An analysis of pharmaceutical care for critical patients of an adult Intensive Care Unit

Abstract This work analyzed the pharmacotherapeutic problems identified by the clinical pharmacist in an intensive care unit (ICU) and the acceptance of pharmaceutical interventions in solving these problems. This is a descriptive cross-sectional retrospective study, carried out in the adult ICU of a public hospital. All patients hospitalized during the study period had their pharmacotherapy monitored and those whose stay at the ICU lasted less than 24 hours were excluded. The pharmacotherapeutic problems were classified according to type, cause, acceptability/implementation, mode of intervention, outcome and related pharmacotherapeutic group. 302 patients were followed up and 350 pharmacotherapeutic problems were identified. Most of them were classified as unnecessary drug-treatment (n=186; 53.1%). The most frequent causes were excessive drug administration (n=181; 97.3%), and antimicrobials was the main group of drugs associated to that type of problem. 350 pharmaceutical interventions were performed, highlighting "prescriber informed only" (n=178; 50.9%), with an average acceptability of 90.7%, with those carried out on site being more effective (93.4%). The number of pharmacotherapeutic problems that were totally solved was 282 (80.6%). Clinical pharmacy activities in the ICU identified, prevented and corrected pharmacotherapeutic problems, contributing to the optimization of pharmacotherapy in aspects related to the need, efficacy and safety of treatments.

Pharmaceutical services in primary health care: dissatisfaction among users, managers and pharmacists

Abstract To assess the performance indicators for pharmaceutical services (PS) in primary health care (PHC), the level of satisfaction with pharmacy services among users and managers / pharmacists' impressions in relation to the findings were evaluated. The study used mixed methods, including a retrospective and descriptive study of the performance indicators for PS in PHC, an observational study on the level of satisfaction and a qualitative study of users' perception of pharmacy services at Health Units. Managers and pharmacists' impressions of the study results were also collected. Only 44.4% of pharmacies had a full-time pharmacist. From the establishments visited, 5.3% did not have an air-conditioned environment, and only 33.3% of the items essential to the Good Practices of Storage of Medicines and Supplies criteria were fulfilled. Although 77.9% of the prescribed medicines were dispensed, it did not reach the 80% standard. The satisfaction level of users was 3.2±0.6, indicating dissatisfaction with pharmacies' services. By means of an evaluation of each item within the questionnaire, it was possible to observe that variables related to pharmaceutical care presented low scores in relation to other domains, thus evidencing the fragility of the pharmaceutical- patient relationship in users' perception. Managers and pharmacists suggested that these results were related to the inadequate physical infrastructure of pharmacies, work overload, lack of recognition and undervaluation of pharmacists, lack of interaction within the PHC team, high turnover of pharmacists, and lack of PS prioritization by the administration. PS in PHC has structural and organizational weaknesses that require changes. In general, users are dissatisfied with pharmacies' services, especially with pharmaceutical care.

Perception of pharmacists regarding human resources, training, and development of a national hospital pharmacy: a preliminary report on Basel Statements

Abstract The hospital pharmacy needs a constant process of evaluation and monitoring of its activities. In Brazil, several agencies establish tasks and duties for pharmacists, but little is known about the compliance and the perception of the professional regarding these policies. The present study aims to characterize the pharmacist's perception of Brazilian hospital pharmacy policies according to the Basel Statements. A search was performed for the contacts of all medium and high complexity hospitals in the country. Subsequently, a questionnaire elaborated following the Basel Statements was sent by e-mail to hospital pharmacists throughout the country. The domain analyzed was "Human Resources, Training, and Development". Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 19.0. Pharmacists representing a total of 111 hospitals from all Brazilian regions answered the survey questionnaire and showed that more than half of the hospital pharmacists perceive themselves as not complying, whether in the service of local, national, or pharmaceutical education. Besides updating the professionals in relation to national policies, it is necessary that the representative bodies of the pharmaceutical class be more present in the elaboration and evaluation of the policies directed to human resources, seeking uniformity and the possibility of carrying out the activities required.

