Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Qatar pharmacists’ understanding, attitudes, practice and perceived barriers related to providing pharmaceutical care

  • Research Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background Pharmaceutical care (PC) is the philosophy of practice that includes identifying and resolving medication therapy problems to improve patient outcomes. Objectives The study objectives were to examine the extent of pharmaceutical care practice and the barriers to pharmaceutical care provision as perceived by Qatar pharmacists and to assess their level of understanding of pharmaceutical care and their attitudes about pharmaceutical care provision. Setting Qatar pharmacies. Methods A cross sectional survey of all pharmacists in Qatar was made. Consenting pharmacists were given the option to complete the survey either online using an online software or as paper by fax or by hand. Main outcome measures 1. Extent of pharmaceutical care practice in Qatar. 2. Barriers to pharmaceutical care provision in Qatar. 3. Qatar pharmacists’ level of understanding of pharmaceutical care. 4. Qatar pharmacists’ attitudes toward pharmaceutical care provision. Results Over 8 weeks, 274 surveys were collected (34 % response rate). More than 80 % of respondents had correct understanding of the aim of PC and of the pharmacist role in PC. However, only 47 % recognized the patient role in PC and only 35 % were aware of the differences between clinical pharmacy and PC. Yet, more than 80 % believed that they could be advocates when it comes to patients’ medications and health matters. Concerning their practice, respondents reported spending little time on PC activities. Offering feedback to the physician about the patient progress was always or most of the time performed by 21 % of respondents. The top perceived barriers for PC provision included inconvenient access to patient medical information (78 %) and lack of staff and time (77 and 74 % respectively). Conclusions Although PC is not incorporated into pharmacy practice, Qatar pharmacists showed positive attitudes toward PC provision. Further work should focus on improving their PC understanding and on overcoming all barriers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Cipolle R, Strand L, Morley P. Pharmaceutical care practice: the patient-centered approach to medication management. McGraw-Hill Medical; 2012. (ISBN-13: 978-0071756389).

  2. Odedina FT, Segal R. Behavioral pharmaceutical care scale for measuring pharmacist’s activities. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 1996;53:855–65.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ernst F, Grizzle AJ. Drug-related morbidity and mortality: updating the cost-of-illness model. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2001;41(2):192–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Davies EC, Green CF, Taylor S, Williamson PR, Mottram DR, Pirmohamed M. Adverse drug reactions in hospital in-patients: a prospective analysis of 3695 patient-episodes. PLoS One. 2009;4(2):e4439.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Westerlund T, Marklund B. Assessment of the clinical and economic outcomes of pharmacy interventions in drug related problems. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2009;34:319–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Beney J, Bero LA, Bond C. Expanding the roles of outpatient pharmacists: effects on health services utilization, costs, and patient outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;3:CD000336.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Jokanovic N, Tan EC, van den Bosch D, Kirkpatrick CM, Dooley MJ, Bell JS. Clinical medication review in Australia: a systematic review. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2015.06.007.

  8. Tan EC, Stewart K, Elliott RA, George J. Pharmacist services provided in general practice clinics: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2014;10(4):608–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. International Pharmaceutical Federation. FIP statement of professional standards pharmaceutical care, 1998.

  10. American Society of Health System Pharmacy. ASHP Statement on Pharmaceutical Care, 1993. [cited 1 July 2014]. Available at: http://www.ashp.org/DocLibrary/BestPractices/OrgStPharmCare.aspx.

  11. Christensen DB, Farris KB. Pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies: practice and research in the US. Ann Pharmacother. 2006;40:1400–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Hughes CM, Hawwa AF, Scullin C, Anderson C, Bernsten CB, Bjornsdottir I, et al. Provision of pharmaceutical care by community pharmacists: a comparison across Europe. Pharm World Sci. 2010;32:472–87.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Ngorsuraches S, Li SC. Thai pharmacists’ understanding, attitudes, and perceived barriers related to providing pharmaceutical care. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2006;63(21):144–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Jones EJ, Mackinnon NJ, Tsuyuki RT. Pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies: practice and research in Canada. Ann Pharmacother. 2005;39(9):1527–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Dunlop JA, Shaw JP. Community pharmacists’ perspectives on pharmaceutical care implementation in New Zealand. Pharm World Sci. 2002;24(6):224–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Wibowo Y, Berbatis C, Joyce A, Sunderland VB. Analysis of enhanced pharmacy services in rural community pharmacies in Western Australia. Rural Remote Health. 2010;10(3):1400.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Fang Y, Yang S, Feng B, Ni Y, Zhang K. Pharmacists’ perception of pharmaceutical care in community pharmacy: a questionnaire survey in Northwest China. Health Soc Care Community. 2011;19(2):189–97.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Aburuz S, Al-Ghazawi M, Snyder A. Pharmaceutical care in a community-based practice setting in Jordan: where are we now with our attitudes and perceived barriers? Int J Pharm Pract. 2012;20(2):71–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. The World Factbook, Qatar, 2015. [cited 13 Oct 2015]. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/qa.html.

