OBJECTIVE To compare the costs of prescriptions dispensed through mail service and community pharmacies to quantify the comparative costs of the two types of pharmacies. DESIGN Modeling study based on 1-year of claims data from a cohort of patients. SETTING A health plan in the northeastern United States. PATIENTS Approximately 100,000 members of the health plan. INTERVENTION The plan u...

BACKGROUND Sexually Transmitted diseases (STD) syndrome management has been one cornerstone of STD treatment. Persons with STD symptoms in many countries, especially those with limited resources, often initially seek care in pharmacies. The objective of the study was to develop and evaluate an integrated network of physicians, midwives and pharmacy workers trained in STD syndromic management (T...

BACKGROUND The payment structure for the New Medicine Service (NMS) in England is based on the assumption that 0.5% of prescription items dispensed in community pharmacies are eligible for the service. This assumption is based on a theoretical calculation. This study aimed to find out the actual proportion of prescription items eligible for the NMS dispensed in community pharmacies in order to ...

BACKGROUND Sterile syringe access is a critical component of HIV prevention programs. Although retail pharmacies provide convenient outlets for syringe access, injection drug users (IDUs) may encounter barriers to syringe purchase even where purchase without a prescription is legal. We sought to obtain an objective measure of syringe access in Tijuana, Mexico, where IDUs report being denied or ...

BACKGROUND While bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are important cofactors for HIV transmission, STI control has received little attention in recent years. The aim of this study was to assess STI treatment and HIV testing referral practices among health providers in Kenya. METHODS In 2011 we assessed quality of case management for male urethritis at pharmacies, private clinics ...

OBJECTIVE To explore types of e-prescribing errors in community pharmacies and their potential consequences, as well as the factors that contribute to e-prescribing errors. METHODS Data collection involved performing 45 total hours of direct observations in five pharmacies. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 20 study participants. Transcripts from observations and interviews were subjec...

IMPORTANCE Bevacizumab acquired from compounding pharmacies for intravitreal injection may cause infectious and noninfectious inflammation. In addition to safety issues, the drug itself may have variable efficacy associated with product aliquoting, handling, and distribution. OBJECTIVE To conduct surveillance cultures, evaluate endotoxin levels, and assess protein concentrations of bevacizuma...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of training of dispensers on knowledge of dispensers working at community pharmacies in context to storage temperature, prescription terminologies and status of medicines in Islamabad, Pakistan. METHODS A randomized, controlled, blinded intervention study was designed and implemented. Before the implementation of intervention, a baseline study was performed to...

BACKGROUND More women are requesting Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) at pharmacies where screening for Chlamydia trachomatis is not routinely offered. The objective of this study was to assess the uptake of free postal chlamydia screening by women under 25 years who requested EHC at pharmacies in Manchester, UK. METHODS Six Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) that had contracted with pharmacies...