To evaluate the extent to which pharmacies in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City, Nepal adhere to the recommended practices outlined in the good pharmacy practice guidelines formulated by International Pharmaceutical Federation and draft developed by Nepal Pharmacy Council. Good Pharmacy Practice evaluates the safety, effectiveness, availability, and accessibility of medicines, ensuring their correct usage which is essential component of community pharmacies. Data was collected by visiting community pharmacies throughout Hetauda sub-metropolitan city. The questionnaire includes 38 questions under 9 sections: premises, personnel, quality policy, services, documentation, procurement, storage, prescription handling, and dispensing. Frequencies and percentages were used to represent all categorical variables, while mean ± standard deviation (SD) was used to represent continuous variables. To determine relationships between categorical data, the Pearson Chi-square test (χ²) was utilized with a significance level set at P < .05. Using SPSS Version 23, the quantitative data were analyzed. The findings indicated an overall compliance rate of 56.21% with the GPP indicators. The lowest adherence was observed in relation to the quality policy (11.02%), whereas the highest was obtained on the procurement process (86.6%). With regard to the qualifications of the pharmacy in charge, only 16.3% of the pharmacies had a pharmacist holding a bachelor\'s degree, while 32.6% employed an assistant pharmacist with a diploma degree. A significant association was found between the qualification of pharmacy in charge with availability of computer (P = .010), safe and effective procurement (P = .036), keeping narcotics drugs in lock and key system (P = .002) and maintaining records of narcotics (P = .020). Our findings reveal that community pharmacists in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan city, Nepal do not meet the standards set by International Pharmaceutical Federation and the Good Pharmacy Practice guidelines formulated by the Nepal Pharmacy Council.

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BACKGROUND: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV is severely underutilized among sexually minoritized men (SMM). Inequitable access to PrEP-prescribing facilities and providers is a critical barrier to PrEP uptake among SMM. Integrating HIV prevention services, such as PrEP screening, into pharmacy-based settings is a viable solution to addressing HIV inequities in the US. We aimed to examine willingness to obtain PrEP screening in a pharmacy and its associated correlates, leveraging Andersen\'s Healthcare Utilization Model (AHUM), among a national sample of SMM in the U.S.
METHODS: Data from the 2020 American Men\'s Internet Survey, an annual online survey among SMM, were analyzed. Drawing on AHUM-related constructs, we used a modified stepwise Poisson regression with robust variance estimates to examine differences in willingness to screen for PrEP in a pharmacy. Estimated prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI95%).
RESULTS: Out of 10,816 men, most (76%) were willing to screen for PrEP in a pharmacy. Participants were more willing to screen for PrEP in a pharmacy if they (1) had a general willingness to use PrEP (PR = 1.52; CI95% =1.45, 1.59); (2) felt comfortable speaking with pharmacy staff about PrEP (PR = 2.71; CI95% =2.47, 2.98); and (3) had HIV-related concerns (PR = 1.04; CI95% =1.02, 1.06). There were no observed differences in men\'s willingness to screen for PrEP in a pharmacy by race/ethnicity, education level, annual household income, nor insurance status.
CONCLUSIONS: Strategically offering PrEP screening in pharmacies could mitigate access-related barriers to HIV prevention services among SMM, particularly across various sociodemographic domains. Importantly, this approach has vitally important implications for addressing broader inequities in HIV prevention. Future studies should examine strategies to successfully integrate PrEP screenings in pharmacies among diverse populations, especially among those at elevated risk for HIV.

Pertussis vaccination is recommended during pregnancy to protect the baby. Pertussis vaccination was initially free to pregnant people through general practice and hospitals in New Zealand, but uptake was suboptimal. In one district funding of maternal pertussis vaccination was widened to community pharmacies in 2016. Eighteen months later promotion to pharmacies, midwives and pregnant people took place. In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 lockdowns occurred.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of promotion and COVID-19 lockdowns on uptake of funded maternal pertussis vaccination in pharmacy, and awareness, use and opinions of promotional elements.
METHODS: Five years of pharmacy claims data were analysed and 12 pharmacists, 18 people eligible/recently eligible for maternal pertussis vaccination and 11 midwives were interviewed.
