Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice

Abstract  We aimed to detect and report the frequency of occurrence of drug-related problems (DRPs) in a Middle Eastern University Children's Hospital (Isfahan, Iran) and classify them in terms of their nature and cause to clarify the responsibility of clinical pharmacists for the safe utilization of medications in hospitalized children. Methods: In this cross-sectional study which was carried out in Imam Hossein Children's University Hospital affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (Isfahan, Iran) from September 2017 to May 2018, DRPs during the hospitalization of pediatric patients in three medical wards, the pediatric intensive care unit, and two neonatal intensive care units were detected and identified concurrently with the treatment process using Pharmaceutical Care Network of Europe data gathering form for DRPs v. 8.01. All cases were verified and validated in a professional focus group before documentation. Findings: We detected 427 DRPs in 201 out of 250 randomly included hospitalized children in which 86% of them were directly reported by the hospital's clinical pharmacist. The highest frequency of DRPs (47.3%) was observed in the age range of 1 month–2 years. Safety of treatment was the most frequently reported as the nature of the problem (43.5%), followed by effectiveness issues (36.8%). The most frequent cause of DRPs was dose selection issues (34.2%), followed by drug-type selection (25.5%), and unavailability of appropriate dosage forms (13.6%). Ninety-eight interventions were proposed by the clinical pharmacist, in which 59.2% of them were accepted. Conclusion: This study confirms the necessity for the active role of clinical pharmacists before, during, and after drug therapy in hospitalized pediatric patients for the safety and proper utilization of drugs in this vulnerable population.

Abstract Medical students need proper education in drug prescription. The aim of the present study is to introduce a course that improves the students' prescribing skills and also promotes an interprofessional collaboration between medicine and pharmacy schools. Methods: This study was done in a skill laboratory at the pharmacotherapy department of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The course was an 18-h interactive workshop in 3 days under the supervision of clinical pharmacists. A total of 18 medical students participated in these classes before their internship. Before and after each class, they were given tests and paired t-test was done to compare the marks. Findings: A total of 18 medical students participated in this study. The results showed that the knowledge of the students on pharmacotherapy, drug information, and prescribing skills has been significantly improved at the end of the course. Conclusion: Using clinical pharmacists to the present pharmacotherapy course could be an effective model for medical students to obtain better prescribing skills.

Abstract vThe principal aim of this study was to explore the self-perception of clinical pharmacists of their impact on healthcare in Khartoum State, Sudan, how they think doctors perceive their impact, exploring the obstacles that clinical pharmacists are facing, and identifying what clinical pharmacists recommend for a better clinical pharmacy practice in Sudan.
Methods: This was an exploratory cross-sectional study that employed a qualitative method. Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with a convenient sample of 26 clinical pharmacists working in 14 governmental hospitals in Khartoum State, Sudan, in March 2016. Each interview was recorded, transcribed, and coded into themes. Thematic analysis was carried out.
Findings: The study revealed different themes regarding clinical pharmacists' perception of their impact on healthcare. The majority believed that they made an improvement in healthcare but not to the level they aspire to. Participants expressed that junior doctors and nurses had a better acceptance of clinical pharmacists' interventions compared to senior doctors. The main obstacles that clinical pharmacists were facing were their limited number, lack of support from health authorities, lack of training and educational program, lack of job descriptions, lack of specific area in patient files for clinical pharmacist intervention, and low salaries. Most participants showed dissatisfaction with the syllabus of the master of clinical pharmacy they studied.
Conclusion: The study revealed that clinical pharmacists were looking for a better contribution in healthcare in Sudan. This can be achieved by solving the problems identified in this study.