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'Challenges in pediatric medicine access in Albania: insights from community Pharmacists'
E Petro1,2, T Martopullo3, A K Mantel-Teeuwisse2
1Primary Healthcare Services, Local Healthcare Unit, Durres, Albania.
Insights
Community pharmacists in Albania face barriers accessing pediatric medicines, including limited reimbursement and stock-outs. Improved communication and patient education can enhance availability of essential children
Area of Science:
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Health Systems Research
- Pediatric Pharmacy Practice
Background:
- Global shortage of age-appropriate pediatric formulations impacts health systems.
- Pediatric medicine accessibility is often overlooked, creating significant knowledge gaps.
- Community pharmacists play a crucial role in ensuring pediatric medicine availability and proper use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify barriers and facilitators to accessing pediatric medicines.
- To explore the perspective of community pharmacists in Albania on pediatric medicine access.
- To inform policy and strategies for equitable pediatric medicine availability.
Main Methods:
- Semi-structured interviews conducted with 18 community pharmacists in Albania.
- Data collected in March 2024 from pharmacists in six major cities.
- Analysis employed the Pharmaceutical Value Chain framework.
Main Results:
- Barriers identified across most Pharmaceutical Value Chain domains, excluding health information technology.
- Key barriers include limited reimbursement for pediatric diagnoses and stock-outs of child-appropriate medicines.
- Facilitators include open communication with healthcare professionals and effective patient education.
Conclusions:
- This study is the first to examine pediatric medicine access in Albania from a community pharmacist's viewpoint.
- Findings offer context-specific insights for policy reform and health system strategies.
- Recommendations aim to improve equitable access to essential pediatric medicines.
Background:
Medicines are crucial for strengthening health systems and building patient confidence. Yet, there is a global shortage of age-appropriate pediatric formulations, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Pharmacists are vital in ensuring pediatric medicines' availability and proper use. Research has often overlooked pediatric needs, resulting in significant gaps in understanding the accessibility of medicines for children. This research therefore sought to identify the barriers and facilitators to accessing pediatric medicines from the perspective of community pharmacists in Albania.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted in March 2024 with 18 members of the Albanian Order of Pharmacists, working in the six most populated cities in Albania. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the Pharmaceutical Value Chain framework.
Results:
Barriers to accessing pediatric medicines were evident in almost all domains of the Pharmaceutical Value Chain framework except for health information technology, a domain not referred to by participants. Issues addressed included a limited number of items on the reimbursement list for different child-specific diagnoses and occasional stock-outs of child-appropriate medicines. Open communication channels with other healthcare professionals and patient education were identified as key facilitators in improving access to pediatric medicines.
Conclusion:
This is the first study to examine pediatric medicine access in Albania from the viewpoint of community pharmacists. The findings provide context-specific insights that can inform policy reforms and health system strategies to improve the equitable availability of pediatric medicines.
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