1. J Pharm Belg. 2010 Sep;(3):68-74.

[Evaluation of the quality of counseling provided by community pharmacists to
pregnant women].

[Article in French]

Vanham D, Spinewine A.

Université Catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the quality of counseling provided by community
pharmacists to pregnant women.
METHODS: Observational study. Three clinical scenarii were selected on the basis 
of frequent complaints during pregnancy and likely use of medications: (1)
headache (2) nausea and vomiting (3) no complaint, but request of a pregnancy
test and a decongestive medicine. Four simulated female patients presented
themselves to a total of 26 community pharmacies and asked precise questions. The
responses were transcribed, compared to the awaited responses, and after the
initial conversation a semi-quantitative questionnaire was filled in by the
pharmacist.
RESULTS: No pharmacist proposed a drug considered to be contra-indicated during
pregnancy. For most drugs, pharmacists knew whether the use during pregnancy was 
allowed or not. In contrast, too few questions were asked before dispensing
medicines, non pharmacological options were most often omitted, and explanations 
relative to choice of therapy and dosage were usually very limited and sometimes 
inexistent or incorrect.
CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study showed that pharmacist counseling on the medicines 
(not) to be taken during pregnancy is of good quality, but that there is room for
improvement in the following: questions to be asked before dispensing medicines, 
non-pharmacological options, dosage information, and rationale for choosing a
specific drug.


PMID: 21090382 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]