Badri K.C, Himal Paudel Chhetri
OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the research with pre-post intervention (one day training) were to evaluate the dispensers knowledge through structured questionnaire, calculate the average dispensing time, assess the content of labelling parameter and evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacist intervention.
METHODS: A base line survey (n=104) with semi-structured questionnaire was done. Twenty pharmacies were randomly chosen for interventional study. Outcome measures consisted of percentage of right answer, observation of dispensing time, percentage of drugs adequately labelled and labelling content.
RESULTS: A pre-post evaluation of answers to self-administered questionnaire showed improvement in knowledge from 70.71% to 91.42%. The average number of retail pharmacies outside the hospital was 5, with more number outside the hospitals which have their own hospital pharmacy. The average dispensing time was 97.26 seconds. Label was present in 94.5% of encounters but only 3.3% had envelop use. 21% increment in average dispensing time was seen in intervention group.
CONCLUSION: Improvement in dispensing practice can occur even with a short training of one day.
