Drug-Related Problems Detected in Complex Chronic Patients by Community Pharmacists of Catalonia: Perception of the Person-Centred Approach Necessity.

Community pharmacies are healthcare settings in which pharmacists are in an ideal position to carry out pharmaceutical care. The aim of this study was to analyse the number, type and groups of drugs that caused drug-related problems (DRPs) detected in complex chronic patients who are outpatients, the interventions and actions of community pharmacists and their impact on patient medication adherence. The study was designed as a secondary analysis of a multicentre study in the field of primary healthcare and community pharmacies in Catalonia (Spain). The patients who took part were divided into two groups by the primary care physician depending on whether or not they were considered likely to receive their medication through a monitored dosage system (MDS) based on pre-established criteria. Patients underwent 12 months of follow-up by community pharmacists. The prevalence of DRPs among the studied complex chronic patients was high (n = 689). The most identified DRP was nonadherence (31.20%). In the MDS group, results showed a statistically significant increase of 21% in the number of adherent patients with respect to the baseline visit (p-value = 0.0008). Community pharmacists can have an important role in addressing DRPs and optimizing the safety and effectiveness of medications for these patients and in involving them in their own health conditions.

Community pharmacists' roles, attitudes and knowledge regarding provision of screening and brief intervention activities for alcohol use in Catalonia.

INTRODUCTION: Community pharmacists (CP) are among the health professionals with closest contact to the general population. They play a key role in delivering public health programs. The aim of this study was to analyse the attitudes, knowledge, preparedness and ability to screen and advise on alcohol of CP in Catalonia and their perceptions about the provision of alcohol screening and brief interventions (SBI) in community pharmacies. METHODS: This is an observational, cross-sectional study. An online survey on attitudes, knowledge and behaviours was sent to all registered CP in Catalonia, and bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The response rate was 7.96% (639/8027), more than two-thirds of respondents were 41 years of age or older and 79.9% were female. Results showed that CP readiness to offer advice on alcohol problems was higher than their preparedness to screen (37.5% vs. 31.8%, respectively). They also showed that having received 1 h or more of training on alcohol and drug-related health promotion and prevention during the last 5 years increased CP perception of role security and therapeutic commitment related to alcohol. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study showed that involving CP in the provision of alcohol SBIs may be feasible in Catalonia. Furthermore, this and previous research show an association between CP training in alcohol or drugs and preparedness to screen and advise on alcohol use. Consequently, promoting alcohol-related training programs to enhance CP skills is recommended to support successful implementation of alcohol SBI in community pharmacy settings.

El papel de los farmacéuticos comunitarios en la prevención y control de la Covid-19 en Cataluña / Role of community pharmacists in the prevention and control of Covid-19 in Catalonia

Introducción: En las últimas décadas, tanto la farmacia como el farmacéutico han estado en constante evolución, siendo fundamentales en el control de enfermedades infecciosas. Los objetivos de este artículo son mostrar el papel de los farma-céuticos comunitarios en el control de la COVID-19 y conocer la percepción que tienen sobre su papel en el control de esta pandemia.Métodos: Se realizó y envió una encuesta a 8556 farmacéuticos comunitarios colegiados en Cata-luña, donde se les preguntaba por su opinión y la percepción que tenían de su rol en distintas acti-vidades de control de la COVID-19. Se realizó un análisis bivariante y descriptivo de las diferentes variables de la encuesta de manera global y estra-tificado por grupos de edad (<40 años, 40-60 años, >60 años) y por tipo de farmacia (urbana vs otras).Resultados: La tasa de respuesta de la encuesta fue del 14,63% (1253). A pesar de la percepción po-sitiva que tienen los farmacéuticos sobre su rol en la pandemia, el 90,9% de los encuestados conside-ra que la Administración Sanitaria no contó mucho con las farmacias al inicio de esta. Se han encon-trado diferencias estadísticamente significativas en determinados aspectos, como por ejemplo en la percepción que el farmacéutico tiene sobre el nivel de información del usuario, o en la frecuencia de encuentros con negacionistas, ambos hechos rela-cionados con la edad del farmacéutico (p=0,047 y p=0,001 respectivamente).Conclusiones: Las farmacias son establecimientos sanitarios estratégicamente posicionados para rea-lizar actividades de salud pública para colaborar en el control de pandemias. Por lo que el farmacéutico comunitario, en tanto que profesional de la salud, debe ser considerado una pieza más del engranaje para mejorar la eficiencia del sistema sanitario (AU)

