The quality of the professional practice of community pharmacists: what can still be improved in Europe?

Abstract

This article deribes a research project concerning the professional practice of commonity pharmacists in Western Europe. In 1990 Interviews were field with key figures and practising pharmacksts in the Netherlands, Beigiurh Great Britain, Sweden and Portugal. In 1991 a questionaire was sent which was answered by 929 phamacksts. Concerning the quality of the professional practice it appeared that pharmacists have integrared certain structure aspects such as the use of a computer of a separate patient consultation room to varying degrees. Also concerning process aspects with regard to quality, for example the degree to which attirenion is given to counter work and presciption controls, there are large differences between phamacists from the different countries. These differences between pharmacists appeared to depend upon differences in legat rutes (such as the compulsory presence of a pharmachst in llelgium Sweden and Portugal or the compulsory prescription confrol by a pharmacist before delivery in Greaf Britain), financial and economic circumstances, internal organizational characteristics of the pharmacy and the individual personal task conceptions of the pharmacist, New developments, for example in areas of patient information and computer use, seem to be followed most in the Netherlands and Sweden General stafements about differences in quality are not easily made because the community pharmacy in other countries also has cerdin positive aspects, such as being easity