Evaluation of the peculiarities of the use of extemporaneous medicinal products and the development perspectives of the segment. Survey of patients’ and pharmacists’ views on social pharmacy.

The following text is the Master‘s thesis titled ,,Evaluation of the peculiarities of the use of extemporaneous medicinal products and the development perspectives of the segment. Survey of patients’ and pharmacists’ views on social pharmacy“, by Vilma Kvedaravičiūtė, supervisor: Dr. Rima Jūratė Gerbutavičienė. Lithuanian University of Health Science, Medicinal Academy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Drug Technology and Social Pharmacy. Kaunas, 2020. The aim of the research is to analyze the peculiarities of extemporaneous drug use and to determine the development perspectives of the segment. Tasks: to reveal the most commonly produced pharmaceutical forms and diseases for which extemporaneous medicinal products are most often produced; to determine the attitude of pharmaceutical specialists to the development perspectives of the extemporaneous pharmaceutical preparations segment in industrial pharmacies in Lithuania; to disclose patients' awareness of the possibilities of acquiring extemporaneous medicinal products; to reveal patients opinion of the peculiarities of the use of extemporaneous. The participants of the research were the pharmacy specialists from Kaunas and Vilnius areas, and Vilnius city residents. Research methods include the questionnaire survey, data and content analysis and comparative method. We have constructed two questionnaires for the pharmacy specialists from Vilnius and Kaunas areas. These questionnaires contained the open questions, which were later changed into the quantitative responses. Survey questions for respondents from Vilnius area were grouped into two blocks, namely the ones who purchased extemporal mediations and those who have not. In total, we handed out 400 questionnaires, of which 228 have been filled up and returned, which makes a response rate 57 %. The pharmacy specialists from Vilnius and Kaunas area have received 56 questionnaires, of which 48 and that makes the response rate 86 %. The main findings of the research: The results of a survey of pharmacists suggests that patients usually buy extemporaneous medicines for outpatient treatment following the prescriptions - for the treatment of skin and cold diseases, when there is no corresponding industrially prepared product and / or it is necessary to choose an individual composition. The most commonly produced drug forms are ointments, creams and powders. It has been established that the decline in the demand for extemporaneously produced medicines is influenced by the decreasing number of prescriptions issued by doctors and the dispensing of medicines only with prescriptions. 37% of pharmaceutical experts say that the extemporal production will grow as a result of increasingly growing opportunities in the segment. Most of the surveyed pharmaceutical specialists indicated that it is necessary to carry out the development of doctors and pharmacists, to provide doctors with information about the composition of drugs. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the surveyed residents of Vilnius have purchased extemporaneously produced medicines at least once. The drugs were most commonly purchased for the treatment of skin deseases and colds because the composition of the drug met the patients’ individual needs. One third of the respondents have bought extemporaneous drugs repeatedly. 37 % of the respondents have bought the drugs for their children. It was found that 32 % of respondents had never bought extemporaneous drugs because they were not prescribed by their doctor and had no information about drugs at all. However, 69 % of them would consider purchasing it if they had information about individual drug selection options. Patients with experience in purching extemporaneous drugs would purchase more products if the prescription would not be necessary, there were more manufacturing pharmacies, and if they had more information from doctors and pharmacists. Practical recommendations: To the Ministry of Health: Increase the focus on the professional development courses for doctors and pharmacists about extemporaneously medicines; To the State Medicines Control Agency: To regulate extemporaneous medical products with long-term experience as over-the-counter medicines; Create electronic manuals for physicians with extemporaneous drug formulations; prescription information. For managers of pharmaceutical retail companies, pharmaceutical specialists: Disseminate information to consumers about extemporaneously produced medicines, their range, possibilities of individual application to the patient