Improving pharmacy practice in relation to complementary medicines: a qualitative study evaluating the acceptability and feasibility of a new ethical framework in Australia.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for clearer guidance for pharmacists regarding their responsibilities when selling complementary medicines. A recently published ethical framework provides guidance regarding the specific responsibilities that pharmacists need to meet in order to fulfil their professional obligations and make a positive contribution to health outcomes when selling complementary medicines. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a new ethical framework for the sale of complementary medicines in community pharmacy. METHODS: Australian community pharmacists were invited to participate in online focus groups and interviews. Participants were recruited via multiple methods, including social media and the professional networks of pharmacy groups. Participants were provided the ethical framework prior to the discussion. Discussions were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Seventeen community pharmacists participated in the study (11 in 4 focus groups and 6 in individual interviews). There was good representation among participants in terms of gender, years of practice, pharmacy location and script volume. Participants differed in how proactive they were in relation to selling and providing advice on complementary medicines, how they interpreted evidence in relation to complementary medicines, and how they navigated their practice within the retail environment of community pharmacy. The majority of participants found the framework was acceptable for practice and was feasible for implementation with targeted support. Participants identified two important areas for targeted support in implementing the framework: improved access to evidence-based information resources on complementary medicines and independent evidence-based education and training on complementary medicine for pharmacists and pharmacy support staff. CONCLUSION: The ethical framework addresses an important gap in providing specific professional guidance to pharmacists when selling complementary medicines. The results of the study suggest that the framework may be acceptable to community pharmacists and be feasible to implement with targeted support.

The ethical challenges in pharmacy practice in community Pharmacies: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists as a group of health care professionals, face different types of ethical challenges in their everyday routine that may impede pharmaceutical care. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed at evaluation and recognition of the ethical challenges of pharmacy practice in community pharmacies. METHODS: This exploratory study was conducted as a qualitative study consisting of open-ended in-depth interviews and focus group discussions followed by content analysis. The study participants were chosen from pharmacists with PharmD degree who had at least 4 years work experience and were the founders or technical managers of community pharmacies, either as governmental or private. Interviews continued until data saturation and transcribed verbatim. The content analysis was done by Graneheim and Lundman method. The codes were generated, and categorized. After assessment and final modifications, the results of the study were discussed and confirmed in a focus group discussion conducted by 7 experts who teach medical ethics and/or pharmacy ethics. RESULTS: Overall, 40 pharmacists were interviewed (mean age 46 ± 11.3 years). The extracted ethical challenges of pharmacy practice were categorized into 3 main themes, 11 subthemes and 102 codes. The themes were achieved as challenges related to professionalism and professional practice, challenges related to professional communications and challenges related to regulations and policies. CONCLUSION: Taken together, it seems that most of the challenges of pharmacy practice are related to professionalism and professional commitment; however, the regulations and policies provide serious obstacles for pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical care. More efforts towards teaching professionalism and modification of regulations and policies are recommended.

Exploring Ethical Pharmacy Practice in Jordan.

Patient-centered pharmacy practice involves increased pharmacist engagement in patient care. This increased involvement can sometimes require diverse decision-making when handling various situations, ranging from simple matters to major ethical dilemmas. There is literature about pharmacy ethics in developed Western countries. However, little is known about pharmacists' practices in many developing countries. For example, there is a paucity of research conducted in the area of pharmacy ethics in Jordan. This study aimed to explore the manner in which ethical dilemmas were handled by Jordanian pharmacists, the resources used and their attitudes towards them. Semi-structured, face to face interviews were carried out with 30 Jordanian registered pharmacists. The transcribed interviews were thematically analysed for emerging themes. Four major themes were identified: legal practice; familiarity with the code of ethics; personal judgement, cultural and religious values; and Experience. Findings showed that ethical decision-making in pharmacy practice in Jordan was decisively influenced by pharmacists' personal moral values, legal requirements and managed by exercising common sense and experience. This pointed to gaps in Jordanian pharmacists' understanding and application of basic principles of pharmacy ethics and highlighted the need for professional ethics training, incorporating pharmacy ethics courses in pharmacy undergraduate curricula, as well as professional development courses. This study highlighted that paternalism, personal values and legal obligations were major drivers influencing decision-making processes of Jordanian pharmacists. Findings also highlighted an inclination towards lack of respect for patient autonomy. This illuminated the need for increasing pharmacists' literacy in professional ethics.

