RESEARCH ARTICLE: An educational intervention to improve the ability of community pharmacists in Sri Lanka to detect drug related problems

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2020.201.357364

Keywords:

Educational workshop, community pharmacists, drug related problems, medication safety, prescriptions.

Abstract

Background: Drug related problems (DRPs) in prescriptions could result in patient harm. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of an educational workshop on detecting DRPs in prescriptions by a cohort of community pharmacists.

Methods: Pharmacists working in a large community pharmacy chain in Sri Lanka were invited for an educational workshop on detecting DRPs in prescriptions. Participants were asked to review three mock prescriptions containing hypothetical DRPs before the workshop. After an interactive teaching session, pharmacists were asked to review the same three prescriptions again.

Results: All pharmacists who attended the workshop (N=58) participated. The mean score for detecting DRPs per pharmacist at pre-assessment was 5.3±2.1 which increased to 8.5±1.7 at post-assessment (p<0.001).

Conclusion: An educational intervention improved the community pharmacists’ ability to detect DRPs related to completeness and legality of prescriptions but failed to make a significant impact on detecting serious pharmacological issues like medicine duplications and interactions.

Author Biographies

Tharmalinga S J Janani, University of Sri Jayewardenepura; Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka

Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences (University of Sri Jayewardenepura); Nutrition & Indigenous Medicine (Ministry of Health)

Rafaideen Risla, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences

Lelwala G T Shanika, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences

Priyadarshani Galappatthy, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine

Nithushi R Samaranayake, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences

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Published

04-11-2020

How to Cite

Janani, T. S. J., Risla, R., Shanika, . L. G. T., Galappatthy, P., & Samaranayake, N. R. (2020). RESEARCH ARTICLE: An educational intervention to improve the ability of community pharmacists in Sri Lanka to detect drug related problems. Pharmacy Education, 20(1), p. 357 – 364. https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2020.201.357364

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Research Article