Pharmacist prescriber smoking cessation intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: During the pandemic, smokers who wished to access support to quit faced additional barriers. A smoking cessation service which utilized pharmacist independent prescribers working within community pharmacy was implemented. Clients received behavioral advice via a consultation with an advisor and then three consultations with a pharmacist, who prescribed varenicline, where appropriate. Consultations were by phone or video. This evaluation assessed the self-reported outcomes and experiences of clients and pharmacists. METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was used involving both on-line questionnaires to clients and interviews with a sample of questionnaire respondents and participating prescribing pharmacists. RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 85 clients with 59% reporting they had quit. Eleven clients and seven out of eight pharmacists were interviewed. Varenicline had been received by 96% of clients. The best aspects of the service reported by clients in the questionnaire and at interview were support received from the pharmacist and ease of access to varenicline. Clients regarded the service as being 'safe' to access during the pandemic. Nearly three-quarters of client respondents (72%) stated no service improvements were required. However, national supply challenges made collection of varenicline from the nominated pharmacy an issue. Some clients experienced a long wait-time before accessing the service. For pharmacists, the service offered flexibility including the opportunity to contact clients 'out of office' hours without distractions. However, not being physically in the pharmacy could result in them not being able to access the client's medicine history. Pharmacists identified that remote consultations were not ideal for all clients. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacist prescribers can deliver effective smoking cessation services through remote consultations. Greater flexibility would allow the service to be tailored to the client's need.

Tramadol is a performance-enhancing drug in highly trained cyclists: a randomized controlled trial.

Tramadol is a potent narcotic analgesic reportedly used in multiple sports to reduce exertional pain and confer a performance advantage. This study sought to identify whether tramadol enhances performance in time trial cycling. Twenty-seven highly trained cyclists were screened for tramadol sensitivity and then attended the laboratory across three visits. Visit 1 identified maximal oxygen uptake, peak power output, and gas exchange threshold through a ramp incremental test. Participants returned to the laboratory on two further occasions to undertake cycling performance tests following the ingestion of either 100 mg of soluble tramadol or a taste-matched placebo control in a double-blind, randomized, and crossover design. In the performance tests, participants completed a 30 min non-exhaustive fixed intensity cycling task at a heavy exercise intensity (272 ± 42 W), immediately followed by a competitive self-paced 25-mile time trial (TT). Following removal of two outlier data sets, analysis was completed on n = 25. Participants completed the TT significantly faster (d = 0.54, P = 0.012) in the tramadol condition (3758 s ± 232 s) compared with the placebo condition (3808 s ± 248 s) and maintained a significantly higher mean power output (+9 W) throughout the TT (ηp2 = 0.262, P = 0.009). Tramadol reduced perception of effort during the fixed intensity trial (P = 0.026). The 1.3% faster time in the tramadol condition would be sufficient to change the outcomes of a race and is highly meaningful and pervasive in this cohort of highly trained cyclists. The data from this study suggests that tramadol is a performance-enhancing drug.NEW & NOTEWORTHY In the current study, when cycling with tramadol participants completed a time trial on average 50 s faster and at a 9 W higher power output than the placebo control. The study used both a fixed intensity and self-paced time trial exercise tasks to reflect the demands of a stage race. The outcomes from this study were used by the World Anti-Doping Agency to inform their addition of tramadol to the Prohibited List in 2024.

Pharmacy services at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games: perspectives of the pharmacy workforce.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the awareness of the volunteer pharmacy workforce of medication use and their satisfaction with the pharmacy services of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games from a pharmacist's perspective. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed from related articles in published peer-reviewed journals and modified prior to distribution to the whole population of pharmacists serving at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Validity tests were conducted based on expert opinions and Cronbach's alpha (0.79). The questionnaire consisted of demographics (11 questions), knowledge of medication use in sports (8 questions) and satisfaction on the provision of the service (5 questions). Responses using a 5-point-Likert scale, from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1), and two free text questions were analysed with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The response rate was 86% (n=32/37). Overall, the pharmacists reported a high awareness of medication use. Specifically, questions on the prohibited list of medications (mean 4.0±SD 0.7), COVID-19 policy (3.8±0.9), use of alternative non-prohibited medications (3.6±1.0) and therapeutic use exemptions (3.5±0.9). Moreover, they rated high satisfaction with the pharmacy service they provided. However, rates were ≤3 for knowledge of the International Olympic Committee Needle Policy (2.6±1.0), Medication Importation Declaration (2.9±1.0) and communication skills (3.0±1.0). CONCLUSION: Pharmacists were confident and satisfied with the pharmacy service at the games. The study confirms the importance of prior training and education. Game-specific policies and strategies to improve communication skills should be included in the pharmacy education for future Games.