Direct-acting antivirals for chronic Hepatitis C are effective and safe: an observational study in Londrina/PR

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of direct-acting antivirals in a Unified Health System pharmacy of Londrina, Brazil. A descriptive observational study was performed from June 2017 to June 2018. Sociodemographic, clinical, and therapeutic variables of patients were collected from secondary data sources. Effectiveness was evaluated by sustained virologic response (SVR) and safety was evaluated by adverse events (AEs) and drug interactions (DIs). The mean population (N=30) was 56.6±11.3 years old and almost all patients had comorbidities (93.3%) and concomitant drugs (96.7%). Effectiveness evaluation was possible in 17 patients, and all of them (100.0%) achieved SVR. Eighteen patients (60.0%) reported 38 AEs, mostly mild, such as stomach symptoms and headache. No statistical relation was found between AE occurrence and treatment duration, Ribavirin use, number of comorbidities or number of concomitant drugs. A total of 48 DIs were reported, 18 being severe, and were managed by the pharmacist. The study indicates that the treatment was effective and safe.

Da sala de aula à práxis clínica no contexto do Sistema Único de Saúde: o currículo de Farmácia frente às necessidades da população brasileira / From the classroom to the clinical practice within the National Healtcare System: Pharmacy's curriculum facing Brazilian population's needs

As mudanças ocorridas no Sistema Único de Saúde nos últimos anos, associadas às mudanças nas políticas educacionais, forçaram uma modificação na atuação do profissional farmacêutico. Nesse sentido, o farmacêutico necessita adquirir capacitação para atuar em conjunto com a Equipe Multiprofissional de Saúde. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar se o ensino superior em Farmácia no Brasil capacita o farmacêutico a atuar em colaboração com a Equipe Multiprofissional de Saúde dentro dos preceitos do Sistema Único de Saúde. Com base em metodologia quanti-qualitativa, este trabalho analisou projetos político-pedagógicos e o cenário clínico de hospitais universitários de cinco instituições de ensino superior brasileiras, e estudou, a partir de questionários qualitativos, aplicados a diversos profissionais de saúde, as necessidades da equipe em relação à atividade do farmacêutico. Verificou-se inserção ainda modesta do farmacêutico, muitas vezes causada pela falta de conhecimento da equipe sobre sua função ou por uma sensação de falta de preparo do próprio profissional. Também, a análise dos documentos oriundos dos cursos permitiu a constatação da falta de um olhar direcionado para o Sistema Único de Saúde e para a formação clínica. Poucas iniciativas curriculares tem surgido nesse sentido. Por fim, são apresentadas propostas, por meio de mapeamento conceitual, para se pensar um currículo em que coexistam a formação técnica, já tradicional, e a formação clínica, permitindo abarcar essa última, deixada de lado a partir de meados do século XX, que retorna hoje como uma demanda social

Recent modification in the Brazilian's Public Health System, associated with changes in educational policies for higher education, forced a change in the pharmacist's professional performance area. Accordingly, the pharmacist needs to acquire capacity to act in conjunction with the Health Multidisciplinary Team. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate whether higher education in Brazil Pharmacy Schools enables the professional to work in collaboration with the Health Multidisciplinary Team within the precepts of National Public Health System. Based on quantitative and qualitative methodology, this study analyzed political-pedagogical projects and the clinical setting of university hospitals of five Brazilian higher education institutions, and studied from qualitative questionnaires applied to various health professionals the needs of the Multidisciplinary Health Team in having as a team member the pharmacist. There was verified a still modest insertion of the pharmacist in health teams, often caused by lack of staff knowledge about their function or by a sense of lack of readiness of the professional himself. Also, the analysis of documents from Pharmacy courses led to confirmation of the lack of educational policies directed to the National Public Health System and clinical training. Few curriculum initiatives have arisen in this regard. Finally, proposals are developed through conceptual mapping, to think of a Pharmacy course curriculum that can coexist in both the technical training as clinical training, allowing embrace this professional area of actuation that was set aside from the mid-twentieth century and returns today as a social demand

Colaboração médico-farmacêutico no manejo de pacientes com diabetes mellitus tipo 2: expectativas e resultados / Physician-pharmacist collaboration in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: expectations and outcomes

