Articles

Medication errors associated with direct-acting oral anticoagulants: analysis of data from national pharmacovigilance and local incidents reporting databases

For more than a decade, direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been approved in clinical practice for multiple indications such as stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation treatment of deep vein ...

Authors: Abdulrhman Alrowily, Zahraa Jalal, Mohammed H. Abutaleb, Nermin A. Osman, Maha Alammari and Vibhu Paudyal

Designing supply chains to meet the growing need of vaccines: evidence from four countries

Immunization supply chains (iSCs) move vaccines from manufacturer to point of use with the added complexities of requiring cold chain and an increasing need for agility and efficiency to ensure vaccine quality...

Authors: Wendy Prosser, Cary Spisak, Benjamin Hatch, Joseph McCord, Marie Tien and Greg Roche

Impact of the first phase of COVID-19 pandemic on childhood routine immunisation services in Nepal: a qualitative study on the perspectives of service providers and users

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected all essential healthcare services delivery in low-resource settings. This study aimed to explore the challenges and experiences of providers and users of c...

Authors: Asmita Priyadarshini Khatiwada, Smriti Maskey, Nistha Shrestha, Sunil Shrestha, Saval Khanal, Bhuvan KC and Vibhu Paudyal

Perceptions from pharmaceutical stakeholders on how the pharmaceutical budget is allocated in South Africa

South Africa faces a heavy burden of disease, which impacts resource allocation. The needs of South Africa require efficient translation into pharmaceutical expenditure for medicine provision, to ensure availa...

Authors: Lirosha Moodley, Fatima Suleman and Velisha Ann Perumal-Pillay

Exploring determinants of community pharmacist-led influenza vaccination in a Middle Eastern country: a national web-based cross-sectional study

Utilizing community pharmacists (CPs) as immunizers has being adopted in various countries as approach to boost influenza vaccination coverage. Our study aims to explore the Lebanese CPs’ willingness to admini...

Authors: Dalal Youssef, Linda Abou-Abbas and Hamad Hassan

A mixed-methods systematic review of the prevalence, reasons, associated harms and risk-reduction interventions of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines misuse, abuse and dependence in adults

Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are typically safe. However, there is evidence that OTC medicines can sometimes cause harm as a result of their misuse, abuse and dependence.

Authors: Mohammad Algarni, Muhammad Abdul Hadi, Asma Yahyouche, Sajid Mahmood and Zahraa Jalal

Correction to: Eliciting the public preferences for pharmaceutical subsidy in Iran: a discrete choice experiment study

Authors: Mansoor Delpasand, Alireza Olyaaeemanesh, Ebrahim Jaafaripooyan, Akbar Abdollahiasl, Majid Davari and Ali Kazemi Karyani

Public and decision-maker stated preferences for pharmaceutical subsidy decisions in Iran: an application of the discrete choice experiment

The argument about funding criteria poses challenges for health decision-makers in all countries. This study aimed to investigate the public and decision-maker preferences for pharmaceutical subsidy decisions ...

Authors: Gita Afsharmanesh, Farimah Rahimi, Leila Zarei, Farzad Peiravian and Gholamhossein Mehralian

UK and Ireland survey of MPharm student and staff experiences of mental health curricula, with a focus on Mental Health First Aid

One in four people experience a mental health problem every year and improving mental health care is an international priority. In the course of their work, pharmacists frequently encounter people with mental ...

Authors: H. C. Gorton, H. Macfarlane, R. Edwards, S. Farid, E. Garner, M. Mahroof, S. Rasul, D. Keating, H. Zaman, J. Scott, I. Maidment and J. Strawbridge

Regulatory compliance among over-the-counter medicine sellers facilities within the Upper East Region of Ghana

Easy access to medicines provided by private medicine retailing facilities including that of over-the-counter medicine retailers, have gained prominence in sub-Saharan Africa. Although over-the-counter medicin...

Authors: Benjamin Kwarteng Frempong, Anthony Amalba, Nina Donkor and Kwadwo Owusu Akuffo

Assessment of job satisfaction among pharmacy professionals

Job satisfaction of pharmacy professionals is appreciably related to quality of pharmaceutical care. Poor Job satisfaction is associated with low productivity, absenteeism, high turnover and reduced working ho...

Authors: Muluwork Sahile Berassa, Tebeje Ashegu Chiro and Selamawit Fanta

Engagement of hospital pharmacists and technicians to optimize staffing schedules

Challenges exist in developing work schedules for hospital pharmacy staff due to the need to meet around the clock patient care requirements. Work–life integration and reduced burnout are increasingly importan...

Authors: Jessica Wright, Richard Arndt, Jason Christensen, Kirstin Kooda and Julie Cunningham

Access, use and disposal of antimicrobials among humans and animals in Wakiso district, Uganda: a qualitative study

Inappropriate use of antimicrobials in both humans and animals is a key driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In addition, human behaviours such as poor disposal of antimicrobials in the environment can in...

