University of Gondar
College of medicine and health science
School of pharmacy
Community pharmacy attachment
Name – Firtuna Bezabih
Id no – GUR 03535/09
Submitted to:Mr Adeladlew
Submission date: 30/06/2013 e.c
Contents
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Acknowledgement
Introduction
Importance of community pharmacy
Role of pharmacists
Advantage of good dispensing practice and environment
Organization of the pharmacy
→ Premises
→ Human resource
→ Hygiene and sanitation
→ Safety concerns
→ The working environment
✓ Service provided in the pharmacy
✓ Strength of the pharmacy
✓ Weakness of the pharmacy
✓ Recommendations
✓ Fruits of our practice
✓ Conclusion
✓ Case attachment
✓ References
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Acknowledgement
First of all I would like to express my deepest gratitude to University of
Gondar School of pharmacy to give us the chance to attach and work on
different community pharmacies. And I am deeply grateful to “Herbal
pharmacy” owner and the staffs, they allow us to practice on their
pharmacy and help us on different issues like sharing experiences and
making cooperative and good environment to practice.
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Introduction
A community pharmacy is a healthcare facility that emphasizes
providing pharmaceutical services to a specific community.
Community pharmacists are the most accessible health professionals to
the public.
Pharmacists in these sites provide several important functions
• Mostly they supply medicines in accordance with a
prescription or, when legally permitted, sell them without a
prescription.
Good dispensing practice refers to the delivery of the correct drug and
medical supply to the right patient in the required dosage and quantities,
in the package that maintains acceptable potency and quality for the
specified period and clear drug information.
The pharmacy professionals have great role on it.
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Community pharmacy
A community pharmacy is a healthcare facility that emphasizes
providing pharmaceutical services to a specific community.
Community pharmacists are the most accessible and highly related
health professionals to the public.
Rational drug use means the patient receives right medications
appropriate for their clinical needs, in doses that meet their own
individual requirements for an adequate period of time with the lowest
possible cost for the community.
Dispensing practice, the duty of dispensers, plays a central role in the
provision of rational drug therapy.
Dispensing refers to the process of preparing drugs and distributing
them to their users with provision of appropriate information.
 It may be based on a prescription or an oral request of users
(patients or care providers) depending on the type of drugs to be
dispensed
Aims/importance of the community pharmacy
→ Responsible to optimize medication use and improve patient
outcomes and quality of life
→ Ease of access to the community
→ Reduce burdens on the areas of health care service
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Role of pharmacists
• Monitoring of patients who are at greater risk of developing
ADRs.
• Monitoring of patients prescribed with drugs highly
susceptible with ADRs.
• Assessing the patients drug therapy for its appropriateness.
• Assessing possible drug interactions in case of multiple
therapies.
• Obtaining feedback about the reported reaction.
• Educating patients.
• Creating awareness about ADRs amongst healthcare
professionals, patients and public.
• Preparation and utilization of promotional materials.
Advantages of good dispensing practice and environment
• Reduces dispensing error
• Reduces fatigue among pharmacy staff
• Enhances services
• Improves the image of the pharmacy
• Increases clientele
• Increases speed
• Creates a professional image
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An overview
The pharmacy I was arranged to practice and spent a time called
“Herbal pharmacy” which was located around piassa.
Organization of the pharmacy
❖ Premises
The premises on which a dispensing service is provided would reflect
the quality of service and inspire confidence on patients in the nature
of pharmaceutical service delivered.
→ The pharmacy has better design and attractive appearance for
the clients and the workers.
→ The pharmacy setting (place) is far from contaminants: fabrics,
toilet, waste dump, dust and flooding.
→ It have a well painted, neat wall with a clean and ceramic
covered floor.
→ It have good ventilation and light which make the area brighter.
→ It have sufficient area for dispensing and client waiting chairs.
→ The display is constructed with clean, strong and sufficient
glass made shelves.
→ There is appropriate cold storage facilities(refrigerator)
❖ Human resource
The pharmacy is established with sufficient human power
including two pharmacist, one druggist, two cashiers including the
owner. they work on shift basis.
❖ Hygiene and sanitation
The Physical surroundings must be maintained as free of dust and
dirt as possible.
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→ There is a routine cleaning of shelves, prescription counter
and daily cleaning of floor and working surface.
→ There is appropriate disposal of garbage and
wastes(sufficient baskets).
→ There is a separated toilet with water supply and drainage
system.
❖ Safety concerns
→ There are lockable cabinets (for controlled drugs).
→ Electrical equipments are appropriately arranged and
supplied with a continuous power supply.
→ There is a protective fire extinguisher.
→ There are appropriate personal protective equipments
concerning with covid-19 including sanitizers & face mask.
❖ The working environment
→ There is a separated and defined work among the personnel.
→ There is a computer for registrar of new coming drugs(stock
management) and recording incomes.
→ There is cooperative and better relation ship among the staffs.
Services provided in the pharmacy
The community pharmacy as it is the nearest for the public it provides
different services to the community.
• Performing good dispensing practice including: patient
identification & information and counseling.
• Provide OTC medications with appropriately responding to
symptoms.
• Provide clinical pharmacy service with appropriate information on:
→ ADR
→ Drug drug interactions
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→ Drug food interaction
→ Importance of adherence
→ Proper storage condition
→ Actions to be taken if skip, forgot medication intake.
• Appropriate issuance and documentation of psychotropic and
narcotic medications.
❖ There in the pharmacy drugs were arranged based on
pharmacotherapiutic category(which make easy accessibility of
medications and avoid confusion) and dosage forms(liquid dosage
forms on the lowest shelf) category.
Strength of the pharmacy
• There is a clean and attractive area with sufficient dispensing
space.
• There is attractive display with good ventilation, light and drugs
protected from direct sunlight exposure.
• There is a routine cleaning practice
• There is proper drug arrangement with appropriate storage
condition
• There are so many brand medications and other pharmaceuticals
and medical supplies.
• There is sufficient human power(right personnel for the right
work)
• There is an ethical and good dispensing practice by the
professionals with a good customer relationship.
• There is good serving practice with impressive facial expressions
of staffs and appropriate packaging materials and plastic bags.
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Weakness
• There is no compounding area
• There is no separated patient counseling area which makes difficult
to give advice for the needy peoples. e.g-to counsel clients about
the appropriate use of oral contraceptives and impacts of using
irrational use of antibiotics.
• There is no ancillary area for the staff(e.g for changing cloth, rest)
• Sometimes there is inappropriate issuance of medications such as:
give prescription only drugs with out prescription and OTC
medications with out appropriate diagnosis.
• Since the pharmacy is located on central part of the city sometimes
there is background noise which make the communication a little
difficult.
Recommendations
→ It would be better if they prepare a separate area for counseling of
patients, to keep the privacy of patients specially in communicating
sensitive issues.
→ It would be better if they give priority for rational use of drug
rather than business.
→ It would be better if there is an ancillary area and separated
compounding room.
Fruits of our practice
In our community pharmacy practice we try to practice the theories we
have learned before and have got a lot of experiences. Such as:
• Validating and interpretations of prescriptions
• Dispensing prescription drugs
• Responding to symptoms and dispensing OTC drugs
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• Arrangements of drugs
• Varieties of brand medications and different dosage forms.
Conclusion
Generally the pharmacy is an attractive and comfortable place for
clients, well supplied with appropriate materials, equipments and with
sufficient and motivated human power.
Case
I have got a patient with chief compliant of toothache and associated
headache which makes him unable to take food, to talk and to open his
mouth as well since he got up early in the morning and he came to the
pharmacy to got a pain reliever medications.
Then the pharmacist just try to respond his symptoms and issue him a
better pain reliever for his localized aches, she prefer to give him
Ibuprofen 400mg Bid for his localized pain coverage and due to its
single dose availability then advice him to take the medication after
taking a meal to prevent it’s GI irritation, avoid taking cold staffs and
too hot drinks which may exacerbate his pain, after taking the
medication if there is no improvement of pain reliving it will be better to
visit a dentist.
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Reference
→ Good dispensing manual by DACA, 2005
→ Practice from Herbal pharmacy
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