Patient-centred training for pharmaceutical good distribution practice in Pharmacy of Your Choice (POYC)

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates for a "responsive" healthcare system that meets people's needs, and patient-centredness in healthcare emphasizes the importance of a patient's values and preferences in the delivery of care. The Ministry of Health's Pharmacy of Your Choice (POYC) is devoted to offering the highest quality pharmaceutical service in Malta while also maintaining a patient-centred service by integrating patient-centered Good Distribution Practice (GDP) training within the POYC workforce. The focus of this research is to address the training needs of POYC’s health workforce in terms of pharmaceutical good distribution practices, with an emphasis on a more patient-centred approach. The methodology consists of two phases. Phase 1 tackled the needs assessment. A questionnaire aimed at assessing the core competencies of the services of the POYC workforce was compiled, validated, and disseminated to the respondents. An interview, gathering feedback from stakeholders about the status of the POYC workforce services, was conducted. The study findings from Phase 1 led to Phase 2, which was the development and evaluation of a patient-centred training course on pharmaceutical GDP. A validated questionnaire was prepared and delivered to 27 POYC respondents after a literature review of the research topic. Study findings indicate that the most common training needs highlighted by the participants are good distribution practices (Mean = 4.3), organization and personnel (Mean = 4.1), patient-centred care philosophy (Mean = 4.1), and training and development (Mean = 4.1. Enhancement of pharmaceutical services through improved patient access and comfort; quality assurance; a fully integrated system of medicine prescription from the hospital to community pharmacy; a holistic and community-based patient-centric approach in healthcare service; consistency of medicine delivery; and the preparedness of POYC to handle an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, were the five themes that emerged from the interviews. The mixed methods training needs assessment led to the creation of the "Roadmap to Patient-Centred Care Good Distribution Practice for the Pharmacy of Your Choice Workforce" online training course. The pilot implementation of the online training course was completed by 12 participants. The appropriate training course on pharmaceutical good distribution practice was needed to meet the revised EU GDP guidelines and to ensure a patient-centred approach to the GDP process within POYC.