Opportunities to implement Good Pharmacy Practice in the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

Introduction. Based on the recommendations of the Good Practice Pharmacy Standards as well as the requirements of the national regulatory documents, a list of requirements for the premises of the Community pharmacies has been developed, which includes 12 indicators: the access routes, the name and working regime, the scale for disabled, railing, showcase, illumination, waiting area for visitors, the pharmacist individual contact area with the visitors, the pharmacist's workplace, the glass partition. Based on this list, was elaborated the Community Pharmacy Observation Sheet. The study has enabled recommendations to be made on improving the fitting out of the community pharmacies in the Republic of Moldova. Hence, in the service room must be provided: fair access for all visitors; waiting area with seats where visitors can wait until they are served; the consultation area, allowing the patient and the pharmacist to talk without being heard by other visitors and to provide wheelchair access; the health promotion area where is various information; all areas must be aesthetically pleased and must be effective in the pursuit of pharmacists' activities. In the pharmacy there must be, if necessary, direction indicators to facilitate the "finding" of the searched areas. Aim of the study. The aim of study is evaluation of current situation concerning professional services provided by community pharmacies, as well as their implementation, to assure the advanced level of pharmaceutical services provision to the population. Materials and methods. The survey data was collected using structured questionnaires and the official statistical data of the Agency of Medicines, the Ministry of Health and the Department of Statistics. Two questionnaires were developed to collect information, using the opinion polls of the pharmacists. These tools were developed on the basis of the pilot qualitative study through target groups, which allowed identification of the fundamental aspects of a study problem. Results. On the basis of the results obtained during the study, the recommendations for a quality of services and the measures necessary for their implementation in practice have been developed. Conclusions. It was found that the role of the pharmacist in contemporary society has evolved significantly over the last 4-5 decades; its functions have expanded considerably in the field of clinical pharmacy and pharmacotherapy. The range of services provided by the Community pharmacies is broadly comprising the following services: l) essential: delivery of medicines, promotion of healthy lifestyle, responsible auto-medication, receiving unused drugs for their harmless destruction etc.; 2) advanced: review of drug use medical screening services, chronic disease management, etc.