RESULTS: Provision of maternal pertussis vaccination increased during and after promotion. Qualitative data showed that pharmacists valued phone calls with information about maternal pertussis vaccination and recommendations for increasing uptake. Prompted by these calls, some pharmacists contacted midwives to inform them of funded maternal pertussis vaccination in the pharmacy (which midwives appreciated) and recommended pertussis vaccination to pregnant clients. Pharmacy staff reportedly were motivated to recommend this vaccination by being informed about it and having posters displayed in the pharmacy. Pregnant people valued healthcare professionals\' conversations about maternal pertussis vaccination, but appeared to be uninfluenced by posters and promotional social media posts about this vaccination. During COVID-19, maternal pertussis uptake in pharmacies increased 31% March to May 2020 (before and during the first COVID-19 lockdown) versus the same time the previous year, then declined.
CONCLUSIONS: Promotion appeared to have a sustained effect on uptake of maternal pertussis vaccination in pharmacies. Pregnant people were most influenced by discussions with healthcare professionals. Pharmacists and pharmacy staff increased proactivity with maternal vaccinations after promotion to them. Promotion may need to be repeated over time.

UNASSIGNED: Despite the proliferation of pharmacy standing-order naloxone dispensing across many US states before the change to over-the-counter status, few policy analyses have evaluated the implementation of pharmacy naloxone standing orders in addressing opioid overdose fatality among communities.
UNASSIGNED: To determine whether the implementation of pharmacy standing-order naloxone was associated with lower opioid fatality rates compared with communities without pharmacies with standing-order naloxone.
UNASSIGNED: This retrospective multisite study was conducted with an interrupted time series analysis across 351 municipalities in Massachusetts over 24 quarters (from January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2018). Standing-order naloxone dispensing data were collected from 2 sources for all major chain pharmacies and many independent pharmacies, covering 70% of retail pharmacies in Massachusetts. Municipalities had various standing-order naloxone implementation inceptions during the study period. Data were analyzed from December 2021 to November 2023.
UNASSIGNED: The main exposure was measured by the first quarter with standing-order naloxone dispensation as the actual implementation inception.
UNASSIGNED: The primary study outcome was municipal opioid fatality rate per 100 000 population obtained from the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics.
UNASSIGNED: The median (IQR) population size across 351 municipalities was 10 314 (3635 to 21 781) people, with mean (SD) proportion of female individuals was 51.1% (2.8 percentage points). Pharmacies from 214 municipalities (60.9%) reported dispensing standing-order naloxone over the study period. At the baseline of the first quarter of 2013, municipalities that eventually had standing-order naloxone had greater quarterly opioid fatality rates compared with those that never implemented standing-order naloxone (3.51 vs 1.03 deaths per 100 000 population; P < .001). After adjusting for municipal-level sociodemographic and opioid prevention factors, there was significant slope decrease of opioid fatality rates (annualized rate ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.78-0.91; P < .001) following standing-order naloxone dispensing, compared with the municipalities that did not implement standing-order naloxone. There were no significant level changes of opioid fatality rates in the adjusted models. Sensitivity analyses yielded similar and significant findings.
UNASSIGNED: These findings suggest that community pharmacy dispensing of naloxone with standing orders was associated with a relative, gradual, and significant decrease in opioid fatality rates compared with communities that did not implement the standing-order naloxone program. These findings support the expansion of naloxone access, including over-the-counter naloxone as part of a multifaceted approach to address opioid overdose.

BACKGROUND: In China, retail pharmacies are critical sources for obtaining medications and play a vital role in residents\' daily access to drugs and treatment of common illnesses. Effectively guiding the placement of these pharmacies in areas of need through government regulation is crucial for enhancing medication access. In this study, we used population and retail pharmacy spatial distribution data from Shanghai to design guidance and supplementary methods for optimizing the spatial layout of retail pharmacies and medical insurance designated pharmacies based on regional characteristics.