An investigation into the number and nature of the urgent care consultations managed and referred by community pharmacists in South-East England.

BACKGROUND: Community pharmacies are recognised as an under-utilised, accessible resource that could support the urgent care agenda. This study aimed to provide a snapshot of the number and nature of urgent care requests presented to a sample of community pharmacies in three counties in southern England, to determine how requests are managed, whether management is appropriate, as assessed by a group of experts, and whether customers receiving the care are satisfied with pharmacists' interventions. METHODS: A representative sample of pharmacists across the region was invited to keep a log-book documenting all urgent care requests over a two-week period. Data were analysed to estimate frequency and type of requests and to compare consultations in core and non-core hours. Log-book entries were scrutinised blind by an expert panel to determine appropriateness of pharmacist's responses. Customers receiving pharmacists' interventions were surveyed to assess satisfaction. RESULTS: Seventeen pharmacies kept log-books detailing 432 urgent care consultations, equating to 13 consultations per pharmacy per week. Of these, 70% (n = 302) were dealt with by the pharmacist in-house with 30% (n = 130) resulting in referrals. Locum pharmacists were significantly more likely to refer to other NHS services than regular pharmacists. Over half the requests were for symptom management, skin problems presenting most commonly (38% of all symptoms presented). Forty-seven percent of consultations were considered to have 'averted the need for other NHS services'. Pharmacists' referral (but not assessment of urgency) was deemed appropriate by the expert panel in 90% of consultations. Ninety-five percent of customers surveyed were satisfied with the service and would use the pharmacy again. CONCLUSION: Extrapolating findings across the study population (approximately 4.4 million) suggests that community pharmacists manage over 11 500 urgent care consultations per week, with 8050 managed independently. These prevent approximately 5400 other NHS encounters, while also meeting customer expectations and expert panel endorsement.

A cluster randomised control trial to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Italian medicines use review (I-MUR) for asthma patients.

BACKGROUND: The economic burden of asthma, which relates to the degree of control, is €5 billion annually in Italy. Pharmacists could help improve asthma control, reducing this burden. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Medicines Use Reviews provided by community pharmacists in asthma. METHODS: This cluster randomised, multi-centre, controlled trial in adult patients with asthma was conducted in 15 of the 20 regions of Italy between September 2014 and July 2015. After stratification by region, community pharmacists were randomly allocated to group A (trained in and delivered the intervention at baseline) or B (training and delivery 3 months later), using computerised random number generation in blocks of 10. Each recruited up to five patients, with both groups followed for 9 months. The intervention consisted of a systematic, structured face-to-face consultation with a pharmacist, covering asthma symptoms, medicines used, attitude towards medicines and adherence, recording pharmacist-identified pharmaceutical care issues (PCIs). The primary outcome was asthma control, assessed using the Asthma-Control-Test (ACT) score (ACT ≥ 20 represents good control). Secondary outcomes were: number of active ingredients, adherence, cost-effectiveness compared with usual care. Although blinding was not possible for either pharmacists or patients, assessment of outcomes was conducted by researchers blind to group allocation. RESULTS: Numbers of pharmacists and patients enrolled were 283 (A = 136; B = 147) and 1263 (A = 600; B = 663), numbers completing were 201 (A = 97; B = 104) and 816 (A = 400; B = 416), respectively. Patients were similar in age and gender and 56.13% (458/816) had poor/partial asthma control. Pharmacists identified 1256 PCIs (mean 1.54/patient), mostly need for education, monitoring and potentially ineffective therapy. Median ACT score at baseline differed between groups (A = 19, B = 18; p < 0.01). Odds ratio for improved asthma control was 1.76 (95% CI 1.33-2.33) and number needed to treat 10 (95% CI 6-28). Number of active ingredients reduced by 7.9% post-intervention (p < 0.01). Adherence improved by 35.4% 3 months post-intervention and 40.0% at 6 months (p < 0.01). The probability of the intervention being more cost-effective than usual care was 100% at 9 months. CONCLUSIONS: This community pharmacist-based intervention demonstrated both effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. It has since been implemented as the first community pharmacy cognitive service in Italy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: TRN: ISRCTN72438848 (registered 5th January 2015, retrospectively).

