Pharmacy
in Moldova is undergoing a period of transition. The professional
practice is adjusting to a market-oriented economy from the previous
Soviet system. The pharmaceutical sector has been liberalised
giving rise to a significant increase in the number of community
pharmacies. This has led to some adverse effects on the profession
of pharmacy with pharmacists having considerable difficulties
fulfilling their professional aspirations and possibly losing
confidence in further developing their professional role.
Objective: To assess community pharmacists’ attitudes towards
their professional practice and to determine their perceived competence
in various pharmaceutical activities.
Methods: A questionnaire which addressed managerial activities,
dispensing activities, pharmaceutical care activities, inter-professional
relationships, public health and competence was mailed to 600
community pharmacists who were asked to score the importance and
perceived competence for each activity on a scale ranging from
0-5. In the case of pharmaceutical care activities, pharmacists
were asked to score their degree of agreement or disagreement
as to whether it is the responsibility of the pharmacist to engage
in specific pharmaceutical care activities.
Results: A total of 370 valid questionnaires were returned giving
a response rate of 61.7%. Managerial and dispensing activities
were scored the highest both in terms of perceived importance
and competence. The more innovative pharmaceutical care activities
scored relatively low. Overall scores relating to the importance
of pharmacists engaging in public health activities appear to
be the lowest of the entire questionnaire. Younger pharmacists
between the ages of 22-30 obtained significantly higher scores
with regards to the perceived pharmacist’s responsibility in engaging
in various pharmaceutical care activities. Respondents who practiced
in an accredited pharmacy scored higher in the majority of questions.
Conclusion: Pharmacists in Moldova appear to be deeply rooted
in the traditional approach to the practice of pharmacy pertaining
mainly to distributive practice model and are somewhat distant
from the other models of practice such as pharmaceutical care,
drug information and self-care.