Authors: David Musoke, Carol Namata, Grace Biyinzika Lubega, Freddy Eric Kitutu, Lawrence Mugisha, Saba Amir, Claire Brandish, Joviah Gonza, Deborah Ikhile, Filimin Niyongabo, Bee Yean Ng, Jean O’Driscoll, Kate Russell-Hobbs, Jody Winter and Linda Gibson

Recommendations to improve pharmacy practice research in the Middle Eastern Arab countries

The expansion of the pharmacist-led services has resulted in increased demand to have evidence in terms of necessity, efficacy, and cost. Evidence-based practice is crucial to provide the best patient health o...

Authors: Daneh Obaid, Faris El-Dahiyat and Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar

Diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia medication prescribing in Qatari primary care settings: a retrospective analysis of electronic medical records

Globally, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are recognised as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Medications and medicines optimisation play an important role in the management of modifiable physiologi...

Authors: Mohamed Ahmed Syed, Ahmed Sameer Al Nuaimi, Hamda Abdulla A/Qotba, Abduljaleel Abdullatif Zainel, Tamara Marji and Uzma Razaq

Young hospital pharmacists’ job stress and career prospects amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in China

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic posed a critical threat to public health in the past year and has not been fully controlled so far. The nature of front-line young hospital pharmacists’ occupation puts ...

Authors: Jiahao Wu, Jian Cai, Ming Fang, Yan Wang and Feng Xu

Analysis of intracranial haemorrhage following tozinameran (BNT162b2, Pfizer-BioNTech)

Authors: Yohhei Hamada

Investigating the effect of pharmaceutical logistics service performance on customer satisfaction: a two-step approach with structural equation modeling

These days, pharmaceutical customers are the utmost stakeholders in the healthcare supply chain, and ensuring their satisfaction with the logistics services has become worthwhile. This study aimed to investiga...

Authors: Tafesse Gizaw, Mekonnen Bogale and Tadesse Gudeta

Potential drug–drug interactions in patients with cardiovascular diseases: findings from a prospective observational study

Patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are at high risk of experiencing drug–drug interactions (DDIs). The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency, level and risk factors associated with pot...

Authors: Zarka Akbar, Sundas Rehman, Asad Khan, Amjad Khan, Muhammad Atif and Nafees Ahmad

Stakeholders’ perspectives on training over the counter medicine sellers and Community-based Health Planning and Services facilities to dispense antibiotics in Ghana

Dispensing of antibiotics by over the counter medicine sellers (OTCMS) is a major driver of inappropriate use and resistance in low and middle income countries. Recent studies in Ghana revealed the need to con...

Authors: Samuel Afari-Asiedu, Marlies Hulscher, Martha Ali Abdulai, Ellen Boamah-Kaali, Heiman F. L. Wertheim and Kwaku Poku Asante

Pharmacy preparedness in handling COVID-19 pandemic: a sharing experience from a Malaysian tertiary hospital

This commentary shares the experience of a hospital pharmacy department in providing healthcare services during the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia. During this pandemic, the medication delivery system is redesi...

Authors: Kah Shuen Thong, Manimegahlai Selvaratanam, Chiew Ping Tan, Meng Fei Cheah, Hoey Lin Oh, Pooi Mun Lee, Chii-Chii Chew, Chee-Tao Chang and Jason Choong Yin Lee

“Drugs to avoid” to improve quality use of medicines: how is Australia faring?

Each year, the French independent bulletin Prescrire publishes a list of medicines, “Drugs to avoid”, that should not be used in clinical practice as their risk-to-benefit ratio is unfavourable. This study assess...

Authors: Agnes Vitry and Barbara Mintzes

Eliciting the public preferences for pharmaceutical subsidy in Iran: a discrete choice experiment study

Deciding on pharmaceutical subsidy is regarded as a challenging issue for healthcare policymakers in Iran in most times. Public preferences, rarely attended in Iran, could be invaluable for including a particu...

Authors: Mansoor Delpasand, Alireza Olyaaeemanesh, Ebrahim Jaafaripooyan, Akbar Abdollahiasl, Majid Davari and Ali Kazemi Karyani

Health professionals’ perception of pharmaceuticals procurement performance in public health facilities in Southwestern Ethiopia

Pharmaceutical’s procurement is a core component of logistics management, and has a significant influence on product availability, and total supply chain costs. In Ethiopia, there are few studies on this topic...

Authors: Gotuma Negera, Hailu Merga and Tadesse Gudeta

Availability, pricing and affordability of essential medicines in Eastern Ethiopia: a comprehensive analysis using WHO/HAI methodology

Access to essential medicines is a universal human right and availability and affordability are the preconditions for it. In line with the sustainable development goals, World Health Organization (WHO) has out...