Lessons Learned in Developing and Testing a Methotrexate Case Study for Pharmacy Education.

This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a complex methotrexate ethics case used in teaching a Pharmacy Law and Ethics course. Qualitative analysis of student reflective writings provided useful insight into the students' experience and comfort level with the final ethics case in the course. These data demonstrate a greater student appreciation of different perspectives, the potential for conflict in communicating about such cases, and the importance of patient autonomy. Faculty lessons learned are also described, facilitating adoption of this methotrexate ethics case by other healthcare profession educators.

"Click for Closer Care": A Content Analysis of Community Pharmacy Websites in Four Countries.

BACKGROUND: Combinations of professional and commercial communication are typically very controversial, particularly in health care communication on the Internet. Websites of licensed community pharmacies on the other hand tend to raise remarkably little controversy, although they typically contain controversial combinations of clinical and commercial services previously unprecedented in professional health care communication. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to fill the void of knowledge about the combination of clinical and commercial services presented on the websites of licensed community pharmacies. METHODS: A content analysis of clinical and commercial services presented in a random sample of 200 licensed community pharmacy websites from Great Britain, the Netherlands, the Canadian provinces British Columbia and Manitoba, and the Australian states New South Wales and Western Australia was conducted. RESULTS: The top five specific services mentioned on the community pharmacy websites were cosmetic products (126/200, 63.0%), medication refill request options (124/200, 62.0%), over-the-counter medicine (115/200, 57.5%), complementary and alternative medicine (107/200, 53.5%), and home medical aids (98/200, 49.0%). On average, 72.5% (145/200) of the community pharmacy websites across the 4 countries included a combination of clinical and commercial services. A combination of clinical and commercial services was more often present on chain pharmacy websites (120/147, 82.8%) than single pharmacy websites (25/53, 47%; P<.001), and most often on the Canadian community pharmacy websites, followed by the Australian, British, and Dutch pharmacy websites, respectively (P<.02). Furthermore, more than half of the pharmacies' homepages contained a combination of clinical and commercial images (107/200, 53.5%), and almost half of the homepage menus contained a combination of clinical and commercial items (99/200, 49.5%). The latter were, again, more common on chain pharmacy than single pharmacy websites (P<.001), with significant differences between countries (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: A considerable share of websites of licensed community pharmacies in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia combine clinical services with commercial services. Previous research into the presence of a combination of commercial and professional services suggests that such a combination may lead to increased interest in commercial services that may be unnecessary or inappropriate to patients' health.

Investigation of Simulated Pharmacist Decision Making Involving Prescriptions With a High Probability of Causing Patient Harm.

Background: Medication errors pose a significant risk to patients, resulting in morbidity, mortality, and unnecessary health care utilization. Pharmacists, using their professional judgment, have an important role as a final check for identifying and resolving these problems. Little is known, however, about pharmacist perspectives and experiences with dispensing or withholding potentially dangerous prescriptions. Objectives: To (a) evaluate the extent to which pharmacists would not dispense a likely harmful prescription which has been confirmed by the prescriber and (b) assess pharmacist attitudes and experiences with dispensing likely harmful prescriptions. Methods: An anonymous, self-administered, 25-item survey was emailed to members of a state pharmacy association and a pharmacy college alumni list. A series of static prescription vignettes (1 reasonable and 4 likely dangerous doses) were presented and asked if they would fill each prescriber-confirmed prescription. Pharmacists also were asked a series of Likert-type, open-ended, multiple choice, and demographic items regarding their professional experiences and role perceptions. Results: There were 497 usable responses. Three of the 4 dangerous prescriptions were withheld by the majority of pharmacists (sumatriptan as the exception). No demographic variable was universally associated with filling dangerous vignette prescriptions; rather, there were vignette-specific differences. The majority of pharmacists reported refusing to fill a potentially harmful prescription during their career. Conclusions: There appears to be meaningful variation in how pharmacists react when presented with likely harmful prescriptions. More research is needed to better understand this role, its determinants, and the potential effects on patient safety.

