Perception of Nepalese community pharmacists towards patient counseling and continuing pharmacy education program: A multicentric study

Objective: To study the perception of community pharmacists towards patient counseling and continuing pharmacy education programs. Methods: A semi structured questionnaire was developed by the researchers. The research was carried out in six major cities in Nepal, namely Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratanagar, Birgunj, Nepalgunj and Bhairahawa. The filled questionnaires were analyzed as per the study objectives. Results: Altogether, 60 community pharmacists were included. Among them, 88.33% (n=53) were male. More than 50 patients visit most of the community pharmacies [36.67% (n=22)] daily. Most of the dispensers [56.67% (n=34)] took 1-5 minutes for dispensing a prescription. In most of the pharmacies [56.67% (n=34)], there were 2-5 dispensers and the qualification of a majority of dispensers were orientation training. Most of them [56.67% (n=340] believed that counseling was necessary as it was their own duty, but however, 48.33% (n=29) said that it was necessary to increase patient compliance. Our finding suggests that 83.33% (n=50) of retailers were facing some problems during patient counseling. All participants were interested in the continuing pharmacy education program. Conclusion: On the whole, the community pharmacists had a positive response towards patient counseling. Our findings suggest the need for continuing pharmacy education programs in Nepal to strengthen the concept of patient counseling.