Factors facilitating and hindering development of a medication use review service in Eastern Europe and Iran - cross-sectional exploratory study
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Date
2021-09
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Abstract
Polypharmacy is a common issue in patients with chronic diseases. Eastern-European countries and Iran are exploring possibilities for implementing the Medication Use Review (MUR) as a measure for optimizing medication use and ensuring medication safety in polypharmacy patients. The aim of this study was to gain insights into the development of the community pharmacy sector and map facilitators and barriers of MUR in Eastern Europe and Iran. The representatives of the framework countries received a questionnaire on community pharmacy sector indicators, current and future developments of pharmacies, and factors encouraging and hindering MUR. To answer the questionnaire, all representatives performed document analysis, literature review, and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders. The socio-ecological model was used for inductive thematic analysis of the identified factors. Current community pharmacist competencies in framework countries were more related to traditional pharmacy services. Main facilitators of MUR were increase in polypharmacy and pharmaceutical waste, and access to patients’ electronic list of medications by pharmacists. Main barriers included the service being unfamiliar, lack of funding and private consultation areas. Pharmacists in the framework countries are well-placed to provide MUR, however, the service needs more introduction and barriers mostly on organizational and public policy levels must be addressed.
Description
Funding Information: European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy PRD 2019 grant for the project ?Develop-ment and Implementation of Medication Use Review Services at Community Pharmacy in Eastern European countries?. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords
Barriers, Community pharmacy, Medication review, MUR, Pharmacist, 3.1 Basic medicine, 3.3 Health sciences, 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database, Health Informatics, Health Policy, Health Information Management, Leadership and Management, SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
Citation
Tuula, A, Volmer, D, Jõhvik, L, Rutkovska, I, Trečiokienė, I, Merks, P, Waszyk-Nowaczyk, M, Drozd, M, Tatarević, A, Radovanlija, M, Pacadi, C, Meštrović, A, Viola, R, Soós, G, Rais, C, Táerel, A E, Kuzelova, M, Zare, M, Peymani, P, Oona, M & Scott, M 2021, 'Factors facilitating and hindering development of a medication use review service in Eastern Europe and Iran - cross-sectional exploratory study', Healthcare (Switzerland), vol. 9, no. 9, 1207. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9091207