METHODS: Population distribution, road traffic network, administrative division and retail pharmacy data from Shanghai in 2018 were collected from relevant government departments. ArcGIS 10.3 was used to map the retail pharmacies and population distribution. Based on the spatial distribution of population and the service standards of pharmacies, service circles with insufficient pharmacies were identified, and supplementary methods for retail pharmacies and medical insurance designated pharmacies were developed.
RESULTS: In 2018, Shanghai had 3009 retail pharmacies, each serving an average of 6412 residents. The city was divided into 2188 basic pharmaceutical service circles, each within a 15-minute walking distance. The results indicated that there were 1387 service circles without any pharmacies, 151 of which had populations exceeding 5000. Additionally, 356 service circles had pharmacies but lacked medical insurance designated ones. After supplementation, 841 retail pharmacies were planned to be added in residential areas. Compared with before, the coverage area and population served of the pharmacies increased significantly.
CONCLUSIONS: This study mapped the spatial distribution of population and retail pharmacies in Shanghai, and designed government guidance and supplementary methods for optimizing the layout of retail pharmacies. The findings offer valuable insights for government agencies in low- and middle-income countries to improve the spatial distribution of retail pharmacies.

BACKGROUND: While successful information transfer and seamless medication supply are fundamental to medication safety during hospital-to-home transitions, disruptions are frequently reported. In Germany, new legal requirements came into force in 2017, strengthening medication lists and discharge summaries as preferred means of information transfer. In addition to previous regulations - such as dispensing medication at discharge by hospital pharmacies - hospital physicians were now allowed to issue discharge prescriptions to be supplied by community pharmacies. The aim of this survey study was to gain first nationwide insights into how these requirements are implemented and how they impact the continuity of medication information transfer and continuous medication supply.
METHODS: Two nationwide self-administered online surveys of all hospital and community pharmacies across Germany were developed and conducted from April 17th to June 30th, 2023.
RESULTS: Overall, 31.0% (n = 111) of all German hospital pharmacies and 4.5% (n = 811) of all community pharmacies participated. The majority of those hospital pharmacies reported that patients who were discharged were typically provided with discharge summaries (89.2%), medication lists (59.5%) and if needed, discharge prescriptions (67.6%) and/or required medication (67.6%). About every second community pharmacy (49.0%) indicated that up to half of the recently discharged patients who came to their pharmacy typically presented medication lists. 34.0% of the community pharmacies stated that they typically received a discharge summary from recently discharged patients at least once per week. About three in four community pharmacies (73.3%) indicated that most discharge prescriptions were dispensed in time. However, one-third (31.0%) estimated that half and more of the patients experienced gaps in medication supply. Community pharmacies reported challenges with the legal requirements - such as patients´ poor comprehensibility of medication lists, medication discrepancies, unmet formal requirements of discharge prescriptions, and poor accessibility of hospital staff in case of queries. In comparison, hospital pharmacies named technical issues, time/personnel resources, and deficits in patient knowledge of medication as difficulties.
CONCLUSIONS: According to the pharmacies´ perceptions, it can be assumed that discontinuation in medication information transfer and lack of medication supply still occur today during hospital-to-home transitions, despite the new legal requirements. Further research is necessary to supplement these results by the perspectives of other healthcare professionals and patients in order to identify efficient strategies.

UNASSIGNED: In the U.S. alone, medication non-adherence is estimated to cause 1 in 10 hospitalizations, approximately 125,000 deaths annually, and cost the U.S. healthcare system just under $300 billion each year. Patients in medically underserved areas (MUAs) are particularly vulnerable to all forms of non-adherence and downstream morbidity and mortality; however, the extent to which primary medication non-adherence (i.e., prescription abandonment) affects the underserved is still largely unknown.
UNASSIGNED: To assess the difference in rates of abandonment of quality measured prescriptions in areas that are medically underserved compared to areas that are not. The secondary objective is to assess the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on rates of prescription abandonment in both MUAs and those that are not.
UNASSIGNED: In this retrospective study, data on abandoned, quality measured prescriptions were collected and analyzed using Chi-Square analyses from one regional division of a large grocery-chain pharmacy containing ninety-one pharmacies located in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Missouri. The primary objective used 2019 data while the secondary objective used data from April - November of both 2019 and 2020.
