International journal of clinical pharmacy
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It has been previously suggested that the risk of medicine-related problems-i.e., negative clinical outcomes, adverse drug reactions or adverse drug events resulting from the use (or lack of use) of medicines, and human error including that caused by healthcare personnel-is higher among specific ethnic minority groups compared to the majority population. ⋯ The education program may potentially reduce medicine-related problems by providing participants with knowledge and competencies about appropriate medicine use. We recommend implementing education programs for ethnic minorities using the cultural competence approach to the appropriate use of medicines. Ideally, programs should be implemented in places that are frequented by ethnic minorities, and taught by health professionals with the same ethnic background as participants.
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Medicinal leech therapy is effective in establishing venous outflow in congested flaps and replants. However, its use is also associated with infections, especially from Aeromonas species. To prevent this nosocomial infection, levofloxacin has been established as prophylaxis during leech therapy in our hospital. ⋯ This study demonstrates successful implementation of a guideline for levofloxacin prophylaxis during leech therapy. Following its introduction, no Aeromonas species related to the use of leeches were isolated as compared to 8.5 % in the baseline period.
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Pharmacists play an important role in the care of HIV patients especially by providing pharmaceutical care. Thus it is imperative to assess the experience and satisfaction of HIV patients with the pharmaceutical services they receive as this will ensure that quality care is provided. ⋯ HIV patients were highly satisfied with services rendered by the pharmacists in South-Eastern HIV clinics in Nigeria and PSPS proved to be a reliable and valid instrument for measuring satisfaction of HIV patients with pharmaceutical services.
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Drug-related problems (DRPs) cause significant morbidity and mortality in healthcare. Clinical pharmacists have shown to reduce DRPs in the inpatient setting. In mental health the effects of clinical pharmacists on DRPs is relatively unknown. ⋯ Pharmacists play an important role in ensuring the quality use of medicines in inpatient mental health. However, significant factors need to be addressed to further expand clinical pharmacy services in inpatient mental healthcare in Australia.
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Review
Design and comprehensibility of over-the-counter product labels and leaflets: a narrative review.
Over-the-counter medicines must be supplied with appropriate, user-friendly medicine information to satisfactorily support consumer self-management and safe use. Product labels and written medicine information leaflets are highly accessible over-the-counter medicine information sources for consumers. Factors such as comprehensibility and design underpin the usefulness of over-the-counter labels and leaflets and should be further examined to better inform future optimisation strategies. Aim of the review To undertake an in-depth exploration of studies that have evaluated design and/or comprehensibility of over-the-counter labels and written medicine information leaflets Methods Database searches were performed using Medline, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and PubMed. Studies exploring over-the-counter medicine label and/or leaflet comprehensibility and/or design were identified. Additional author and reference list searches were performed to identify studies which met the inclusion criteria and key terms. ⋯ A wide spectrum of consumer understanding of over-the-counter medicine labels is evident in the literature, with limited studies examining over-the-counter written medicine information leaflet comprehensibility with consumers. The application of good information design principles in over-the-counter labels and leaflets contribute to improved performance. Well-designed consumer studies are needed to ascertain and optimise over-the-counter label and leaflet performance.