A qualitative exploration of the healthcare challenges and pharmaceutical care needs of people with Parkinson's and their caregivers.

Background People with Parkinson's are at higher risk of healthcare and pharmaceutical care issues. Objective To determine the healthcare challenges, pharmaceutical care needs, and perceived need of a pharmacist-run clinic by people with Parkinson's and their caregivers. Setting Malaysian Parkinson's Disease Association. Method A focus group discussion adopting a descriptive qualitative approach was conducted involving people with Parkinson's and their caregivers. A semi-structured interview guide was used to determine the challenges they faced with their medications and healthcare system, their pharmaceutical care needs, and their views on a pharmacist-run clinic. Data was thematically analysed. Main outcome measure: Healthcare challenges faced by people with Parkinson's and caregivers along with their pharmaceutical care needs and perceived need of a pharmacist-run clinic. Results Nine people with Parkinson's and four caregivers participated. Six themes were developed: (1) "It's very personalised": the need for self-experimentation, (2) "Managing it is quite difficult": challenges with medication, (3) "The doctor has no time for you": challenges with healthcare providers, (4) "Nobody can do it except me": challenges faced by caregivers, (5) "It becomes a burden": impact on quality of life, and (6) "Lack of consistency could be counterproductive": views on pharmacist-run clinic. Conclusion The provision of pharmaceutical care services by pharmacists could help overcome issues people with Parkinson's face, however there is a need for them to first see pharmacists in their expanded roles and change their limited perception of pharmacists. This can be achieved through integration of pharmacists within multidisciplinary teams in specialist clinics which they frequent.

Perception of Community Pharmacists in Malaysia About Mental Healthcare and Barriers to Providing Pharmaceutical Care Services to Patients with Mental Disorders.

The aim of this study was to assess community pharmacists' (CPs) perceptions toward mental healthcare, and the barriers faced in providing pharmaceutical care (PC) services to these patients. A 40-item survey was posted to CPs. Ninety-six pharmacists participated. The majority (84.2%) agreed there is a role for CPs to play in mental health care, while approximately 60% agreed it is their responsibility to provide PC to these patients. The biggest barrier to providing this service is the lack of knowledge, cited by close to 50% of respondents. This corresponds with the revelation that close to 60% believe that they have a poor or fair understanding of mental disorders. About 30% of respondents said they do not stock psychotropic drugs at all, mainly due to medico-legal reasons, and low prescription requests. Our findings highlight the need for more training of CPs in managing patients with mental disorders.