The Quality of Pharmacy Practice Among Dispensers in Private Pharmacies: A Case Study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

The quality of pharmacy practice provided by dispensers in private pharmacies was studied. Parameters used include levels of education of the dispensers, access to health information, knowledge and practice regarding dispensing of drugs to patients, and disposal of expired drugs. A total of 150 dispensers selected from 150 pharmacies participated in the study. Data was collected by interviewing the dispensers through structured questionnaires and observations. Regarding the levels of education of the respondents, the study revealed that 26.7% had neither pharmaceutical nor medical education and that only 25.3% of the respondents had regular access to health information. However, results showed that 75% of all pharmacists interviewed were knowledgeable about good practice regarding dispensing of drugs to patients. Further, the results revealed that 92.7% of the pharmacies had their drugs arranged on the shelves according to pharmacological classification. Results on assessment of knowledge about disposing of expired drugs showed 66.7% of the respondents were not knowledgeable. It is concluded that, there is a need for training of dispensers on good pharmacy practice through continuing education in order to achieve quality pharmaceutical services in private pharmacies.