Nos últimos vinte anos houve um aumento substancial no número de revisões sistemáticas e ensaios clínicos que avaliaram intervenções farmacêuticas para pacientes com doenças crônicas, em especial o diabetes. No entanto, existem poucos estudos que avaliam criticamente tais publicações, bem como modelos de prática desenvolvidos no contexto do sistema público de saúde brasileiro. O presente trabalho teve como objetivos avaliar revisões sistemáticas e ensaios clínicos controlados randomizados sobre serviços clínicos farmacêuticos para pacientes com diabetes e avaliar o efeito de modelo de colaboração médico- farmacêutico conduzido em ambulatório de cuidado secundário para pacientes com diabetes tipo 2 não controlada. Para tanto, busca abrangente da literatura foi conduzida nas bases de dados PubMed, SCOPUS, LILACS, Scielo e DOAJ por revisões sistemáticas e ensaios clínicos controlados randomizados. As revisões sistemáticas foram avaliadas em relação à qualidade da apresentação textual e metodológica, sendo identificados campos para melhorias futuras. A seguir, foi realizada uma descrição dos componentes-chave das intervenções e fontes de heterogeneidade clínica e metodológica entre os ensaios clínicos controlados randomizados. Ainda, foi conduzido um ensaio clinico controlado randomizado no ambulatório de doenças metabólicas do Hospital Universitário da Universidade de São Paulo, com duração de 12 meses, para 80 pacientes com diabetes tipo 2 não controlada. O grupo intervenção recebeu consultas farmacêuticas face a face, com suporte remoto por telefone. O farmacêutico realizou intervenções sistemáticas objetivando resolver ou prevenir problemas relacionados aos medicamentos. Os desfechos primários incluíram a redução e controle dos níveis de hemoglobina glicada. A busca bibliográfica identificou 101 registros, dos quais sete revisões completaram os critérios de inclusão. Em média, apenas dois terços dos itens sobre qualidade da apresentação textual e metodológica foram cumpridos nas publicações. Os problemas mais frequentes incluíram o não registo de protocolo do estudo, a ausência de lista dos estudos excluídos, e a falta de reconhecimento claro do conflito de interesses. A busca por ensaios clínicos randomizados de intervenções farmacêuticas identificou 2271 registros, sendo incluídos 24 na síntese qualitativa. A maioria dos estudos para pacientes com diabetes tipo 2 foi desenvolvida nos Estados Unidos, em ambulatório, com contato individual face a face. Todos realizaram intervenções educativas e o processo de uso dos medicamentos foi avaliado pela maioria deles. A amostra exibiu risco de viés incerto ou alto na maior parte dos itens avaliados, o que resultou em baixa qualidade metodológica. De um total de 80 pacientes, 73 completaram o ensaio clínico, sendo 36 do grupo intervenção e 37 do controle. Comparado ao cuidado usual, o grupo intervenção apresentou maior redução nos níveis de hemoglobina glicada, bem como aumento na taxa de controle da pressão arterial sistólica, na proporção de pacientes aderentes e na pontuação da adesão. Os resultados desta tese apontam que a qualidade da apresentação textual e a metodológica estavam abaixo do ideal entre as revisões e que melhoria no desenho e na descrição das revisões e dos estudos primários é necessária para garantir resultados mais robustos. Ainda, o modelo de cuidado proposto é viável e mais efetivo que o cuidado usual na redução da hemoglobina glicada em pacientes diabéticos tipo 2