Ethical conflicts in patient care situations of community pharmacists: a cross-sectional online survey.

BACKGROUND: Community pharmacy practice is rarely considered in ethical research, although various ethical conflicts are known for this setting. Data on the actual frequency and perceived burden of ethical conflicts occurring in the community pharmacy setting are required. AIM: The survey aimed at investigating the frequency and perceived burden of ethical conflicts, reasons for the perceived burden and influences on decision-making in ethical conflicts in German community pharmacists. METHOD: An online survey was conducted among community pharmacists. It contained 15 ethical conflicts in which the ethically required action conflicts with another principle (e.g. law). Basing on these conflicting principles, 12 considerations relevant for decision-making were defined (e.g. solidarity principle). Participants were asked to rate the ethical conflicts in terms of frequency and perceived burden and to rate the influence on decision-making for the considerations. Results were analysed descriptively. RESULTS: Five hundred and thirty-five questionnaires were evaluated. The participant's median age was 39 (min-max: 20-78) years, 378 (71%) were female. Seven of the 15 predefined ethical conflicts were rated as occurring predominantly at least once a week. "Generic drug is not most suitable" was rated as the most frequent. Three ethical conflicts were rated mainly with a (very) strong burden. "Concerns for an unborn child" was rated as the most burdensome. Three of the 12 predefined decision-making considerations: pharmaceutical knowledge, legal requirements and personal values were rated primarily as having a very strong influence on decision-making. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists in community pharmacies are frequently affected by burdensome ethical conflicts in patient care situations.

Code of ethics for the national pharmaceutical system: Codifying and compilation.

Pharmacists as one of health-care providers face ethical issues in terms of pharmaceutical care, relationship with patients and cooperation with the health-care team. Other than pharmacy, there are pharmaceutical companies in various fields of manufacturing, importing or distributing that have their own ethical issues. Therefore, pharmacy practice is vulnerable to ethical challenges and needs special code of conducts. On feeling the need, based on a shared project between experts of the ethics from relevant research centers, all the needs were fully recognized and then specified code of conduct for each was written. The code of conduct was subject to comments of all experts involved in the pharmaceutical sector and thus criticized in several meetings. The prepared code of conduct is comprised of professional code of ethics for pharmacists, ethics guideline for pharmaceutical manufacturers, ethics guideline for pharmaceutical importers, ethics guideline for pharmaceutical distributors, and ethics guideline for policy makers. The document was compiled based on the principles of bioethics and professionalism. The compiling the code of ethics for the national pharmaceutical system is the first step in implementing ethics in pharmacy practice and further attempts into teaching the professionalism and the ethical code as the necessary and complementary effort are highly recommended.

Off-label prescription: developing a guideline and validating an instrument to measure physicians' and clinical pharmacists' knowledge and attitudes toward off-label medication use.

Purpose: Off-label medications have been challenging in healthcare systems, and their significance is emphasized throughout pandemics. The study was designed to develop an ethics guideline for prescribing off-label medications and also aimed to develop a valid instrument for evaluating physicians' and clinical pharmacists' knowledge and attitudes regarding off-label medication use. Methods: In 2021, the two-phase study was done. A gap analysis study and a review of relevant guidelines and peer-reviewed papers were conducted in the first phase. There were three hybrid expert panel discussions with nine specialists until a consensus was reached. In the second phase, a questionnaire was developed to assess physicians' and pharmacists' knowledge and attitudes toward off-label prescribing medications. An expert panel of nine ethicists, physicians, and pharmacists determined the face and content validity. To evaluate the reliability and construct validity of the instrument, 201 physicians and clinical pharmacists participated. Results: This guideline provides 24 recommendations classified into seven themes to assist clinicians, pharmacists, and policymakers in managing off-label medication use. The preliminary questionnaire contained 72 items. Items were removed if their I-CVI and CVR were less than 0.79 and 0.78, respectively. The S-CVI/Average ratio was 0.937. The Cronbach α was 0.848. Ten factors were identified through exploratory factor analysis. These ten factors comprised 64.652% of the variance. There was no significant difference between general physicians, specialist physicians, and clinical pharmacists in one-way ANOVA [F = 0.584, P = 0.559]. Conclusion: We developed an ethical guideline for off-label medication use that can integrate ethical principles into related practice. Moreover, our valid and reliable questionnaire can evaluate the ethical adherence of physicians and pharmacists to scientific and ethical challenges of off-label medications in the country, especially during pandemics. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01288-0.