  20. Hamad Medical Corporation. Annual Health Report, 2012. [cited 1 July 2014]. http://site.hmc.org.qa/msrc/AHR2012/2012.html.

  21. Qatar Supreme Council of Health. National Health Strategy 2011- 2016, 2014. [cited 1 July 2014]. http://www.nhsq.info/.

  22. Rossing C, Hansen EH, Krass I. The provision of pharmaceutical care in Denmark: a cross-sectional survey. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2003;28:311–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Ramaswamy-Krishnarajan J, Hill DS. Pharmaceutical care in Canada: an exploratory study of 81 community pharmacies. Can Pharm J/Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada. 2005;138:46–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. El Hajj M, Kheir N, Zaidan M, Jewesson P. Pharmacist characteristics, medication use perceptions, and professional satisfaction: a first national survey in the state of Qatar. J Healthc Leadersh. 2011;3:9–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Roughead L, Semple S, Vitry AI. Pharmaceutical care services: a systematic review of published studies, 1990–2003, examining effectiveness to improve patient outcomes. Int J Pharm Pract. 2005;13:53–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. El Hajj MS, Hamid Y. Breast cancer health promotion in Qatar: a survey of community pharmacists’ interests and needs. Int J Clin Pharm. 2011;33(1):70–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. El Hajj MS, Al Nakeeb RR, Al-Qudah RA. Smoking cessation counseling in Qatar: community pharmacists’ attitudes, role perceptions and practices. Int J Clin Pharm. 2012;34(4):667–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Hepler CD. Clinical pharmacy, pharmaceutical care, and the quality of drug therapy. Pharmacotherapy. 2004;24(11):1491–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Arifi MN, Al-Dhuwaili AA, Gubara OA, Al-Omar HA, Al-Sultan MS, Saeed RIM. Pharmacists’ understanding and attitudes towards pharmaceutical care in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Pharm J. 2007;15(2):146–59.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Oparah AC, Eferakeya AE. Attitudes of Nigerian pharmacists towards pharmaceutical care. Pharm World Sci. 2005;27(3):208–14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Berbatis CG, Sunderland VB, Joyce A, Bulsara M, Mills C. Enhanced pharmacy services, barriers and facilitators in Australia’s community pharmacies: Australia’s national pharmacy database project. Int J Pharm Pract. 2007;15(3):185–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Brazinha I, Fernandez-Llimos F. Barriers to the implementation of advanced clinical pharmacy services at Portuguese hospitals. Int J Clin Pharm. 2014;36(5):1031–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Uema SA, Vega EM, Armando PD, Fontana D. Barriers to pharmaceutical care in Argentina. Pharm World Sci. 2008;30(3):211–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Gastelurrutia MA, Faus MJ, Fernández-Llimós F. Providing patient care in community pharmacies in Spain. Ann Pharmacother. 2005;39(12):2105–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The study was funded by Qatar University under its undergraduate student research Grant (QUST-CPH-SPR-11/12-4).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Clinical Pharmacy and Practice Section, College of Pharmacy, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar

    Maguy Saffouh El Hajj

  2. National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR), Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

    Hassna Sohil AL-Saeed

  3. Sidra Medical and Research Center, 26999, Doha, Qatar

    Maryam Khaja

Authors
  1. Maguy Saffouh El Hajj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hassna Sohil AL-Saeed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Maryam Khaja
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maguy Saffouh El Hajj.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

Nothing to declare.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 323 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

El Hajj, M.S., AL-Saeed, H.S. & Khaja, M. Qatar pharmacists’ understanding, attitudes, practice and perceived barriers related to providing pharmaceutical care. Int J Clin Pharm 38, 330–343 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-016-0246-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-016-0246-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation