Formal leadership perceptions about the autonomy of Pharmacy: a SWOT analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Autonomy is considered a vital principle of professionalism. In recent years, despite important advances, the Pharmacy and pharmacists' autonomy has been questioned due to conflicts that jeopardize the consolidation of this profession in the division of work in health. OBJECTIVE: to understand the construct of autonomy based on perceptions of formal leaders associated with professional organizations. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted through interviews with key informants. The data obtained were submitted to content analysis. RESULTS: Perceptions about the autonomy in pharmaceutical practice were categorized according to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to this construct. CONCLUSION: The findings allowed us to understand the autonomy of pharmaceutical practice in Brazil, generate hypotheses about the future of Pharmacy, and build strategies to maintain its occupational status.

The academic formation challenges: what does retail expect from higher education institutions in pharmacy?

BACKGROUND: The drug retail represents the main area of activity for pharmacists worldwide. In Brazil, this sector is responsible for employing around 80% of professionals. Before this reality, the academic training of pharmacists requires specialized skills and knowledge so they can fulfill their tasks. In this sector, considering the influence of managers and mentors on the model of pharmaceutical practice, their perceptions about the demands of the market can help discussions related to the training of pharmacists. AIM: To analyze the academic training of pharmacists for the drug retail market from the perspective of managers and mentors. METHOD: This is a qualitative study conducted with managers and mentors of the drug retail market. A semi-structured interview guide was prepared and applied to the intentionally selected participants. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee under the number 4,169,752. The interviews were conducted through videoconference by an experienced researcher. The data obtained were analyzed using Bardin's analysis technique, following the steps of categorical thematic content analysis using the ATLAS.ti software. RESULTS: 19 interviews were carried out. Among the reports, the interviewees highlighted the importance of retail in the employability of pharmacists, as well as inconsistency in the academic training for this sector, originating the following categories: curriculum reform to include the market demands, follow-up and career plan, training for entrepreneurship and sales, practical application of knowledge, and encouragement of experience. CONCLUSION: Pharmaceutical academic training is linked to several challenges, whether organizational, structural, or budgetary. To overcome these challenges, it is necessary to unite the interested parties in the formulation and implementation of a strategy for the professionalization of pharmacists, considering their social role in patient care, aligned with the company's sustainability, so that both coexist.

Perceptions of formal pharmacy leadership on the social role of the profession and its historical evolution: A qualitative study.

Background: In recent years, pharmaceutical professionalism has been questioned due to the social role of pharmacy, which is ambiguous in the literature. This raises questions about the purpose of the profession among pharmacists, despite the efforts of their professional organizations and formal leaders to consolidate the occupational status of the profession. Objective: To understand the social role of pharmacy in Brazil through its historical evolution based on the perceptions of formal leaders of the profession. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted between July 2020 and February 2021 with pharmacists who held leadership positions in formal and professional pharmacy organizations in Brazil. The data obtained from the interviews were submitted to content analysis. Results: A total of 17 pharmacists participated in this study. The data analyzed presented perceptions about the social role of the pharmaceutical profession in Brazil, which promotes access to health through different means. These include the manager pharmacist, who facilitates access to public health policies; the caring pharmacist, who promotes health education and the rational use of medicines; and the technologist pharmacist, who researches, develops, and promotes access to safe and cost-effective medicines. The interviewees also discussed the evolution of this social role based on influential factors such as legislation, clinical movement, pharmaceutical education, labor market, behaviors, and attitudes of pharmacists. Conclusion: In this study, pharmaceutical professionalism was conceptualized based on its social role, which should be centered on the patient. Understanding such issues is part of the evolutionary purpose of the profession in Brazil and should be encouraged in the behaviors and attitudes of pharmacists despite the challenges faced by the profession.

"Reigns but does not govern": A reflection on professionalism and the autonomy of the pharmacist.

INTRODUCTION: In recent decades, the professionalization of pharmacy has been debated worldwide. With the advent of industrialization, pharmacist autonomy has weakened, especially in the retail pharmacy market. Manegers and mentors of pharmacy chains serve as links between the profession and drug users. This study sought to understand the perceptions of retail pharmacy stakeholders regarding pharmacist autonomy and how to improve it, and to reflect on theories of professionalism. METHOD: 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed through analyst triangulation and categorical content analysis, using the ATLAS.ti software. RESULTS: Interviews were conducted with nine mentors and ten managers in retail medicine. They reported aspects related to managerial and technical autonomy regulated by law, and strategies for enhancing professional autonomy in retail pharmacy. Autonomy was considered limited by pharmacists' dependence on employability and self-devaluation; and market control exposed the weaknesses in pharmaceutical professionalism. Entrepreneurship and ownership attitude strategies were feasible only in a retail micro-political context. CONCLUSION: The retail medicine continues to have business model centered on the product and controlling the pharmaceutical practice model. To ensure autonomy and professional strengthening, it is necessary that pharmacy recognizes itself as a clinical profession and develops a stable professional identity.

Understanding the provision of a clinical service in mental health and the role of the pharmacist: a qualitative analysis / Compreendendo a provisão de um serviço clínico na saúde mental e o papel do farmacêutico: uma análise qualitativa / Comprender la prestación de un servicio clínico en salud mental y el papel del farmacéutico: un análisis cualitativo

Pharmacists have important roles in mental health disease; however, their performance in Brazilian Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS) is unknown. This qualitative study was conducted in a CAPS, Brazil; using interviews and analyzes from the perspective of Bardin, in which categories arising from the perceptions of patients and the health team emerged in relation to the provision of the medication review with follow up (MR) service and the role of the pharmacist in mental health. According to the participants, the MR service is essential and important because it allows professional recognition, beyond the identification of professional attributes of the pharmacists. Moreover, there was a duality in the pharmacist's role between the logistic and clinical attributes of mental health. Thus, this perception helps to elucidate the pharmacist's process of work in mental health and supports future strategies of action in this area. (AU)

Farmacêuticos têm papéis importantes na área da saúde mental; entretanto, sua atuação nos Centros de Atenção Psicossociais (CAPS) brasileiros é desconhecida. Este estudo qualitativo foi realizado em um CAPS, Brasil; utilizando-se de entrevistas e análises sob a perspectiva de Bardin, no qual categorias em relação à prestação do serviço de acompanhamento farmacoterapêutico (AFT) e ao papel do farmacêutico na saúde mental emergiram através das percepções dos pacientes e equipe de saúde. Segundo os participantes, o serviço de AFT é essencial e importante porque permite o reconhecimento profissional, além da identificação dos atributos profissionais dos farmacêuticos. Além disso, houve uma dualidade no papel do farmacêutico em relação aos atributos logísticos e clínicos na saúde mental. Assim, essas percepções ajudam a elucidar o processo de trabalho do farmacêutico em saúde mental, subsidiando futuras estratégias de ação nesta área. (AU)

Los farmacéuticos tienen un papel importante en el área de la salud mental; sin embargo, se desconoce su desempeño en los Centros de Atención Psicosocial de Brasil (CAPS). Este estudio cualitativo se llevó a cabo en un CAPS, Brasil; utilizando entrevistas y análisis desde la perspectiva de Bardin, en las que de las percepciones de los pacientes y del equipo de salud surgieron categorías en relación a la prestación del servicio de seguimento farmacoterapéutico (SFT) y el papel del farmacéutico en la salud mental. Según los participantes, el servicio de SFT es fundamental e importante. Además, existía una dualidad en el rol del farmacéutico en relación a los atributos logísticos y clínicos en salud mental. Así, estas percepciones ayudan a dilucidar el proceso de trabajo del farmacéutico en salud mental, apoyando futuras estrategias de actuación. (AU)

Perceived barriers to the implementation of clinical pharmacy services in a metropolis in Northeast Brazil.

BACKGROUND: CLinical pharmacy services (CPS) are professional services provided by pharmacists, who use their skills and knowledge to take an active role in patient health. These services have expanded in health systems around the world. However, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of factors that may hinder the implementation of CPS in health systems. OBJECTIVE: To identify pharmacists' and managers' perceptions of barriers regarding the implementation of CPS in some public health units in a metropolis in Northeast Brazil. METHODS: This is a qualitative study based on focus groups and semi-structured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews. Participants were health-system pharmacists and managers, selected based on their direct participation in the implementation process. Focus groups were carried out with the pharmacists, and interviews were carried out with managers. The audio and videos were transcribed verbatim in full, and were independently analyzed using content analysis. This study was approved by the Brazilian Committee of Ethics in Research and all participants signed informed consent forms. FINDINGS: There were two focus groups and five interviews. The discussions generated 240 minutes of recordings. The health-system pharmacists and managers expressed barriers were allocated into five categories to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the implementation of CPS; these barriers were related to: the local healthcare networks, the healthcare team, the pharmacists, the implementation process, and the patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the perceptions of barriers associated with the participants involved in the implementation of CPS in some public health units in a metropolis in Northeast Brazil. The barriers reflect the challenges to be overcome in the CPS implementation process in the health systems.

Facilitators and strategies to implement clinical pharmacy services in a metropolis in Northeast Brazil: a qualitative approach.

BACKGROUND: Clinical Pharmacy Services (CPS) are a reality in many health systems around the world. However, there are few studies that discuss the facilitators and the strategies to implement CPS in healthcare systems. In this way, the objective of this study was to identify the facilitators and strategies involved in the CPS implementation process in some public health units in a metropolis in the Northeast Brazil. METHODS: A qualitative study was carried out with health-system pharmacists and managers who experienced the implementation of CPS. Therefore, focus groups were conducted with pharmacists, and the interviews with the managers. The discussions were carried out through semi-structured scripts and were recorded in audio and videos, after the signature of the consent form. The recordings were transcribed and analyzed independently through content analysis, followed by consensus meetings between researchers. RESULTS: Two focus groups were conducted, with an average of seven pharmacists per group, and five interviews with local health managers. Participants reported 39 facilitators who were related to the categories: local healthcare network, healthcare team, pharmacists and implementation process of the CPS. And 21 strategies attributed to the following categories: local healthcare network, pharmacists and implementation process of the CPS. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified facilitators and strategies of the implementation of CPS. Most of the positive experiences were related to the clinical skills and proactive attitudes of pharmacists. These findings may support pharmacists and health managers to implement CPS in health systems.