Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
  • 2 Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology Department, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • 3 Clinical Pharmacy Department, Main Alexandria University Hospital, Egypt
  • 4 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Buraydah Colleges, P.O. Box 31717, Buraydah, 51418, Saudi Arabia
  • 5 Alrayan Colleges, College of Health Sciences and Nursing, Clinical Pharmacy Department, Almadina, Saudi Arabia
  • 6 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia
Heliyon, 2023 Dec;9(12):e23112.
PMID: 38144360 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23112

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess compliance with legal requirements, safe medication storage and staffing standards in community pharmacies in Punjab, Pakistan.

METHOD: We conducted a three-step cross-sectional study using observations, questionnaires and face-to-face interviews in 544 systematically-selected community pharmacies. We used descriptive statistic and one-way ANOVA to assess the data.

RESULTS: Only 23 (4.2 %) pharmacies had accurate area and only 3.9 % had appropriate walls. In total, 23.3 % had glass-fronted shelves and 38.2 % had a glass door. More than half (53.8 %) had separate narcotics shelves and 43.0 % a separate shelf of expired medicines. Less than half (47.5 %) of the pharmacies were able to maintain hygiene. About 36.2 % of the pharmacies segregated different types of product. Drugs were protected from direct sunlight in most (61.3 %) pharmacies, but the refrigerator was working properly in less than half (43.4 %) and only a very small number (2.4 %) had an alternative power supply for the refrigerator. Only 37 (6.8 %) were able to maintain an appropriate room temperature. The vast majority (93.0 %) displayed a valid drug sale license, but a qualified person/pharmacist was only present in 4.8 %. The average number of employees was 4.2, and more than 71.0 % of staff had 10-12 years of formal education. Only 0.2 % of employees could explain term "PRN", although 57.3 % explained "IV" correctly. About 22.8 % replied correctly about the room temperature but the vast majority (97.6 %) did not know about cold chain temperature. The location of the pharmacy (p-value = 0.045) affected its performance.

CONCLUSIONS: Noncompliance with legal requirements, unsafe drug storage and limited human resources reflect the poor enforcement of drug laws in Pakistan. The findings suggest that there is a need to strengthen inspection and management of community pharmacies.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.