Articles

Drug supply shortage in Nigeria during COVID-19: efforts and challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in massive disruptions in global supply chains. Nigeria is particularly vulnerable with respect to pharmaceuticals since there is reduced local production and about 70% of th...

Authors: Edward Faiva, Hashim Talib Hashim, Mustafa Ahmed Ramadhan, Shingin Kovona Musa, John Bchara, Yahya Dheyaa Tuama, Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Mustafa Hayder Kadhim, Mohammad Yasir Essar, Shoaib Ahmad and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III

Making the investment case for national regulatory authorities

Well-functioning national regulatory authorities (NRAs) ensure access to safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable medical products. However, the benefits of their work are often unseen and difficult to...

Authors: Gloria Twesigye, Tamara Hafner and Javier Guzman

Drug supply situation in Rwanda during COVID-19: issues, efforts and challenges

COVID-19 is a threat to health systems around the world and Rwanda is not an exception. The impact of the pandemic is far-reaching and access to health commodities is not spared. Proper drug supply is critical...

Authors: Theogene Uwizeyimana, Hashim Talib Hashim, Jean Damascene Kabakambira, Jean Claude Mujyarugamba, Jackson Dushime, Blaise Ntacyabukura, Remy Ndayizeye, Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III

Avoiding a Med-Wreck: a structured medication reconciliation framework and standardized auditing tool utilized to optimize patient safety and reallocate hospital resources

The incidence of preventable adverse drug events (ADE) is approximately one medication error per patient per hospital-day. A quality medication reconciliation (MedRec) process is a crucial intervention used to...

Authors: Ali Elbeddini, Sarah Almasalkhi, Thulasika Prabaharan, Cindy Tran, Mohamed Gazarin and Ahmed Elshahawi

Patterns of infections and antimicrobial drugs’ prescribing among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia: a cross sectional study

Antimicrobial agents are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in pregnancy due to the increased susceptibility to infections during pregnancy. Antimicrobials can contribute to different maternal complicati...

Authors: Mohamed A. Baraka, Lina Hussain AlLehaibi, Hind Nasser AlSuwaidan, Duaa Alsulaiman, Md. Ashraful Islam, Badriyah Shadid Alotaibi, Amany Alboghdadly, Ali H. Homoud, Fuad H. Al-Ghamdi, Mastour S. Al Ghamdi and Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar

A simulated patient study to evaluate community pharmacist assessment, management and advice giving to patients with asthma

Research has shown that there is an increase in the global prevalence of asthma. Pharmacists are well positioned to screen and refer patients for better management of asthma. This study aimed to evaluate commu...

Authors: Sanah Hasan, Lujain Al Oum and Nageeb AbdulGalil Hassan

New missions of a hospital pharmaceutical technology unit during the COVID-19 pandemic

The pharmaceutical technology unit of the Geneva University Hospitals played a significant role in the fight against COVID-19 through four different missions: (1) providing enough hydroalcoholic solution at th...

Authors: Alexandra Garnier, Ludivine Falaschi, Pascal Bonnabry and Lucie Bouchoud

Ten recommendations to improve pharmacy practice in low and middle-income countries (LMICs)

Medicines are important health interventions and their appropriate use could improve health outcomes. Throughout the globe, pharmacists play a very important role to improve the use of medicines. Though high-i...

Authors: Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar

Exploring healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitude, and practices towards pharmacovigilance: a cross-sectional survey

Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is a method of monitoring the safety of drugs and is the basic strategy for the post-marketing surveillance of the suspected drugs. Despite its importance...

Authors: Rabia Hussain, Mohamed Azmi Hassali, Furqan Hashmi and Tayyaba Akram

General practitioner practice-based pharmacist input to medicines optimisation in the UK: pragmatic, multicenter, randomised, controlled trial

Changing demographics across the UK has led to general practitioners (GPs) managing increasing numbers of older patients with multi-morbidity and resultant polypharmacy. Through government led initiatives with...

Authors: Nadia Farhanah Syafhan, Sayer Al Azzam, Steven D. Williams, Wendy Wilson, Jayne Brady, Peter Lawrence, Mark McCrudden, Mustafa Ahmed, Michael G. Scott, Glenda Fleming, Anita Hogg, Claire Scullin, Robert Horne, Harblas Ahir and James C. McElnay

Repurposing existing drugs for new uses: a cohort study of the frequency of FDA-granted new indication exclusivities since 1997

Drug repurposing (i.e., finding novel uses for existing drugs) is essential for maximizing medicines’ therapeutic utility, but obtaining regulatory approval for new indications is costly. Policymakers have the...

Authors: Babak Sahragardjoonegani, Reed F. Beall, Aaron S. Kesselheim and Aidan Hollis

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for acute bronchiolitis in Colombia: a predictive model

Acute bronchiolitis is the leading cause of hospitalization in the pediatric population. The inappropriate prescription of antibiotics in acute bronchiolitis is associated with bacterial resistance, higher cos...

Authors: Jefferson Antonio Buendía and John Edwin Feliciano-Alfonso

Medicines dispensing practice during the era of COVID-19 pandemic: a commentary

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic is putting a huge strain on healthcare systems and is a turning point for the beginning of a global health crisis of an unprecedented condition. As such, the prov...

Authors: Gemmechu Hasen, Rashed Edris, Gadisa Chala, Yesuneh Tefera, Hawi Hussen, Tamirat Tekassa and Sultan Suleman

Pharmacy response to COVID-19: lessons learnt from Canada

When the first wave of COVID-19 hit in March 2020, health care professionals across Canada were challenged to quickly and efficiently adapt to change their work practices in these unprecedented times. Pharmacy...

Authors: Ali Elbeddini, Amy Botross, Rachel Gerochi, Mohamed Gazarin and Ahmed Elshahawi

Towards a symbiotic relationship between big data, artificial intelligence, and hospital pharmacy

The digitalization of health and medicine and the growing availability of electronic health records (EHRs) has encouraged healthcare professionals and clinical researchers to adopt cutting-edge methodologies i...

Authors: Carlos Del Rio-Bermudez, Ignacio H. Medrano, Laura Yebes and Jose Luis Poveda

Prescription and dispensing guidelines in Lebanon: initiative of the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon

In Lebanon, difficulties in accessing medications are due to two main barriers, mainly: high cost and the lack of medication safety, related to poor-quality (irrational) prescription and use. The objective of ...

Authors: Aline Hajj, Hala Sacre, Souheil Hallit, Rony M. Zeenny, Georges Sili and Pascale Salameh

Pharmacy services during COVID-19 pandemic: experience from a tertiary care teaching hospital in Pakistan

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading across the world. Pharmacy services play a vital role in public health in preventing and containing the COVID-19 pandemic. All over the world, especia...

Authors: Kashif Hussain, Gul Ambreen, Mehreen Muzammil, Syed Shamim Raza and Umer Ali

Using cost-effectiveness analysis to support policy change: varenicline and nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation in Jordan

Smoking cessation pharmacotherapies (SCPs) have been established as cost-effective for the treatment of tobacco use disorder across a variety of settings. In Jordan, a resource-constrained country where smokin...

Authors: Saba Madae’en, Nour Obeidat and Mohammad Adeinat

Evaluation of the prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-associated coagulopathy

Most of the current “literature” surrounding the presence of thrombosis in COVID-19 disease and appropriate prophylaxis/treatment modalities is certainly retrospective at best, and anecdotal at worst. But in t...

Authors: Ali Elbeddini, Rachel Gerochi and Ahmed Elshahawi

Prescription opioid dispensing in Canada: an update on recent developments to 2018

Canada has been home to comparatively extreme developments in prescription opioid (PO) availability and related harms (e.g. morbidity, mortality) post-2000. Following persistent pan-Canadian increases in PO us...

Authors: Wayne Jones, Lenka Vojtila, Paul Kurdyak and Benedikt Fischer

Needs assessment and impact of COVID-19 on pharmacy professionals in 31 commonwealth countries

The declaration of COVID-19 a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020 marked the beginning of a global health crisis of an unprecedented nature and scale. The approach taken by countries acr...

Authors: Diane Ashiru-Oredope, Amy Hai Yan Chan, Omotayo Olaoye, Victoria Rutter and Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar

Prevention, Detection and Response to incidences of substandard and falsified medical products in the Member States of the Southern African Development Community

Medical products are an integral and pivotal part of health care delivery. They need to be available, affordable and quality-assured. The SADC region is prone to threats arising from the availability and use o...

Authors: Stanislav Kniazkov, Sakhile Dube-Mwedzi and Jean-Baptiste Nikiema

Public spending on orphan medicines: a review of the literature

Little is known about how much public payers spend on orphan medicines. This study aimed at identifying information on orphan medicine expenditure incurred by public payers that was published in literature glo...

Authors: Margit Gombocz and Sabine Vogler

Identifying dispensing errors in pharmacies in a medical science school in Trinidad and Tobago

A dispensing error can be defined as an inconsistency between the drug prescribed and drug dispensed to a patient. These errors can lead to ineffective and sometimes unwanted pharmaceutical outcomes. Dispensin...

Authors: Sandeep Maharaj, Adrian Brahim, Horry Brown, Danielle Budraj, Vatalie Caesar, Anyse Calder, Deisha Carr, Dion Castillo, Kevin Cedeno and Manthan D. Janodia

How do I keep myself safe? Patient perspectives on including reason for use information on prescriptions and medication labels: a qualitative thematic analysis

Medications are crucial for maintaining patient wellness and improving health in modern medicine, but their use comes with risks. Helping patients to understand why they are taking medications is important for...

Authors: Colin Whaley, Ashley Bancsi, Joanne Man-Wai Ho, Catherine M. Burns and Kelly Grindrod

An antibiotic stewardship program in a surgical ICU of a resource-limited country: financial impact with improved clinical outcomes

Antibiotic resistance (ABX-R) is alarming in lower/middle-income countries (LMICs). Nonadherence to antibiotic guidelines and inappropriate prescribing are significant contributing factors to ABX-R. This study...

Authors: Kashif Hussain, Muhammad Faisal Khan, Gul Ambreen, Syed Shamim Raza, Seema Irfan, Kiren Habib and Hasnain Zafar

A rapid assessment of the National Regulatory Systems for medical products in the Southern African Development Community

Access to quality-assured, safe and efficacious medical products is fundamental for Universal Health Coverage and attaining Sustainable Development Goal 3: Ensure Healthy Lives and Well-being for All. To guara...

Authors: S. Dube-Mwedzi, S. Kniazkov, J. B. Nikiema, O. M. J. Kasilo, A. Fortin, P. Tumusiime, G. N. Mahlangu and M. Ndomondo-Sigonda

Generic versus brand-name over-the-counter analgesics: knowledge and attitudes among Swedish pharmacy customers

Due to a liberalisation reform in 2009, the availability of over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics has increased significantly in the Swedish market over the past decade. With the increasing number of generic produ...

Authors: Helle Håkonsen, Maria Wängberg, Dina Alani and Tove Hedenrud

Community pharmacist-administered seasonal influenza vaccination: a national customer survey

In Switzerland, the influenza vaccination is recommended for high-risk groups and people who have contact with high-risk groups. Since 2015, Swiss pharmacists are allowed to vaccinate healthy adults after acqu...

Authors: Dominik Stämpfli, Adrian Martinez-De la Torre, Sophie Du Pasquier, Danielle Stegmann, Andrea Brügger and Andrea M. Burden

Understanding the factors influencing healthcare providers’ burnout during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Jordanian hospitals

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. The nature of healthcare providers’ occupation puts them at an increased risk of getting any contagious disease...

Authors: Abdullah Algunmeeyn, Faris El-Dahiyat, Mohammad Mitib Altakhineh, Mohammad Azab and Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar

The use of remdesivir outside of clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic

With a scientific background from filoviruses, paramyxoviruses, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV, remdesivir entered into the COVID-19 battle to become one of the favorable therapeutic candidates with potential antivira...

Authors: Vesa Halimi, Armond Daci, Nevenka Ridova, Irina Panovska-Stavridis, Milena Stevanovic, Venko Filipce, Aleksandar Dimovski and Aleksandra Grozdanova

Assessing knowledge, attitude, practice, and preparedness of hospital pharmacists in Lebanon towards COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lebanese government has taken the proactive anticipatory measure to minimize the infection rates. Despite the pivotal role of the pharmacists working in hospital settings, hos...

Authors: Rony M. Zeenny, Elsy Ramia, Youssef Akiki, Souheil Hallit and Pascale Salameh

The community pharmacy practice change towards patient-centered care in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative perspective

Authors: Muhammad Kamran Rasheed, Abdulmajeed Alqasoumi, Syed Shahzad Hasan and Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar

The Urgent Need for Transparent and Accountable Procurement of Medicine and Medical Supplies in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed unprecedented and complex public policy issues. One that has emerged as a challenge for many countries globally is how to ensure the efficient and effective procurement of q...

Authors: Jillian Clare Kohler and Tom Wright

Regulatory inspection of registered private drug shops in East-Central Uganda—what it is versus what it should be: a qualitative study

Regulatory inspection of private drug shops in Uganda is a mandate of the Ministry of Health carried out by the National Drug Authority. This study evaluated how this mandate is being carried out at national, ...

Authors: Arthur Bagonza, Stefan Peterson, Andreas Mårtensson, Henry Wamani, Phyllis Awor, Milton Mutto, David Musoke, Linda Gibson and Freddy Eric Kitutu

An evaluation of the Caribbean regulatory system centralized assessment process for medicines submitted 2017–2018 using the OpERA methodology

The Caribbean Regulatory System is a centralized medicine assessment procedure established to serve the needs of the Member States of the CARICOM region. In order to better understand the effectiveness and eff...

Authors: Lawrence Liberti, Rian Marie Extavour, Prisha Patel and Neil McAuslane

The importance of visual inspection in national quality assurance systems for medicines

Authors: Gamal Khalafalla Mohamed Ali, Raffaella Ravinetto and Abubakr Abdelraouf Alfadl

Inventory management performance for laboratory commodities in public hospitals of Jimma zone, Southwest Ethiopia

Maintaining an efficient and effective inventory management system ensures a reliable supply of laboratory commodities. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess the performance of inventory management f...