UNASSIGNED: Patients from MUAs abandoned quality measured prescriptions at a higher rate of 5.44% compared to 4.77% of those not living in these areas (P < 0.01). This study also discovered that during the COVID-19 pandemic, MUAs had a decrease in abandonment from 6.14% in 2019 to 6.02% in 2020 (P < 0.01). Those from non-MUAs had non-significant change in abandonment (P = 0.87).
UNASSIGNED: Patients in MUAs abandon quality measured prescriptions at a statistically significant higher rate when compared to patients who live in areas that are not considered to be medically underserved. Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic patients living in MUAs had a statistically significant decrease in prescription abandonment while those in non-MUAs did not statistically change.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that training interventions fail when proper strategies are not in place for their implementation. The study described the implementation strategies used in the delivery of the HIV test services (HTS) and measured implementation outcomes in the delivery of the services.
METHODS: The study was conducted between August and November 2019 among 50 selected community pharmacies in Oyo State, Nigeria using a mixed-method quantitative and qualitative data survey design. The implementation strategies and activities used in the delivery of HTS in the pharmacies and during outreaches were described while both observational and survey methods were used to collect data. Implementation outcomes were measured and analysed in terms of penetration, adoption, acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, and appropriateness of the intervention.
RESULTS: Penetration among respondents was 90%. Acceptability of the HTS was high (77.3%) among clients 20-49 years of age with 919 clients participating in the HIV screening. While 919 HIV tests were conducted, only 19 (2.1%) were positive. Adherence to the protocol of delivery of HTS (fidelity) indicated that all the respondents conducted rapid HIV testing, pre-testing counselling (43, 95.6%), post-testing counselling (40, 88.9%), and provision of confidential test results (39, 86.7%). Respondents\' responsiveness indicated that 23 (51.1%%) of the respondents could use up to 80% and above of the test strips given within the period. Researchers\' observations showed respondents\' ability to perform the tests as intended with little challenges. Participants felt that rendering the services was an interesting experience, and fulfilling, and allowed them to improve on their professional deliverables and practice. It also showcased the relevance of pharmacists in rendering HTS, creating awareness of the menace of HIV/AIDS, and helping people to stop the spread.
CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that HTS is acceptable, appropriate, feasible, and easy to adopt in community pharmacies and penetration was high. For sustainability, community pharmacists should be well remunerated, and need for an established policy to include this scope in community pharmacy practice.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco-focused medication therapy management (MTM) interventions executed in pharmacies located in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) may provide an innovative means to reach smokers with low incomes and reduce health disparities. However, greater understanding of the intervention\'s potential feasibility in this setting is needed.
OBJECTIVE: To inform the feasibility of implementing an MTM program to address tobacco and nicotine dependence in the FQHC setting by assessing the experience and perceptions of pharmacists working in pharmacies associated with FQHCs.
METHODS: A convergent mixed methods approach was used to assess indicators associated with the domains of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Pharmacists from FQHC-based pharmacies in the Southeast United States completed surveys (n=24) and interviews (n=15). Quantitative data were summarized descriptively. Qualitative data were content coded.
RESULTS: Quantitative and qualitative data were mapped across all five CFIR domains. Pharmacists report high rates of tobacco and nicotine use among their patients and that addressing their use is important. 62.5% of pharmacists had some or a great deal of experience with tobacco and nicotine dependence. Quantitative and qualitative data demonstrate that the pharmacists and their FQHCs would support MTM efforts focused on tobacco and nicotine dependence. Qualitative findings highlight that pharmacists view an MTM intervention as aligning with their current workflow. Quantitative and qualitative data highlight how factors related to pharmacists\' engagement in introducing tobacco and nicotine dependence treatment programs to patients, the electronic medical record, time, staffing, and patient-level barriers could impact the feasibility of an MTM intervention focused on tobacco and nicotine dependence.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest an MTM intervention focused on tobacco and nicotine dependence has the potential to be feasible within FQHC-based pharmacies. Considerations related to training, staffing, time, identifying participants, and supporting participant engagement must be taken into account to support its implementation.