K E Hersberger | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

[Application aids in pharmacotherapy].

The actual administration of pharmacotherapy is in most cases entirely up to the patient. Correct application can often be only achieved with application aids. They are already part of many preparations: printed blister packages, measures for dosing liquids, applicators for topical use, dosage sprays, and supports for eye drop containers. Special needs can be covered by additional application aids like dosage syringes for child medication, spacers for asthma sprays, devices for splitting or crunching tablets. Filling the medicines in containers better manageable by the patient, in week dispensers or week blisters, may also be crucial to guarantee correct dosing and regimen. Application aids often play a significant part in the success of a therapy. Needed are evidence based criteria for the selection of devices and instructions. Such criteria need to be developed because they are still largely lacking.

Drug Administration Schedule↗

PubMed2006

Screening for sleep disorders in community pharmacies--evaluation of a campaign in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: In 2003 the Swiss federation of pharmacists organized a campaign "sleep disturbances--daytime sleepiness". The goal was to assist pharmacy clients in detecting likely causes of any sleep disturbance or daytime sleepiness through a free of charge screening, and to deliver targeted counselling. For pharmacy practice there are no screening or triage guidelines to assess the severity of sleep and wakefulness disturbances and potential causes for those disturbances. In this paper the outcome of the campaign in terms of feasibility, participation, observed response patterns, sale of over-the-counter (OTC) sleeping pills, and counselling activities is evaluated. METHODS: The Stanford sleep disorders questionnaire and the Epworth sleepiness scale served to identify patterns of symptoms suggestive of four major categories of sleep disorders. The questionnaires were posted on a web-site and the clients' data were entered online in the pharmacies. A report was automatically generated and immediately available online to the pharmacists. The pharmacists documented separately their counselling activities in a pharmacist's activity report. RESULTS: Six hundred and twenty-two (23%) of 2743 pharmacy clients had response patterns suggestive of obstructive sleep apnoea, 418 (15%) of restless-legs-syndrome, 39 (1%) of a sleep disorder potentially associated with a psychiatric condition and 79 (3%) of narcolepsy. An Epworth sleepiness score >10 points was found in 567 (21%). After screening, 2345 (86%) pharmacy clients received targeted counselling. Only 216 (8%) purchased an OTC sleeping pill and 704 (26%) were recommended to consult a physician, but of these, 446 (63%) were already under medical supervision. CONCLUSIONS: The online screening tool for sleep disorders and daytime sleepiness was successfully introduced in Swiss pharmacies. Pharmacies were able to assess the pattern of individual sleep disorders and to identify a possible cause in nearly one-third of the cases.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

[Return of unused drugs to pharmacies].

For the first time unused drugs have been analyzed in Switzerland. The two non profit organizations MEDI HELP DIRECT in Zurich and Pharmaciens sans Frontières in Neuchâtel collected the unused drugs with the aim to examine the quality and the quantity of the medication returned to the pharmacies. In both cantons about 5000 units have been registered and examined with the respect to shelf-life, contents, requirement of prescription and reimbursement by health companies. Two thirds of the drugs have 50-100% contents left over. Prescribed medicines returned faster to the pharmacies and are less often expired.

Cost Control↗