Moral reasoning perspectives of community pharmacists in situations of drug shortages.

BACKGROUND: Drug shortages affect health systems worldwide. Research in community pharmacy has focused on the nature, extent and impact of these shortages on patients and pharmacists. However, pharmacists' moral reasoning in situations of drug shortages has not been addressed. OBJECTIVE: To explore the moral reasoning perspectives of Dutch community pharmacists in situations of drug shortages. METHOD: An electronic survey was developed around three drug shortage scenarios with a varying impact on patient outcomes: a Contraceptive, a Parkinson's and an Osteoporosis scenario. Pharmacists rated the likelihood of nine handling options and rated and ranked 13 considerations that may have played a role therein. The considerations represented three moral reasoning perspectives (MRPs): a business orientation (BO), a rules and regulations (RR), and a professional ethics (PE) MRP. Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate construct validity of the MRPs. MRP rating and MRP ranking scores measured the relative importance of the different MRPs of pharmacists in the three shortages. RESULTS: Results from 267 Pharmacists were obtained. They reported mostly similar handling in the three shortages, except for the likelihood to make agreements with prescribers or other pharmacists and regarding the decision to import a product. The PCA analysis confirmed the three MRPs that accounted for 29% of variance in the data. Both the MRP rating and especially the MRP ranking scores indicated that PE-MRP considerations were most influential on pharmacists' intended handling of the shortages. In the Contraceptive and the Osteoporosis scenarios, the relative importance of a BO-MRP was higher than in the Parkinson's scenario. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists predominantly reason with a PE-MRP when handling drug shortages. However, this perspective can be compromised when the drug shortage is perceived to have a lower impact on patient outcomes and when alternative drugs or therapy are expensive.

The Concept of Pharmacy Ethics and the Examples of Ethical Dilemmas Encountered by Pharmacists in the Asir Region, Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: Pharmacists' involvement in patient care is expanding. The inclusion of this function within a complex healthcare system populated by demanding patients may create ethical challenges. In Saudi Arabia, few studies have been conducted on pharmacy ethics, and the available data are quantitative in nature. Thus, there remains a need for a qualitative assessment of the ethical dilemmas facing pharmacists. Methods: This exploratory study utilized a qualitative methodology that included open-ended, in-depth, semi-structured interviews, followed by content analysis. The study recruited credentialed pharmacists from community and hospital pharmacies. Themes and codes were created and classified. Results: Eighteen pharmacists were interviewed, and their responses were categorized into eight areas of ethical dilemma: beneficence and non-maleficence, autonomy, justice, confidentiality, veracity, communication skills, sincerity and religion, and law. Taken together, it appears that most of the ethical challenges to the practice of pharmacy center on the theme of beneficence and non-maleficence. Additionally, it was found that some social and religious practices and beliefs contribute to the formation of participants' ethical backgrounds. Conclusion: These findings may aid in the development of national pharmacy ethics guidelines in Saudi Arabia. Additional quantitative research is necessary to confirm the study's findings.

Implementing and evaluating a course in professional ethics for an undergraduate pharmacy curriculum: A feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacy practice today mandates "patient-centered care", thereby assigning higher levels of professional responsibility for pharmacists leading to ethical challenges. These challenges often involve ethical principles, institutional, personal, or other constraints that can pull practitioners in incompatible opposite directions, creating "ethical dilemmas" in many circumstances. Pharmacists are expected to handle challenges competently and in the best interest of patients. Literature underlines the positive impact of educational interventions focusing on ethical awareness and competence, and that "gaps" existed in pharmacy training/curricula for Jordanian pharmacists. The objective of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate the utility of a tailored ethics education component in the pharmacy curriculum for students enrolled at a well-ranked Jordanian university. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Fifth-year pharmacy students attending summer school at a university in Jordan from July to September 2020 were invited to participate in an educational intervention (suite of didactic online lectures and skills-based workshops). This study was delivered in four parts, with a pretest administered immediately before and a posttest survey immediately after the educational intervention, the educational intervention (three phases), and focus-group discussions to elicit students' feedback. FINDINGS: Findings indicated enhanced levels of confidence in students' decision-making. The development of students' moral reasoning and decision-making skills were also observed to be improved. SUMMARY: This study highlighted the importance of the implementation of an ethics course in pharmacy undergraduate curricula. It emphasized the positive impact this course made on the students' learning experiences and provided a strong environment for discussion and group learning.

