has been at the forefront of enhancing pharmacist roles and community pharmacy services, particularly over the past decade. However, patient and public awareness of community pharmacy services has been limited. OBJECTIVE To identify and synthesize the research literature pertaining to patient and public perspectives on: existing community pharmacy services, exten...

Australian community pharmacy ownership restrictions have been in place for many years. However, it is timely to review these structures in terms of the Commonwealth Government's proposed changes to the health care system and the need for flexibility to ensure access of vital medicines to the community. Careful consideration has to be given to the advantages and disadvantages of regulatory stru...

PURPOSE The impact of remote pharmacist review of medication orders in three small community hospitals in California was evaluated. METHODS A longitudinal study was conducted in three community hospitals without 24-hour pharmacy services before and after the implementation of telepharmacy services. Override reports from automated dispensing cabinets were reviewed. Charts were reviewed for err...

BACKGROUND Traditional systems of managing repeat prescribing have been criticised for their lack of clinical and administrative controls. AIM To compare a community pharmacist-managed repeat prescribing system with established methods of managing repeat prescribing. METHOD A randomised controlled intervention study (19 general medical practices, 3074 patients, 62 community pharmacists). Pa...

Weeneebayko General Hospital in Moose Factory, Ontario, is a 30-bed acute care hospital that serves the 9000 residents living on the James Bay coast of Ontario. Most of the population consists of Native Canadians living in 6 communities, 4 of which are accessible only by plane or by boat. Traditionally, the hospital pharmacy was to be staffed with one full-time hospital pharmacist. There are al...