BACKGROUND: In order to achieve the goals of community pharmacy practice, its legal, labour-related, and economic barriers need to be identified. This study examined pharmacists' perceptions of constraints on providing optimal pharmacy services in order to identify underlying factors and analyse the associations between barriers and pharmaceutical services in community pharmacies. METHODS: A survey targeting pharmacy owners was conducted from May to June 2012 using a structured questionnaire including nine pharmaceutical service items. According to the service provision level, we classified pharmacists as inactive (fewer than 5 items among the listed 9 service items) and active providers (5 or more items). Principal component analysis was used to group significant factors for barriers into four thematic components. Associations between the participants' demographics and pharmacy characteristics and the services provided were explored by logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Participants were 402 pharmacists. Over 60% provided disease management services for hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidaemia. Variables that affected pharmaceutical services included the lack of separate areas for patient counselling (OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.18-3.80), and clinical knowledge and information-related barriers (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.36-0.97). CONCLUSION: Strategies for improving clinical knowledge and providing expeditious information are necessary in order to improve community pharmacy services.
Community Pharmacy Services ; Demography ; Disease Management ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Logistic Models ; Pharmaceutical Services* ; Pharmacies* ; Pharmacists ; Pharmacy ; Principal Component Analysis

BACKGROUND: The recent change in pharmaceutical education system following the paradigm shift to patient-oriented pharmacy service requires an in-depth discussion to reorganize a future direction and establish a basis for maximizing social values of community pharmacy service. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to review the current status of community pharmacy service provision in Korea based on published literatures. METHODS: The electronic databases of National Digital Science Library and Electronic National Assembly Library were used to search the journal articles and dissertation papers. A search term "community pharmacy" was used and the published period was limited to papers published after year 2001, when the legal separation of prescribing and dispensing was implemented. Relevant study reports were also searched manually. Information about pharmacy service provision and study outcomes were retrieved from the selected papers, and classified by predefined individual service scope. RESULTS: A total 33 papers reporting services provided by community pharmacies were selected (journal article 11, dissertation paper 17, and study report 5). Pharmacy services identified in these papers could be classified into prescription dispensing service, pharmaceutical care service, self medication service, other products service, and health promotion service. Twenty papers reported prescription dispensing services, three papers reported pharmaceutical care service, and only two papers reported health promotion service. Current community pharmacy services are highly dependent on prescription drugs while expanded services such as pharmaceutical care and health promotion are peripheral. Most prevalent research topic was medication counseling service (18 papers), reflecting that community pharmacists generally consider it to be the most important and fundamental service. Overall, current pharmacy services are very limited and focus on prescription dispensing service. CONCLUSION: At this point of time requiring expansion and quality improvement of community pharmacy services, we suggest further lively discussion to strengthen pharmacist's functional identity and set conditions for providing socially expected services.
Community Pharmacy Services ; Counseling ; Education, Pharmacy ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Korea* ; Pharmaceutical Services* ; Pharmacies* ; Pharmacists ; Prescription Drugs ; Prescriptions ; Quality Improvement ; Self Medication ; Social Values

1. Instruction. Community medicine with the concept of comprehensive medical care and an ideal medical care delivery system not only for an individual or family but for the whole community has emerged. In April 1970, the Presbyterian Medical Center started a hospital based community health service project on order to improve the health of the people in rural areas. Prior to commencing a comprehensive medical care system, a family survey was meeded. The major objective of this survey was to obtain information concerning the people and their environment so as to be able to plan and implement a comprehensive medical care program in Soyang-Myum. 2. Survey Method. An interview using a family record form was carried out for each household. This family record form was designed to get information about demography, family planning, environmental sanitation and vital statistics. Prior to beginning, the members of the survey team were trained in interviewing technique for three days. The team consisted of a public health nurse, four nurse-aides, a asnitarian and four health extension workers who are working in our project. The survey was carried out during the period November 1971 to March 1972. 3. Project area. 1) Population of Soyang-Myum was 11,668 ; male, 5,962 and female, 5,706. Sex ratio : 104.5. 2) Households : 1,858. 3) Family size : The average household consisted of 6.3 persons. 4) Education level of householder. a. Illiterate 13%. b. No schooling but able to read 10%. c. Preschool Children 19%. d. Primary School 47%. e. Middle School 7%. f. High School 3%. g. College or University 1%. 5) Occupational distribution of householders. a. Farmer 67%. b. Laborer 13%. c. Office worker 4%. d. Merchant 4%. e. Industrial worker 2%, f. Unemployed 8%, g. Miscellaneous 2%, 6) Religious affiliation. a. No religion 74%, b. Buddhist 12%, c. Protestant 10%, d. Catholic 4%. 4. Survey results. Living Environment : a. Home ownership 95%, b. Kinds of roofing. Straw-thatched house 84%, Tile-roofed house 10%, Slate-roofed house 5%, Other 1%. c. Floor space, Less than 6 pyong 10%, 6-10 pyong 53%, 1-15 pyong 24%, 16-20 pyong 9%, More than 20 pyong 4%, d. Radio ownership 80%. Environment : a. the source of drinking water. public well 49%, private well 30%, drainage water 9%, steam water 8%, well pump 3%, water distribution system 1%, b. Distance between well and toilet. more than 16 meter 38%, 6-10 meter 31%, 11-15 meter 14%, Less than 6 meter 17%. c. The status of well management. Bad 72%, Fair 26%, Good 12%. d. General sanitary of well management. Bad 37%, Fair 51%, Good 12%. e. House drainage system. had no house drainage 77%. Family Planning : a. 24% of the people have used contraceptives, but 12% ceased to use them. 76% have never used contraceptives. b. used methods. loop 68%, oral pill 16%, vasectomy 4%, condom 1%, tubal ligation 1%, two or more methods 10%. Maternal Health : a. The number of conceptions of housewives under 50 years of age. 11 times 26%, 6 times 11%, 5 times 11%, 4 times 9%. b. The place of delivery. own house 88%, hospital 1%, others 11%, Treatment of general sickness. a. The place of treatment, Soyang Health Center 31%, Hospital(Private or otherwise) 26%, Pharmacy 14%, Herb medicine 5%, Private care 5%, No treatment 12%, Miscellancous 7%. b. Usual causes of disease. Unknown 46%, Tuberculosis 29%, Neuralgia 8%, CVA 3%, Bronchitis 3%, Others 11%.
Bronchitis ; Child, Preschool ; Community Health Services ; Community Medicine ; Condoms ; Contraceptive Agents ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Drainage ; Drinking Water ; Education ; Family Characteristics ; Family Planning Services ; Female ; Fertilization ; Health Surveys* ; Humans ; Male ; Maternal Health ; Neuralgia ; Nurses, Public Health ; Ownership ; Pharmacy ; Protestantism ; Sanitation ; Sex Ratio ; Steam ; Sterilization, Tubal ; Tuberculosis ; Vasectomy ; Vital Statistics ; Water

Since fixed-dose vardenafil clinical trails don't fully represent utilization of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDES) inhibitor in general clinical practice. This article reviews flexible-dose and community practice studies, to assess the efficacy and safety of vardenafil in general clinical practice. The results show that vardenafil improves erectile function in most men treated for ED in clinical practice, and well tolerated.
Adult ; Aged ; Community Pharmacy Services ; Erectile Dysfunction ; drug therapy ; Europe ; Humans ; Imidazoles ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Piperazines ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Prospective Studies ; Sulfones ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Triazines ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Vardenafil Dihydrochloride