An ethical framework for the responsibilities of pharmacists when selling complementary medicines.

BACKGROUND: Whether pharmacists should sell complementary medicines that lack evidence of effectiveness is an important ethical question which is not explicitly addressed in the existing literature or professional guidelines. The question arises because many complementary medicines lack rigorous evidence that they are effective. There is a need for specific practical guidance for pharmacists regarding their responsibilities when selling complementary medicines. OBJECTIVE: Outline and defend an ethical framework for the responsibilities of pharmacists when selling complementary medicines. METHOD: Principle-based ethics consists in the application of the four bioethical principles to make decisions in healthcare. A public health argument is provided that supports the sale of complementary medicines in pharmacy providing pharmacists meet a number of specific professional responsibilities. The theoretical resources provided by principle-based ethics are used to develop and defend a framework for the responsibilities of pharmacists when selling complementary medicines. The proposed framework is defended against counter-arguments that propose a stricter or more lenient approach. RESULTS: The framework identifies the following responsibilities of pharmacists selling complementary medicines: (1) pharmacists should provide evidence-based recommendations to consumers regarding complementary medicines, (2) pharmacists should train all staff in a pharmacy to ensure that they provide evidence-based recommendations regarding complementary medicines and refer to a pharmacist when required, (3) when providing advice, pharmacists should provide sufficient information for consumers to make informed decisions, (4) pharmacists should setup the pharmacy so that consumers are offered advice from a pharmacist when purchasing complementary medicines; pharmacists need to be available to provide that advice, and (5) pharmacists must be vigilant for complementary medicine harm and intervene if risk of harm is significant. CONCLUSION: The framework provides practical guidance for pharmacists regarding their responsibilities when selling complementary medicines.

Exploring pharmacy ethics in developing countries: a scoping review.

Background Healthcare ethics have been profoundly influenced by principles of bioethics that emerged post-World War II in the Declaration of Geneva 1948. 'Beneficence' (to do good), 'Non-Maleficence' (to do no harm), 'Justice' (fairness and justice in access) and 'Respect for Autonomy' (respect for patient individuality, including decision making, privacy, and right to refuse), have become foundational principles of contemporary medical codes of ethics. These principles are well reflected in most professional pharmacy code of ethics globally. This domain remains relatively unexplored in most developing countries and the majority of what has been published in this area relates to western cultures. There have been no attempts to pool findings from a similar scope of research emanating in developing countries. Aim of the review This study aims to explore the scope of pharmacy ethics in the literature pertaining to developing countries. Methods An extensive search of three relevant (Scopus, CINAHL, IPA) databases was conducted from Jan 2000 to Feb 2020, in order to identify relevant studies conducted in or focussed on ethics in pharmacy in developing countries. A separate Google Scholar search was carried out in an effort to locate supplementary articles, hand-searched articles were also included to achieve an exhaustive investigation of all current relevant studies. Results The full text of 20 relevant articles that met inclusion criteria were critically analysed and qualitatively categorised into three emerging themes; Ethical challenges in pharmacy practice, Approaches used in teaching pharmacy ethics, and Code of ethics analysis and implementation. Conclusions: Findings of this literature review illuminated a gap in pharmacy ethics literacy in developing countries and variances in pharmacists' ethical attitudes in handling ethical dilemmas, as well as a lack of familiarity with ethical principles and codes of ethics. Pharmacists' lack of respect for patients' autonomy and pharmacists being prone to financial pressure were found to have a significant impact on pharmacy practice in most of developing countries. However, attempts are being made to rectify this gap by efforts to incorporate ethical and professional education in undergraduate curricula, and by studies in which new codes of ethics are being implemented.

