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International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy

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01-04-2007 | Original Paper

Frequency, nature and determinants of pharmaceutical consultations provided in private by Dutch community pharmacists

Authors: Marcel J. Kooy, Wouter S. Dessing, Esther F. Kroodsma, Steven R. J. G. Smits, Esther H. Fietje, Martine Kruijtbosch, Peter A. G. M. De Smet

Published in: International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy | Issue 2/2007

Abstract

Objective

According to a report published by the federation of Dutch patients’ associations, patients would like to see a pharmacist, who acts more as a personal adviser. This raised the question, how often Dutch community pharmacists have personal consultations with their patients in daily practice, on which factors this depends, and what kind of topics are discussed during these meetings.

Setting

Community pharmacies in the Netherlands

Method

A questionnaire was distributed among 800 randomly selected pharmacies. Questions were restricted to consultations characterized by one-to-one contact, drug therapy related content, and adequate privacy. These consultations were labelled as pharmaceutical consultations in private to distinguish them from other contacts between pharmacists and patients.

Main outcome measure

Number, content, and character of consultations.

Results

198 (24.8%) community pharmacies responded. The pharmacists provide an average of roughly 1.2 consultations in private per working day. The vast majority of respondents provided face-to-face and telephone consultations (94.4 and 91.9%, respectively), only a minority gave consultations by e-mail (30.8%). These consultations primarily dealt with topics related to medication safety. The mean overall time spent was 290 min per month. A relatively high frequency of personal consultations was significantly associated with the absolute number of full-time equivalent pharmacists in the pharmacy.

Conclusion

The frequency of pharmaceutical consultations in private is low, but may be improved by reorganisation of the pharmacist’s activities. The possibility of personal consultations by e-mail is not yet well-developed. Further research is needed to assess the patient’s view of pharmaceutical consultations in private.

After our study had been performed, the coordinating federation of Dutch patients’ associations published a second study report about quality assessment of community pharmacies from the patient’s perspective. This report identified the fact that other patients may readily listen in when a conversation takes place at the counter as the most important issue that should be improved [18].

Pharmacy assistants in The Netherlands receive an intermediate vocational training of 2–3 years to qualify. Assistant’s tasks that are more or less generally recognized are the compounding and dispensing of medicines, the provision of advice on OTC drugs and non-drug healthcare products, the provision of directions for use and the answering of basic questions about medicines and the underlying disease. More experienced assistants may discuss adherence or medication changes with the patient and perform one-to-one consultations [21].

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Title: Frequency, nature and determinants of pharmaceutical consultations provided in private by Dutch community pharmacists
Authors: Marcel J. Kooy
Wouter S. Dessing
Esther F. Kroodsma
Steven R. J. G. Smits
Esther H. Fietje
Martine Kruijtbosch
Peter A. G. M. De Smet
Publication date: 01-04-2007
Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers
Published in: International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy / Issue 2/2007
Print ISSN: 2210-7703
Electronic ISSN: 2210-7711
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-006-9067-x

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Abstract

Objective

Setting

Method

Main outcome measure

Results

Conclusion

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