Authors: Mekonnen Sisay, Firehiwot Amare, Bisrat Hagos and Dumessa Edessa

Strategies to improve pharmaceutical supply chain resilience under politico-economic sanctions: the case of Iran

Given the impact of politico-economic sanctions on the pharmaceutical supply chain, this study aims to identify practical strategies to improve the resilience of the Iranian supply chain in pharmaceutical proc...

Authors: Peivand Bastani, Zahra Dehghan, Seyyed Mansoor Kashfi, Hesam Dorosti, Mohammadtaghi Mohammadpour, Gholamhossein Mehralian and Ramin Ravangard

Medication adherence among the elderly: applying grounded theory approach in a developing country

Medication adherence is an important concept particularly among the elderly that can, directly and indirectly, affect the health system’s costs and the elderly’s health, quality of life, and functional abiliti...

Authors: Peivand Bastani, Parisa Bikineh, Gholamhossein Mehralian, Omid Sadeghkhani, Rita Rezaee, Zahra Kavosi and Ramin Ravangard

Evaluation of pharmacy-led weight management service to minimise the risk of cardiovascular disease

The primary aim of the programme was a minimum of a 5% weight reduction of the initial weight, while the secondary outcomes were a reduction in participants’ body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), bl...

Authors: Aliki Peletidi and Reem Kayyali

Knowledge and perception of biosimilars in ambulatory care: a survey among Belgian community pharmacists and physicians

With the approval of biosimilars for subcutaneously administered products, such as adalimumab, etanercept and insulin, biosimilars become increasingly available in ambulatory care. Little is known about the kn...

Authors: Liese Barbier, Yannick Vandenplas, Steven Simoens, Paul Declerck, Arnold G. Vulto and Isabelle Huys

Case studies for implementing MCDA for tender and purchasing decisions in hospitals in Indonesia and Thailand

A multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach has been suggested for helping purchasers in low- and middle-income countries in an evidence-based assessment of multi-source pharmaceuticals to mitigate pote...

Authors: Anke-Peggy Holtorf, Erna Kristin, Anunchai Assamawakin, Nilawan Upakdee, Rina Indrianti and Napassorn Apinchonbancha

A cross-sectional survey on community pharmacists readiness to fight COVID-19 in a developing country: knowledge, attitude, and practice in Lebanon

Lebanon, a developing Middle Eastern country, was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred amid a severe national economic crisis. Community pharmacists are responsible for dispensing appropriate medications...

Authors: Rony M. Zeenny, Ahmad Dimassi, Hala Sacre, Ghada El Khoury, Aline Hajj, Rita Farah, Hind Hajj, Nathalie Lahoud, Marwan Akel, Souheil Hallit and Pascale Salameh

Identification and resolution of drug-related problems among diabetic patients attending a referral hospital: a prospective observational study

People living with diabetes are more vulnerable to drug-related problems due to the presence of multiple diseases. This study aimed to identify drug-related problems and contributing factors among diabetic pat...

Authors: Tadesse Sheleme, Tamiru Sahilu and Desalegn Feyissa

Prevalence, knowledge and perception of self-medication practice among undergraduate healthcare students

Globally, self-medication is a common practice, and an increasingly perceived necessity to relieve burdens on health services. However, inappropriate self-medication may result to reduced health outcomes, incr...

Authors: Wuraola Akande-Sholabi, Amen. T. Ajamu and Rasaq Adisa

Big data, medicines safety and pharmacovigilance

Authors: Rabia Hussain

Pharmacoeconomics in Africa: needs, prospect and challenges

Africa as a continent has experienced a continuous increase in the cost of healthcare as its demands increase. With many of these African countries living below the poverty threshold, Africans continue to die ...

Authors: Temitope Ben-Ajepe, Ifechukwu Benedict Nwogu, Damilola Quazeem Olaoye, Abdulhafeez Ayodele Mustapha, Theogene Uwizeyimana and Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi

Potential adverse events in Japanese women who received tozinameran (BNT162b2, Pfizer-BioNTech)

Reports of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) following the administration of coronavirus vaccines have raised concerns regarding their safety. Although no regulatory authority ...

Authors: Rumiko Shimazawa and Masayuki Ikeda

National drug utilization trend of analgesics in China: an analysis of procurement data at 793 public hospitals from 2013 to 2018

This research aimed to evaluate analgesic utilization in public hospitals from 2013 to 2018 by analyzing the procurement data of 793 hospitals in China.