Effectiveness of a tailored training programme in behaviour change counselling for community pharmacists: A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To undertake a pilot study assessing effectiveness of a tailored training programme in behaviour change counselling (BCC) for community pharmacists on, their competence and confidence in delivering behaviour change consultations, skill retention over time and impact on practice. METHODS: Community pharmacists (N=87) attending Primary Care Trust training were given study information and invited to take part. Baseline BCC competence of consenting pharmacists (n=17) was assessed using the Behaviour Change Counselling Index (BECCI). Following BCC training, competence was reassessed at 1, 3 and 6 months. Friedman's test was used to compare median BECCI item scores at baseline and after 6 months. Structured interviews were conducted to assess pharmacists' confidence in BCC consultations after training. RESULTS: Baseline BECCI scores of 0-2 demonstrated pharmacists had not reached competence threshold. Six months after training, BECCI scores improved significantly from baseline (p<0.05). Competence in delivering BCC (scores of 3-4) was achieved at 3 months, but lost at 6 months for some items. After training, pharmacists felt confident in delivering BCC. CONCLUSION: Training pharmacists enabled them to deliver BCC competently and confidently. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: BCC aligns with pharmacist-patient consultations. It took 3 months to achieve competence. Ongoing support may be needed to maintain competence long-term.

Randomised evaluation of the Italian medicines use review provided by community pharmacists using asthma as a model (RE I-MUR).

BACKGROUND: The Italian Ministry of Health decided to introduce community professional services in 2010. This trial provides an opportunity to evaluate the outcomes of a new professional pharmacy service: Italian Medicines Use Review (I-MUR) aimed at reducing the severity of asthma and its associated costs. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a cluster randomised controlled trial of the I-MUR service. Data will be collected over time before, during and after pharmacists' intervention. Fifteen Italian regions will be involved and it is aimed to recruit 360 community pharmacists and 1800 patients. Each pharmacist will receive training in medicines use review, recruit five patients, administer the Asthma Control Test and provide the I-MUR service. Pharmacists will be allocated to different groups, one group will be trained in and provide the I-MUR service immediately after completion of the baseline ACT score, the other group will receive training in the I-MUR and provide this service three months later. Group allocation will be random, after stratification by region of Italy. The I-MUR service will involve gathering data following each patient consultation including demographic details, patients regular medications, including those used for asthma, their attitude towards their medications and self-reported adherence to treatments. In addition, pharmacists will identify and record pharmaceutical care issues and any advice given to patients during the I-MUR, or recommendations given to doctors. Pharmacists will upload trial data onto a web platform for analysis. The primary outcome measure is the severity of asthma before, during and after the I-MUR assessed using the Asthma Control Test score. Secondary measures: number of all active ingredients used by patients during and after the I-MUR, number of pharmaceutical care issues identified during the I-MUR, patients' self-reported adherence to asthma medication during and after the I-MUR, healthcare costs based on the severity of asthma, before, during and after the I-MUR service provision. DISCUSSION: This study has been developed because of the need for a new way of working for pharmacists and pharmacies; it is the first trial of any community pharmacy-based pharmaceutical care intervention in Italy. The results will inform future policy and practice in Italian community pharmacy. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN72438848 .

Case study of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic pharmacy service preparations.

OBJECTIVES: The Pharmacy Clinical Services Group (PCSG) was formed in 2009. Its aim was to design and deliver a world-class pharmacy service to 250 000 accredited persons and consider the pharmaceutical needs of 9.2 million visitors to the London 2012 Games. METHODS: The explanatory case study method was used to investigate how the PCSG prepared and how they considered the wider vision of the Games. The study investigated two propositions: (1) that the PCSG has a communication function and (2) that it has a design function. A range of data were examined using NVivo 9 data management software. KEY FINDINGS: The study identified four emerging themes and a number of subthemes. CONCLUSIONS: The study validated the propositions and highlighted that the PCSG had a leading role within the wider multidisciplinary team. The study found that the PCSG embraced the wider vision of the Games and was exceptionally well prepared to deliver a world-class pharmacy service, anticipating a new gold standard for the provision of pharmacy services for future sporting events.