An analysis of prescription interventions in community pharmacy

There are various legal and administrative requirements required in New Zealand prescriptions. New Zealand residents receive subsidized medicines which varies depending on their financial status (1). The New Zealand pharmacy profession actively encourages and supports members of the profession to provide patient counseling and pharmaceutical services. However, bureaucratic interventions take up a large proportion of pharmacists' time during the dispensing process and the time required to accurately record interventions, both administrative and clinical, is perceived as a barrier to providing a professional service. It has been reported that pharmacist interventions can reduce costs to patients (3) and contribute to rational drug use. (4) The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and type of prescription interventions made by community pharmacists in their contribution to rational use of medicines