Authors: Honghao Shi, Xianwen Chen, Xueli Liu, He Zhu, Fei Yu, Carolina Oi Lam Ung, Wai Sin Chan, Hao Hu and Sheng Han

Correction to: Online medication purchasing during the Covid-19 pandemic: a pilot study from the United Arab Emirates

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Authors: Ammar Abdulrahman Jairoun, Sabaa Saleh Al‑Hemyari, Naseem Mohammed Abdulla, Faris El‑Dahiyat, Maimona Jairoun, Saleh Karamah AL‑Tamimi and Zaheer‑Ud‑Din Babar

Assessments of the quality systems of pharmaceutical distributors: a remote approach to be applied in times of COVID-19 and beyond

Adequate quality systems throughout pharmaceutical supply chains are crucial to protect individuals and communities from substandard and falsified medical products. Thus, pharmaceutical distributors are regula...

Authors: Anthony Bourasseau, Laurine Lavergne and Raffaella Ravinetto

Cardiovascular disease risk prevention services by pharmacists in Saudi Arabia: what do policymakers and opinion leaders think?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an emerging contributor to national morbidity and mortality in Saudi Arabia. CVD risk prevention services are limited, particularly with an over-utilised public health sector an...

Authors: Hadi A. Almansour, Nouf M. Aloudah, Tariq M. Alhawassi, Betty Chaar, Ines Krass and Bandana Saini

The implementation of pharmaceutical services in public hospitals in Mexico: an analysis of the legal framework and organizational practice

The implementation of pharmaceutical services in hospitals contributes to the appropriate use of medicines and patient safety. However, the relationship of implementation with the legal framework and organizat...

Authors: Laura C. Vargas López, Fela Viso Gurovich, Anahí Dreser Mansilla, Veronika J. Wirtz and Michael R. Reich

Public and private sectors collective response to combat COVID-19 in Malaysia

Over the last year, the dangerous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly around the world. Malaysia has not been excluded from this COVID-19 pandemic. The resurgence of...

Authors: Ching Siang Tan, Saim Lokman, Yao Rao, Szu Hua Kok and Long Chiau Ming

Adequacy of alcohol-based handrub solution production practice in response to COVID-19 in public hospitals found in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a multicentered cross-sectional study

Proper hand hygiene using alcohol-based handrub (ABHR) is an effective preventive approach for the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and other infections. World Health Organization recommend...

Authors: Muluken Nigatu Selam, Regasa Bayisa, Andualem Ababu, Mahdi Abdella, Edessa Diriba, Minychel Wale and Assefa Mulu Baye

Online medication purchasing during the Covid-19 pandemic: A pilot study from the United Arab Emirates

Since the WHO announced that Covid-19 had become a global pandemic, online pharmacies have emerged as an extremely popular way to purchase medication due to the quarantine measures introduced by numerous count...

Authors: Ammar Abdulrahman Jairoun, Sabaa Saleh Al-Hemyari, Naseem Mohammed Abdulla, Faris El-Dahiyat, Maimona Jairoun, Saleh Karamah AL-Tamimi and Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar

EU FP7 research funding for an orphan drug (Orfadin®) and vaccine (Hep C) development: a success and a failure?

We considered the extent of the contribution of publicly funded research to the late-stage clinical development of pharmaceuticals and medicinal products, based on the European Commission (EC) FP7 research fun...

Authors: L. Schmidt, O. Sehic and C. Wild

Drug-related problems and associated factors in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Drug-related problems (DRPs) can occur at any stages of medication use processes, and a single drug could be associated with multiple DRPs. Once happened, it adversely affects health outcomes. In Ethiopia, eva...

Authors: Fuad Adem, Jemal Abdela, Dumessa Edessa, Bisrat Hagos, Abraham Nigussie and Mohammed A. Mohammed

Differences in glycemic control between the treatment arms in cardiovascular outcome trials of type 2 diabetes medications do not explain cardiovascular benefits

Hyperglycemia is an undisputed epidemiological risk factor for microvascular complications in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, integral in their causal pathways. Importantly, interventions that reduce the hype...

Authors: Darren K. McGuire, Silvio E. Inzucchi, Odd Erik Johansen, Julio Rosenstock, Jyothis T. George and Nikolaus Marx

Towards improving community pharmacy-based mental health services in Nigeria

In Nigeria, there is a prevalence of aversive life circumstances that frequently assail the mental health and well-being of the citizens, mitigating the impact of which necessitates the institution of psychoth...

Authors: Adeboye Olakunle Bamgboye, Ibrahim Adebayo Hassan, Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Rachael Oluwatoyosi Farayola and Theogene Uwizeyimana

Linking market authorizations of medicines with disease burden in South Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is going through an epidemiological transition, including an impressive increase in non-communicable diseases. The introduction of medicines has not kept pace with the needs in developing co...

Authors: K. Narsai, H. G. M. Leufkens and A. K. Mantel-Teeuwisse

CoViD vaccines and thrombotic events: EMA issued warning to patients and healthcare professionals

Authors: Hamid A. Merchant