Over the last twenty years, there was an important increase in the number of systematic reviews and clinical trials about pharmacist interventions in patients with chronic diseases, including diabetes. Nevertheless, few studies exist which assess critically such publications, as well as models of practice developed in the context of the Brazilian Public Health System. The study aimed to assess the systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials on clinical pharmacy services for patients with diabetes and to assess the effect of a pharmacist- physician collaborative care model for patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. For this, comprehensive literature search was performed in databases PubMed, SCOPUS, LILACS, Scielo and DOAJ for systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials. The systematic reviews were assessed for the reporting characteristics and methodological quality, been identified rooms for future improvements. The following, it was performed a description of the key components of pharmacist interventions and of the sources of clinical and methodological heterogeneity between randomized controlled trials. In addition, a 12-month randomized controlled trial of pharmacist-physician collaborative interventions for eighty diabetic patients was conducted at University Hospital of University of São Paulo. The pharmaceutical interviews were conducted face-to-face, with remote support by telephone. Pharmacist performed systematic interventions aiming to solve and prevent drug-related problem in the diabetic patients. The primary outcomes included the reduction and control of the levels of glycosylated hemoglobin. The literature search yielded 101 records, of which 7 reviews for diabetic patients satisfied the inclusion criteria. On average, only two-thirds of reporting and methodological quality items were fulfilled in included reviews. The most frequent problems included the non-registration of study protocol, the absence of a list of excluded studies, and unclear acknowledgment of the conflict of interests. The literature search for randomized clinical trials of pharmacist interventions identified 2271 records, 24 of them were included in the qualitative synthesis. The majority of studies was developed in the United States, in ambulatory, with individual contact face to face. All of them performed educational interventions and the process of use of the medications was assessed in the majority of them. The sample showed risk of bias uncertain or high in the majority of the items assessed, which resulted in low methodological quality. Of a total of 80 patients, 73 completed the clinical trial (37 of control and 36 of intervention). In comparison with the usual care, the intervention group presented higher reduction in the levels of glycosylated hemoglobin, as well as increase in the rate of control of the systolic blood pressure, in the proportion of adherent patients and in the score of the medication adherence. The results of this thesis point out that the report and methodological quality was below the ideal in the reviews and that improvement in the design and in the description of the reviews and of the primary studies is necessary to warrant results that are more robust. Still, the model of care proposed is viable and more effective than the usual care in reducing the levels of glycosylated hemoglobin in patients with diabetes type 2

The Australian pharmacist workforce: employment status, practice profile and job satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE: The aims were to determine Australian registered pharmacists' current employment status, practice profile and professional satisfaction. METHOD: A questionnaire was mailed to all registered pharmacists (n=7764) on the Pharmacy Boards of Victoria and South Australia's registers; 19 were returned undeliverable. Quantitative data were entered and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 17. Qualitative data were subjected to a thematic analysis. RESULTS: 1627 (21%) pharmacists responded: 259 (16%) were registered as pharmacists but no longer worked in the pharmacy profession. A total of 1366 respondents reported still working as pharmacists. Of the 1366, 912 (67%) indicated that they spend most of their time in a clinical area; 233 (17%) spend most of their time in 'non-clinical pharmacist work (i.e. dispensing as technical supply)'; 216 (16%) worked in other non-clinical roles and; 1053 (77%) were professionally satisfied. CONCLUSION: Measuring the pharmacist workforce based on registration data significantly overestimates the available clinical pharmacist workforce: 708 (44%) respondents were no longer working in the profession, were not mainly involved in clinical practice or were working in non-clinical roles. A significant re-professionalisation program is needed if pharmacists' unique knowledge and skills are to contribute to better healthcare delivery.

Drug advertising directed to pharmacists in Brazil: information or sales promotion?

Analyses of drug advertising reveal important social and cultural values and attitudes at a certain point in history. The purpose of this paper was to investigate how pharmaceutical industry communicates with pharmacists in Brazil, using drug promotion as a valuable tool. The point of departure was the analysis of a series of drug advertisements published in three Brazilian technical journals targeted at pharmacists and other health professionals. For the present study, the focus was on the content of the messages directed to pharmacists, in order to critically analyze the role attributed to these professionals as portrayed by the ads, and to discuss it in the context of pharmaceutical care. The collection and analysis of the data followed Anvisa's methodology. Pharmacists' social responsibility includes the reduction of preventable drug-related morbidity and mortality, but the information provided by the ads only refers to sales growth and profitability. Pharmacists are portrayed as salesmen, rather than health professionals, and encouraged to sell pharmaceutical drugs which are being heavily advertised to medical doctors. Consequences for pharmaceutical care are discussed.

Análises de propaganda de medicamentos revelam importantes valores socioculturais e atitudes em um determinado contexto histórico. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar como a indústria farmacêutica se comunica com os farmacêuticos no Brasil, tendo a promoção farmacêutica como instrumento. O ponto de partida foi a análise de uma série de propagandas de medicamentos publicadas em três revistas técnicas dirigidas a farmacêuticos e outros profissionais de saúde. Para o presente estudo, o foco foi no conteúdo linguístico das mensagens, a fim de possibilitar uma reflexão crítica sobre o papel dos farmacêuticos no contexto da assistência farmacêutica, a partir das mensagens veiculadas pelos anúncios. A coleta e análise dos dados seguiu metodologia proposta pela Anvisa. A responsabilidade social dos farmacêuticos engloba a redução de morbidade e mortalidade relacionadas ao uso de medicamentos, mas os resultados mostram a ausência das informações necessárias à prática de uma atenção farmacêutica de qualidade. As informações divulgadas pelas propagandas referem-se basicamente ao aumento de vendas e de lucros. Longe de serem considerados profissionais da saúde, os farmacêuticos são retratados como meros vendedores. Além disso, são estimulados a vender os medicamentos que estão sendo extensamente propagandeados junto aos médicos prescritores. Discutem-se as consequências para a assistência farmacêutica.