Authors: Abdi Befekadu, Waqtola Cheneke, Dereje Kebebe and Tadesse Gudeta

1-year impact of supervision, performance assessment, and recognition strategy (SPARS) on prescribing and dispensing quality in Ugandan health facilities

To strengthen appropriate medicine use (AMU) including the prescribing and dispensing quality at public sector health facilities in Uganda, the Ministry of Health introduced a multipronged approach known as th...

Authors: Birna Trap, Moses N. Sembatya, Monica Imi, Morries Seru, Anita K. Wagner and Dennis Ross-Degnan

The impact of sanction and healthcare system reform on the healthcare performance and pharmaceutical market in Iran; 2001-2016

Iranian government has introduced multiple healthcare system reforms during the last 30 years aiming at improving accessibility and affordability of care. Pharmaceutical products are one of the major sources o...

Authors: Saman Zartab, Nasrin Nassiri Koopaei, Hadi Abbasian, Mansur Nassiri Koopaei and Nasser Nassiri Koopaei

Lebanese pharmacists’ confidence and self-perceptions of computer literacy: scale validation and correlates

Most pharmacists agree that continuing education (CE) programs positively affect their practice and increase their knowledge, with computer-based courses being their preferred type of CE (60.6%). The route to ...

Authors: Souheil Hallit, Samah Tawil, Hala Sacre, Clara Rahme, Aline Hajj and Pascale Salameh

Impact of a global leader on pharmaceutical practice and policy around the world

This commentary describes the contributions of a Dutch pharmacist who contributed in a unique manner to the development of community pharmacy practice in Europe, to the evolution of practice-based research and...

Authors: F. Alves da Costa, M. Henman, C. Hughes, H. Leufkens, Z. Babar, J. McElnay and M. Schulz

Compliance with the north American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology guidelines on amiodarone monitoring in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a retrospective charts review study

Amiodarone is known for its efficacy as an antiarrhythmic agent; however, its extensive side-effect profile requires careful selection of patients and frequent monitoring. The purpose of this study was to eval...

Authors: Bander Ahmed Albassam, Nouf Mohammed Almutairi, Sarah Fahad Aldosari and Hind Saleh Almodaimegh

Pharmacists’ perceived barriers towards delivering their emergency roles during the COVID-19 pandemic and perceived policymakers’ responsibilities

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus infectious disease as a pandemic referred to as COVID-19. As an essential service, community pharmacists have been enacting a key rol...

Authors: Iman A. Basheti, Razan Nassar, Muna Barakat, Rajaa Alqudah, Rana Abu Farha, Tareq Muqatash, Samar Thiab and Bandana Saini

Factors associated with empathy among community pharmacists in Lebanon

Empathy is the cornerstone of the relationship between the healthcare provider and the patient. In Lebanon, no studies have investigated the factors associated with empathy among community pharmacists. Hence, ...

Authors: Eva Hobeika, Souheil Hallit, Hala Sacre, Sahar Obeid, Aline Hajj and Pascale Salameh

Registration and local production of essential medicines in Uganda

Universal access to high quality essential medicines is critical to sustainable development (SDG 3.8). However low- and middle-income countries struggle to ensure access to all medicines on their national esse...

Authors: Petra Brhlikova, Karen Maigetter, Jude Murison, Amon G. Agaba, Jonans Tusiimire and Allyson M. Pollock

To evaluate the impact of opening up ownership of pharmacies in South Africa

Following the democratic elections in 1994 the South African private pharmaceutical services were mostly in metropolitan centred with a scattering of pharmacies in less densely populated areas. The Government ...

Authors: Rajatheran Moodley and Fatima Suleman

Sale of WHO AWaRe groups antibiotics without a prescription in Pakistan: a simulated client study

Resistant strains of bacteria are rapidly emerging with increasing inappropriate use of antibiotics rendering them less efficacious. Self-purchasing of antibiotics particularly for viral infections is a key dr...

Authors: Zikria Saleem, Mohamed Azmi Hassali, Brian Godman, Munazzah Fatima, Zeenia Ahmad, Areeba Sajid, Inaam Ur Rehman, Muhammad Umer Nadeem, Zaida Javaid, Madeeha Malik and Azhar Hussain

COVID-19 therapeutics: how to sow confusion and break public trust during international public health emergencies

Since SARS-CoV2 was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, those tasked with the stewardship of public health at a global, regional, and local level—policymakers, politicians, scientists, dr...

Authors: Jerome Amir Singh and Rafaella Ravinetto

Treatment outcomes of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Bahawalpur, Pakistan; a record review

There is limited published data form Pakistan on treatment success rate among extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) patients. The aim of this study was to assess clinical form, treatment outcomes, and identify th...

Authors: Muhammad Atif, Razia Fatima, Nafees Ahmad and Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar