Interviews were conducted following the experiential

training and 4–6 months after the workshop. Results  Enrolment for the complete multi stage course was limited to 12 pharmacists, while PD0332991 another 59 completed the course to the end of the workshop. Pharmacists completing the entire course had improved knowledge scores following the workshop, and between the workshop and 3-day experiential. These scores declined at 4–6 months. Improvements in confidence occurred throughout the course. At the final interview, all pharmacists indicated a positive impact on their practice. Mentorship was feasible and imperative to offer security to facilitate practice change. Conclusions  Overall, this comprehensive multi stage course improved knowledge, confidence and practice for pharmacists. “
“The study

aims to evaluate factors influencing pharmacists’ management of eye infections following the reclassification of ophthalmic chloramphenicol to pharmacist supply. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire posted to a random sample of community pharmacies in urban and rural areas in Western Australia. Data were entered into Excel and analysed using SPSS v17 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and SAS v9.2 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the responses and ABT888 demographics of respondents. Regression analysis was used to identify relationships between variables. Factor analysis was conducted to pool variables and the derived factors were subjected to regression analysis. Of the 240 community pharmacies surveyed, 119 (49.5%) responded (79% urban and 21% rural pharmacies). Urban and rural pharmacies provided ophthalmic chloramphenicol over-the-counter (OTC) 3–4 and 1–2 times weekly, respectively (P = 0.021), with some pharmacies providing 12

or more per week. Over 82% of respondents claimed that sales of other OTC products used for acute bacterial conjunctivitis had ‘decreased/decreased markedly’. A majority of respondents (59%) claimed that there was no change in the number of prescriptions received for ophthalmic chloramphenicol. Most respondents (76.4%) 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase agreed/strongly agreed that pharmacist’s current level of training was adequate to provide ophthalmic chloramphenicol. However, approximately one-fifth (21.8%) responded that pharmacists required some additional training. Down-scheduling of ophthalmic chloramphenicol has improved pharmacists’ capability to treat acute bacterial conjunctivitis, largely as a replacement for products previously available OTC, rather than fewer general practitioner consultations. Pharmacists showed overall support for the reclassification as it enabled better use of professional skills and patient access to improved treatment options. “
“Objectives  Pharmacy practice increasingly revolves around obtaining and interpreting information.