Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess community pharmacists’ perceptions toward mental healthcare, and the barriers faced in providing pharmaceutical care services to these patients. A 40-item survey was posted to community pharmacists. Ninety-six pharmacists participated. The majority (84.2%) agreed there is a role for community pharmacists to play in mental health care, while approximately 60% agreed it is their responsibility to provide pharmaceutical care to these patients. The biggest barrier to providing this service is the lack of knowledge, cited by close to 50% of respondents. This corresponds with the revelation that close to 60% believe that they have a poor or fair understanding of mental disorders. About 30% of respondents said they do not stock psychotropic drugs at all, mainly due to medico-legal reasons, and low prescription requests. Our findings highlight the need for more training of community pharmacists in managing patients with mental disorders.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Community Mental Health Journal |
Early online date | 30 Oct 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 30 Oct 2019 |
Keywords
- pharmaceutical care
- psychotropics
- Malaysia
- mental health
- community pharmacist