Francesca Wirth

Consumer perception of the community pharmacist and community pharmacy services in Malta

Objectives  We aimed to determine the perception of Maltese consumers of the community pharmacist and of the services offered from community pharmacies.

Time and motion study for pharmacists' activities in a geriatric hospital

Objectives This study aimed to identify and quantify activities undertaken by pharmacists in a geriatric hospital.

Standardising pharmacist patient-profiling activities in a rehabilitation hospital in Malta

Objectives To develop, validate, test for applicability and practicality, implement and undertake a preliminary evaluation of a standard operating procedure (SOP) for pharmacist patient-profiling activities at Rehabilitation Hospital Karin Grech (RHKG). Methods Following direct observation of pharmacist patient-profiling activities in the hospital, a draft SOP was developed. The SOP was validated twice using a self-administered validation questionnaire and was amended according to suggestions proposed during validation. The validated SOP was tested for applicability and practicality through an observation study. Pharmacists were trained to follow the SOP correctly and the SOP was subsequently implemented. Preliminary evaluation of the SOP was undertaken using a self-administered evaluation questionnaire 1 and 4 months post implementation. Results A ‘patient-profiling’ SOP for pharmacists was developed. Validation was beneficial since constructive suggestions were proposed and improvements with respect to SOP content, length, presentation, layout and comprehensiveness were implemented to develop the final version of the SOP. The SOP was found to be practical and applicable for use at RHKG. Preliminary evaluation showed that all pharmacists (nine) found the SOP fit for purpose, easy to follow for training new pharmacists, user friendly, easy to understand and promotes consistency in patient-profiling activities. Conclusions The ‘patient-profiling’ SOP provides a comprehensive approach to standardisation of pharmacist patient-profiling activities at RHKG to improve the quality of patient care. The SOP will need to be regularly reviewed and updated and can be transferred to other hospital settings with minor amendments.

Point-of-Care Testing for Urine Analysis and Microalbuminuria for Diabetic Patient Management:

AbstractThe objective was to implement point-of-care testing in the community pharmacy setting for the urine analysis of microalbuminuria and study the accuracy, practicality, and feasibility of the service. Three community pharmacies in Malta were used to randomly recruit 25 type 1 or 2 diabetic ad

Consumer perception of community pharmacist extended professional services

To assess the perception of Maltese consumers regarding extended professional services for community pharmacists.

Preparing for pharmacist prescribing in Maltese hospitals

To develop and evaluate a framework for pharmacist prescribing in a hospital setting, assess differences between pharmacist and physician prescribing and analyse pharmacist perceptions on pharmacist prescribing.

Clinical pharmacist implementation of a medication assessment tool for secondary prevention of stroke in older persons

Ensuring appropriateness of drug therapy is a key component in the care of older persons and may be supported by medication assessment tools (MATs). The aim of this study was to assess whether implementation of a previously developed MAT for the secondary prevention of ischaemic stroke (MAT‐CVA) in clinical practice contributes to optimisation of drug therapy and clinical pharmacist intervention documentation.

CYP2C19*2 Allele Carrier Status and Coronary In-stent Restenosis: Is There an Association?

The CYP2C19*2 allele is associated with reduced clopidogrel bioactivation, increasing the risk of complications after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), particularly stent thrombosis. Recently published data suggests that CYP2C19*2 allele carriers have a higher risk for in-stent restenosis (ISR) after endovascular treatment. Very few studies have investigated the relationship between CYP2C19*2 and coronary ISR, with no significant association reported. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between CYP2C19*2 allele carrier status and coronary ISR.

DI-059 Optimising drug therapy in older persons: design and implementation of a medication assessment tool for secondary prevention of stroke

This abstract was published in error and withdrawn at the author’s request.

DI-018 Public perception of pharmacogenetic testing

Background Pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing may enhance patients’ confidence in the safety and efficacy of prescribed medications. Purpose To evaluate public perception of PGx testing. Material and methods A self-administered questionnaire was developed and psychometrically evaluated using a two round Delphi technique for validation and test–retest for reliability. The questionnaire consisted of two sections (A and B) with a total of 20 questions. Section A dealt with general questions about PGx testing and section B focused on participants’ willingness towards PGx testing. Following ethics approval, 500 participants were recruited by convenience sampling over 6 weeks (June and July 2016); 250 from public places in 11 different localities and 250 from 5 community pharmacies in different localities. Participants in health oriented occupations were excluded. Descriptive statistics were calculated with IBM SPSS V.23. Results Of the 500 participants, the majority (61%) were women, mean age was 45 years (range 18–86 years) and most (37%) were educated to post-secondary level. The majority (85%) were not aware of the term PGx testing. Following an explanation by the investigator, most participants indicated that they would be ‘very willing’ to have a PGx test performed to assess the effectiveness (37%) and safety (39%) of their prescribed medications and the majority (51%) ‘strongly agreed’ that a PGx test would prevent them from taking an inappropriate drug or dose. The majority (70%) of participants identified drugs to treat cancer as the drug class for which they perceived PGx testing to be most important. The majority (67%) of participants selected the physician as the professional who should perform the test. As regards the preferred location to have the test performed, the majority (61%) selected the hospital. When asked about the cost of PGx testing, most (42%) participants thought the test should be free of charge. As regards time for result, the majority (56%) of participants would expect to have the result within a few days. Most participants (40%) ‘strongly agreed’ that PGx testing should be performed routinely. Conclusion Participants in this study had a positive overall perception of PGx testing and presented expectations of PGx testing as a means to assess efficacy and safety of prescribed medications. No conflict of interest