Moral reasoning among Dutch community pharmacists: testing the applicability of the Australian Professional Ethics in Pharmacy test.

Background Moral reasoning competency is essential in healthcare practice, especially in situations of moral dilemmas when a professional has to choose a morally justifiable action among several suboptimal action options. The Australian Professional Ethics in Pharmacy test (PEP test) measures moral reasoning among pharmacists. In Australia three levels of moral reasoning (schemas) were measured (1) business orientation (2) rules and regulations, and (3) patient rights (i.e. most advanced schema). Objective To test the applicability of the PEP test to pharmacists working in the Netherlands. Setting Dutch community pharmacy. Methods The PEP test consists of 36 statements (items) accompanying 3 moral dilemma scenarios. It was translated into Dutch and completed by 390 pharmacists. Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate construct validity and Cronbach's Alpha was used to indicate internal consistency of the Dutch version of the PEP test. The eligible grouped statements and perceived possible moral reasoning schemas were compared to the Australian findings. Main outcome measure Moral reasoning schemas. Results The PCA analysis resulted in 3 components (i.e. possible moral reasoning schemas) that together accounted 27% variance in the data. The statements that represented the moral reasoning schemas 'business orientation' and 'rules and regulations' were somewhat similar when comparing these with the statements that represented these schemas in the PEP test study. The most advanced moral reasoning schema identified in Dutch pharmacists contained different statements compared to the statements that represented that schema among Australian pharmacists. This schema was labelled 'professional ethics'. Conclusion The PEP test needs further adaptation to the Dutch pharmacy practice context: especially the statements that should reflect the most advanced moral reasoning schema, need more accurate representations of professional pharmacy ethics that guide pharmacists in the Netherlands. Moral reasoning tests for a specific professional setting or country should be developed and adapted by experts who share the same professional values and practice as the respondents.

Moral dilemmas of community pharmacists: a narrative study.

Background Pharmacists are increasingly involved in patient care. This new role in a complex healthcare system with demanding patients may lead to moral dilemmas. There has been little research into pharmacy ethics, and existing data are limited by their retrospective nature and small sample sizes. A thematic overview of the moral dilemmas experienced by community pharmacists is still missing. Objective To make a thematic overview of moral dilemmas experienced in daily pharmacy practice. Setting Dutch community pharmacy. Methods Dutch community pharmacists wrote a narrative about a moral dilemma they had experienced in clinical practice. The narratives were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify underlying themes. Main outcome measure Themes of moral dilemmas. Results Twenty-two themes were identified in 128 narratives. These moral dilemmas arose predominantly during pharmacists' contact with patients and other health professionals. The relationship between the pharmacist, patient and other health professionals was complicated by other parties, such as legal representatives, health insurance companies, and regulators. Conclusion The moral dilemmas experienced by community pharmacists are more diverse than previously reported. The main dilemmas arose in their professional contacts, frequently when their professional autonomy was challenged by the behaviour of patients and other health professionals.

Assessment of Pharmacists Experiences and Attitudes Toward Professionalism and its Challenges in Pharmacy Practice.

Nowadays pharmacists should be involved in patients care and providing pharmaceutical care more than before, but still there is a gap between standard of care and pharmacy practice in pharmacies. In this study we aimed at evaluating the pharmacists experiences and attitudes about ethical professional practice in pharmacies. The study was conducted in the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. This study performed as a mixed method study including 12 semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions (FGDs). All interviews and FGDs were recorded verbatim. The study evaluates the pharmacy practice based on the Code of Ethics for National Pharmaceutical System requirements. Our study presents the pharmacists ethical challenges in 14 areas of practice such as lack of proper pharmacists-patients and inter and intra-professional relationship; poor management of medication error; lack of pharmacists awareness about their responsibilities, professional rules and regulations; non-OTC drug dispensing without prescription; no collaboration with custodian organizations; dissatisfaction from profession; financial problems; mismanagement in confronting with ads and offers of pharmaceutical companies, and conflict of interest; and uneven drug distribution during shortage. For providing standard pharmaceutical care modification of infra structures, educational system and regulations in pharmaceutical system is highly recommended.

To dispense or not to dispense? Ethical case decision-making in pharmacy practice.

