Community pharmacy Medicines Use Review: current challenges.

Area of Science:

• Health Policy
• Pharmaceutical Services
• Implementation Science

Background:

• The aging population necessitates effective medicine management.
• Patient non-adherence to medications affects up to 50% of patients.
• Community pharmacies are key in improving medicine use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore current challenges facing Medicines Use Reviews (MURs).
• To analyze the embedding of MUR policy into practice.
• To identify opportunities for service improvement.

Main Methods:

• Narrative review of existing literature.
• Application of Damschroder et al.'s consolidated framework for implementation research.
• Analysis from patient and professional perspectives.

Main Results:

• MURs face challenges including poor public awareness, organizational constraints, and interprofessional collaboration issues.
• Despite challenges, MUR policy and practice have evolved.
• Reforms indicate a move towards greater responsiveness to patient needs.

Conclusions:

• Identifying challenges in MURs provides opportunities for policymakers to enhance the service.
• Further debate and service reconfiguration are needed for optimal patient outcomes.
• Improving MURs can lead to more effective medicine use and reduced waste.