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Chen WH, Lee PC, Chiang SC, Chang YL, Chen TJ, Chou LF, Hwang SJ. Pharmacist Workforce at Primary Care Clinics: A Nationwide Survey in Taiwan. Healthcare (Basel) 2021; 9:healthcare9070863. [PMID: 34356241 PMCID: PMC8306307 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9070863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Although dispensing is usually separated from prescribing in healthcare service delivery worldwide, primary care clinics in some countries can hire pharmacists to offer in-house dispensing or point-of-care dispensing for patients’ convenience. This study aimed to provide a general overview of pharmacists working at primary care clinics in Taiwan. Special attention was paid to clarifying the relationship by location, scale, and specialty of clinics. The data source was the Government’s open database in Taiwan. In our study, a total of 8688 pharmacists were hired in 6020 (52.1%) 11,546 clinics. The result revealed significant differences in the number of pharmacists at different specialty clinics among levels of urbanization. Group practices did not have a higher probability of hiring pharmacists than solo practices. There was a higher prevalence of pharmacists practicing in clinics of non surgery-related specialties than in surgery-related specialties. Although the strict separation policy of dispensing and prescribing has been implemented for 2 decades in Taiwan, most primary care clinics seem to circumvent the regulation by hiring pharmacists to maintain dominant roles in dispensing drugs and retaining the financial benefits from drugs. More in-depth analyses are required to study the impact on pharmacies and the quality of pharmaceutical care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Ho Chen
- Department of Medical Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shi-Pai Road, Taipei 11217, Taiwan;
| | - Pei-Chen Lee
- Department of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shi-Pai Road, Taipei 11217, Taiwan; (P.-C.L.); (Y.-L.C.)
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Chiung Chiang
- Institute of Hospital and Health Care Administration, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Linong Street, Taipei 11217, Taiwan;
| | - Yuh-Lih Chang
- Department of Pharmacy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shi-Pai Road, Taipei 11217, Taiwan; (P.-C.L.); (Y.-L.C.)
| | - Tzeng-Ji Chen
- Institute of Hospital and Health Care Administration, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Linong Street, Taipei 11217, Taiwan;
- Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shi-Pai Road, Taipei 11217, Taiwan;
- Big Data Center, Department of Medical Research, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shi-Pai Road, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-2-2875-7458; Fax: +886-2-2873-7901
| | - Li-Fang Chou
- Department of Public Finance, National Chengchi University, Taipei 116, Taiwan;
| | - Shinn-Jang Hwang
- Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shi-Pai Road, Taipei 11217, Taiwan;
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Abstract
Rehabilitation assists patients with return to baseline activities of daily living after catastrophic events or long hospitalizations. In an effort to increase mobility episodes in the rehabilitation patient, a nurse-led mobility program was suggested. This allows the rehabilitation nurse to participate in the improvement of mobility for rehabilitation patients by mobilizing the patients safely during hours in which physical therapy is not available. The purpose of this project was twofold: (1) Can additional mobility episodes improve outcomes in the rehabilitation patient? (2) How can safe patient handling principles be applied to the rehabilitation patient?
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