In daily practice, pharmacists are regularly confronted with moral problems in which deciding what to do is not always a straightforward decision. In this contribution we show how the use of a specific method for moral deliberation can (in retrospect or prospective) aid moral judgements. We use the case of dispensing isotretinoin to demonstrate one ethical reflection method, namely the Utrecht Method.

Pharmacy ethics: evaluation pharmacists' ethical attitude.

Alterations in pharmacy practice from prescription dispensing to more patient-centered relationship intensifies the necessity of clinical decision-making. Pharmacists' knowledge as well as ethical reasoning affects their clinical decision-making. Unfortunately in Iran pharmacy ethics did not develop along with medical ethics and special considerations are of major importance. The study was designed to evaluate pharmacists' attitude toward some principles of bioethics. A cross-sectional survey was performed on a sample of Iranian pharmacists attended in continuous education programs in 2010. Based on the pharmacists' attitude toward common ethical problems, 9 Likert-type scale scenarios were designed. A thousand pharmacists were surveyed and 505 questionnaires were filled. For the whole questionnaire the strongly disagree answer was the most ethical answer. On a scale from 1-5 on which 5=strongly disagree, the total score of pharmacists ethical attitude was 17.69 ± 3.57. For easier analysis we considered the score of 1 for agree and strongly agree answers, score of 2 for neutral answers and score of 3 for disagree and strongly disagree answers. The total score in confidentiality for all participants was 4.15 ± 1.45 out of 9, in autonomy 6.25 ± 1.85 out of 9, in non-maleficence 5.14 ± 1.17 out of 6 and in justice was 2.27 ± 0.89 out of 3, however there was no significant difference between men and women in the total score and the score of each theme. The older participants (> 40 years) significantly had lower total score (P< 0.05) as well as the score of each theme (P< 0.05), except for non-maleficence. The work experience showed impact on the pharmacists' attitude toward autonomy and the participants with more than 5 years work experience significantly obtained lower score in this theme. Compiling ethical guidelines and improving pharmacy ethics curriculum is highly critical to provide the best pharmaceutical care and to make clinical decisions in critical situations. Therefore further quantitative and qualitative investigations into finding pitfalls and challenges in this issue are highly recommended.

Assessment of professionalism in Iranian pharmacists.

In the recent years, the role of a pharmacist has been significantly changed. Traditionally, in the late 20(th) century, a pharmacist's role was considered as merely dispensing medication to patients. This view however, has been significantly altered, and, today, a pharmacist is supposed to provide patients with information regarding the medication they are to take, as well as on different aspects of their disease. Therefore, one can suggest that some other factors have recently come into play in the daily tasks of a pharmacist such as accountability and authority. The current cross-sectional survey is conducted on a cohort of community pharmacists attending a continuing education program. A questionnaire comprised of 26 Likert-type scale questions was designed to assess pharmacists' attitude towards professionalism and its subscales which are defined later in detail. A total number of 1000 pharmacists were surveyed and 560 of them filled and returned the questionnaires. On a scale from 1-5 on which 1 was corresponded with strongly agree and 5 with strongly disagree, the total score of pharmacists professionalism was 92.9 ± 10.4 out of 130. As regards the subscales, in the subscale of accountability 46.8% of participants, in the subscale of altruism 90.1% of participants, in the theme of duty 85.7% of participants, and in the subscale of working relationship with physicians 84% of pharmacist achieved more than two third of the total score. Only in term of conflict of interest 67.9% of participants scored less than two third (17-25) of the total score. Women obtained significantly higher scores in altruism (P<0.05). Furthermore, there was a correlation between age and the score of accountability and working relationship with physicians; and, the same was observed in regards with work experience with the score of working relationship with physicians. The employment position affected neither our participants' response to the whole questionnaire nor any of subscales. Although the total score for professionalism was not dramatically decreased, the significantly low results are alarming and they should be considered more seriously. In order to enhance the level of pharmacists' professionalism, especially in some special aspects, it seems necessary to conduct similar surveys on pharmacy students and registered pharmacists with a more comprehensive questionnaire. Overall, it can be concluded that designing a proper teaching course in professionalism for pharmacy students is of paramount importance if we are to promote professionalism in future pharmacists.