[Opportunity to develop pharmaceutical care for female infertility in community pharmacy: Results from a survey on...

Infertility is defined as not being able to get pregnant after one year or longer of unprotected sex. The infertility rate is increasing in France and pharmaceutical care should adapt to this issue. The objective of this study was to assess how women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) perceived ART-related pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies and to suggest ways of improving the service.

We conducted a study with patients undergoing ART at the Institute of Reproductive Medicine in Marseille, using a questionnaire. The questions concerned the perception of care given at the community pharmacy on various aspects related to medication, on a scale of 1 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (very satisfied). The last question was an open-ended question about patient's expectations.

In all, 105 patients answered the questionnaire. The average age of women was 34.5±4.8-years-old. The scores obtained concerning the perception of support on the themes explored varied between 2.8±2.8 for the lowest score and 4.2±3.4 out of 10 for the highest. In all, 79.6% of the respondents were in favor of the development of specific support in community pharmacies, especially about administration methods, management of adverse effects and management of waste linked to treatment.

Women undergoing ART are willing to receive pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies. In order to meet their expectations, it is necessary to develop dedicated training programs.