Background: In the last decades, both pharmacy and pharmacist have been in a constant evolution, being fundamental in the control of infectious dis-eases. The aim of this research is to show the role of community pharmacists in disease prevention and monitoring programs, specifically in the control of COVID-19. Besides, we want to know the percep-tion of pharmacists about their role in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: An online survey was sent to 8556 community pharmacists registered in Catalonia, in which they were asked about their opinion and perception of their role in different COVID-19 control activities. A bivariant and descriptive analysis of the different variables was done globally, age stratified (<40 years, 40-60 years, >60 years) and according to the type of pharmacy (urban vs others).Results: The response rate was 14.63% (1253). However, despite the positive perception that pharmacists have about their role in the pandemic, 90,9% of the respondents consider that the Health Administration didn’t count much on them. Statistic significative differences were found in some as-pects, for example, in the pharmacists’ perception of the knowledge level of the pharmacy users, or in the frequency of encounters with COVID negation-ists, both aspects related with the pharmacist age (p=0,047 and p=0,0001 respectively).Conclusions: Pharmacies are sanitary establish-ments strategically located to perform public health activities and to control pandemics. Therefore, the pharmacist, as a health professional, should be considered one more piece of the gear to improve the efficiency of the health system (AU)

Cribado oportunista del pulso irregular para la detección de fibrilación auricular asintomática en farmacias comunitarias de cataluña. proyecto: Pren-Te El Pols / Opportunistic screening of irregular pulse to detect asymptomatic atrial fibrillation in community pharmacies: TAKE YOUR PULSE PROJECT

Objetivo: Cribado oportunista de pulso irregular desde las farmacias comunitarias en pacientes mayores de 60 años como indicador de fibrilación auricular asintomática y evaluación de la idoneidad del proceso en cuanto a su factibilidad e implementación. Material y métodos: Estudio observacional descriptivo transversal basado en la toma de pulso radial a pacientes asintomáticos. Profesionales sanitarios de un total de 240 farmacias comunitarias voluntarias y de 105 centros de salud realizaron la formación necesaria para adherirse a la campaña ‘Pren-te el pols’ de 40 días de duración. Los farmacéuticos comunitarios reclutaron a 4.729 sujetos y 666 fueron excluidos. Finalmente se cribaron 4.063 sujetos mayores de 60 años. Se registraron las diferentes variables en una plataforma online creada para el proyecto en la que se accedía mediante un usuario y contraseña. Además, se evaluó la idoneidad del proceso mediante una encuesta autoadministrada a los farmacéuticos participantes. Resultados: El 5,9% de los sujetos cribados presentaron pulso irregular, siendo la proporción de varones estadísticamente significativa respecto a la de mujeres. La media del grado de satisfacción de los farmacéuticos fue de 8,07/10. Conclusiones: El cribado de pulso irregular para la detección de fibrilación auricular asintomática en farmacias comunitarias presenta un alto grado de factibilidad para su incorporación sistemática en grupos de pacientes susceptibles. Además, incorpora la accesibilidad de la determinación al permitir el cribado de muestras amplias en periodos cortos de tiempo. No obstante, aspectos de gestión compartida, trabajando coordinadamente con los equipos de atención primaria, devienen imprescindibles para evaluar de manera fehaciente su efectividad real en el aumento de la tasa de diagnósticos de ciertas patologías prevalentes

Background: Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia. It is associated with a high morbidity and mortality. It increases fivefold the probability of suffering an ischemic stroke, which is the most serious and incapacitating one. Its early diagnosis and treatment improve its clinical outcome. Objective: This study aims to describe the proportion of irregular pulses found from community pharmacies in patients over 60 years as an indicator of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation and it also evaluates the suitability of the process in terms of its feasibility and implementation. Methods: It was conducted an observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study. It was based on taking the radial pulse (RP) of asymptomatic patients. For a period of 40 days, healthcare professionals from 240 community pharmacists and 105 health centres attended the training and joined the ‘Take your pulse’ campaign. Community pharmacies recruited 4,729 subjects, 666 were excluded. Finally, 4,063 subjects over 60 years were screened. It was created an online platform, which was accessed by validating a user code and password, to record the different variables. In addition, the suitability of the process was evaluated through a self-administered survey of participating pharmacists. The suitability of the organisational model was evaluated using a validated self-report questionnaire completed by the participating pharmacists. Results: An irregular pulse was found in 5.9 % of the subjects among whom the percentage of males was statistically significant. The average level of pharmacists satisfaction was 8.07/10. Conclusion: Irregular pulse screening to detect asymptomatic atrial fibrillation in community pharmacies has a high degree of feasibility to be incorporated systematically into groups of susceptible patients. In addition, it incorporates the accessibility of the determination by allowing the screening of large samples in short periods of time. However, some aspects related to sharing management and working in coordination with Primary Care teams become essential to measure reliably its real effectiveness in the diagnostic rate rise of certain prevalent diseases