Prostate cancer education in the Washington, DC, area.

Pharmacists are key members of the healthcare team, especially in minority and urban communities. This study was developed to assess pharmacists' ability and willingness to counsel the public on prostate cancer in the community pharmacy setting. A mail survey was sent to all 192 community pharmacies in Washington, DC, and Prince George's County, Maryland. A total of 90 pharmacists responded to the questionnaire, providing a 46.9% response rate. One third of the pharmacists indicated a willingness to participate in a prostate cancer training program. Perceived benefits and perceived barriers were each measured through five questionnaire items using Likert-style statements with responses ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." The most significant predictor of perceived benefits of providing prostate cancer information was gender; male pharmacists perceived greater benefits for providing prostate cancer information than female pharmacists. Similarly, black pharmacists perceived greater benefits of providing prostate cancer information to their patients than non-black pharmacists. Also, pharmacists in stores that offered disease state management programs had a significantly lower perceived benefit of providing prostate cancer information. These findings indicate that gender and race may play a role in health promotion in health disparities. There were no significant barriers to providing prostate cancer information. Thus, many pharmacists are willing to participate in health education on prostate cancer.

Pharmacists' perceptions and practices regarding the purchase of multisource pharmaceuticals.

This article describes the results of a survey of the perceptions and practices of pharmacists towards the purchase of multisource pharmaceuticals. A questionnaire was mailed to 1,000 randomly selected hospital pharmacists, 670 managed-care pharmacy directors, and 900 consultant pharmacists in June, 1991. Recipients were asked to provide educational background data, information on pertinent aspects of their work setting, and responses to a variety of questions about multisource pharmaceuticals. Of the 2,570 surveys mailed, 531 (20.7%) usable responses were received. Although not completely satisfied, pharmacists perceive the quality of multisource products to be better than 2 years ago. A variety of factors were found to influence purchasing decisions. Differences among the three groups were evident in several areas including: the importance of purchasing groups, institutional criteria, and patient preference. Overall, pharmacists made their decisions based on a number of issues, and attitudes among the three groups regarding the purchase of multisource products were quite similar.

Pharmacist salaries and hiring practices in teaching hospitals.

A survey of selected teaching hospitals was conducted in early 1990 to determine salary ranges for pharmacist positions, salaries at which pharmacists were typically hired for these positions, differences in salary between clinical practitioner and managerial positions, and geographic differences in these salaries. Surveys were mailed to 50 members of the University Hospital Consortium (UHC) and 50 other university-affiliated and non-university-affiliated hospitals believed to be comparable to the investigators' hospital. Hospital capacity and census data, numbers of pharmacist and support staff positions, qualifications preferred and required for those positions, and salary information were requested. Data from 22 UHC hospitals and 23 non-UHC hospitals were evaluated. Relative to average daily census, UHC hospitals indicated higher pharmacist staffing levels and non-UHC hospitals reported higher support staff levels. More non-UHC hospitals than UHC hospitals (69.2% versus 43.5%) used an integrated model for delivery of clinical and distributive services. Nationally, the reported annual salaries were as follows: staff pharmacist, $34,881 to $47,906; clinical pharmacist, $37,768 to $51,564; clinical specialist, $38,905 to $55,282; supervisor, $39,905 to $54,416; assistant director, $43,554 to $58,758. Overall, typical hire rates (THRs) exceeded mean minimum salaries by about 10%. The percentages by which THRs exceeded mean minimum salaries were greatest in the West for staff pharmacist, clinical pharmacist, and clinical specialist positions and greatest in the Midwest for supervisor and assistant director positions. THRs for supervisors and assistant directors exceeded those for clinical specialists. Respondents' preferences varied regarding advanced education and training, and their actual requirements did not match their stated preferences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)