Knowledge and attitude of health care professional’s towards clinical pharmacy services in Nedjo General Hospital, Western Ethiopia

Background:Clinical pharmacy service(CPS) is an expanding patient-oriented, hospital role with the potential for encroachment on the physician's role. In large part, the success of CPS will depend on the degree to which other health professionals accept the concept and are willing to cooperate with its disciples. Unfortunately, our information about the degree of knowledge regardingacceptance and reaction toward clinical pharmacy by other health workers is meager. Methods:A cross sectional study design was carried outby using self–administered questionnaires on 110 health care professionals (HCP)in Nedjo General Hospital 10th March to 10th April, 2018..Results:From the total respondents 91 (82.7%) were malesand majority of them were nurses 46(41.8%) followed by midwifes 23(20.9%). This study showed that 67(60.9%) of the HCPs hada good knowledge and 67.3% of the HCPs hada positive attitude about CPS. There was no significant difference between the HCPs knowledge of clinical pharmacy services in relation to their sex (p=0.744), age (p=0.313), profession (p=0.997), level of education (p=0.509), and experience (p=0.553).Regarding HCPs’ attitude of CPs role, there was no significant difference in relation to their sex (p=0.588), age (p=0.144), profession (p=0.059) and experience (p=0.394). However, the study revealed that there was a significant difference (p=0.009) between HCPs attitude and level education of HCPs.Conclusions:Majority of the HCPs hada good knowledge and a positive attitude towards CPS. Attention should focus to hospitals to implement ward based CPS and increasing inter-professional relationships between HCPs and pharmacists.

Do Brazilian hospital pharmacists record, document, archive and disseminate their clinical practice?

An exploratory study was conducted to present the approach of Brazilian hospital pharmacists to registering, documenting, archiving and disseminating clinical practice. The data were collected using an electronic questionnaire (n=348). In fact, 97.41% of pharmacists record their clinical practice, out of which 64.01% (n=217) do in electronic form, mainly in private hospitals (p<0.000), in the central, southern and southeastern regions (p=0.040), and by professionals with 1-5 years of experience (p=0.001). The main software used is non-specific to clinical practice: an electronic spreadsheet (47.93%; n=104) and text editor (13.37%; n=29). The archiving of records is performed by 87.61% (n=297) of professionals, where 80.13% (n=238) do so in physical form; however, 77.31% (n=184) of these files are kept for less than the standard recommended time. Documentation in medical records is carried out by 55.17% (n=192) of pharmacists, increasing among those with 1-5 years of clinical practice (p=0.001), and dissemination is performed by 74.71% (n=260) of hospital pharmacists, with a lower frequency in public hospitals (p=0.012) and among professionals with fewer hours dedicated exclusively to clinical pharmacy (p=0.012). These results can undergird the revision of competency-based training programs of Brazilian clinical pharmacists to remain pharmacists as a valuable health team member

Improvement in medication adherence and self-management of diabetes with a clinical pharmacy program: a randomized controlled trial in patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing insulin therapy at a teaching hospital

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a clinical pharmacy program on health outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing insulin therapy at a teaching hospital in Brazil. METHOD: A randomized controlled trial with a 6-month follow-up period was performed in 70 adults, aged 45 years or older, with type 2 diabetes who were taking insulin and who had an HbA1c level ≥8%. Patients in the control group (CG) (n = 36) received standard care, patients in the intervention group (IG) (n = 34) received an individualized pharmacotherapeutic care plan and diabetes education. The primary outcome measure was change in HbA1c. Secondary outcomes included diabetes and medication knowledge, adherence to medication, insulin injection and home blood glucose monitoring techniques and diabetes-related quality of life. Outcomes were evaluated at baseline and 6 months using questionnaires. RESULTS: Diabetes knowledge, medication knowledge, adherence to medication and correct insulin injection and home blood glucose monitoring techniques significantly improved in the intervention group but remained unchanged in the control group. At the end of the study, mean HbA1c values in the control group remained unchanged but were significantly reduced in the intervention group. Diabetes-related quality of life significantly improved in the intervention group but worsened significantly in the control group. CONCLUSION: The program improved health outcomes and resulted in better glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing insulin therapy. .