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Background Medication review is important in an era, in which polypharmacy is increasing. To date, no agreed international definition of medication review exists. Objective The aim was to reach agreement on an internationally applicable definition of medication review. Setting An international group of experts in medication review. Methods A working group of the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) was established to agree on a definition including a classification of medication review. First, a survey with the aim of systematically gathering viewpoints on a definition of medication review was conducted. Second, a workshop was held to achieve an agreement. Finally, during the General Assembly of PCNE, the definition was approved. To ensure a better understanding of the scope and the considerations behind the definition, a position paper was created. Main outcome measure An internationally agreed definition of medication review. Results 58 PCNE members from 20 different countries completed the online survey. Then, 22 participants from 11 different countries (not only PCNE members) elaborated the final definition during a workshop. The final PCNE version agreed was: "Medication review is a structured evaluation of a patient's medicines with the aim of optimising medicines use and improving health outcomes. This entails detecting drug-related problems and recommending interventions". Overall, the consensus process included 225 people from 35 countries and resulted also in a classification of medication review taking into account the type and source of available information. Conclusion Involvement of an international community from research and practice and the use of a systematic process led to an agreement on the term medication review and on a classification valid for all settings and professions.

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Multiple terms and definitions exist to describe specific aspects of pharmacy practice and service provision. This commentary explores the reasons for different interpretations of words and concepts in pharmaceutical care and pharmacy practice research. Reasons for this variation can be found in language, culture, profession and may also depend on developments over time. A list of words is provided where the authors think that currently multiple interpretations are possible. To make sure that the reader understands the essence, it seems imperative that authors include a definition of the topics that they actually study in their papers, and that they clearly cite existing definitions or refer to collections of definitions such as existing glossaries. It is important that presenters, authors and reviewers of pharmacy practice papers pay more attention to this aspect of describing studies.

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BACKGROUND: The role of the pharmacist has undergone profound changes over the recent years. In most European countries, the tendency seems to be that pharmacists are moving from being product-oriented to service-oriented. An interesting series of papers describing care related services of pharmacy in various countries has been published in 2006, but much has changed since then. This paper aims to provide an updated view on the overall health care sector in Europe, with a special focus on services in community pharmacy. OBJECTIVE: To list and compare health care and community pharmacy structure in Europe; and to discuss the facilitators and barriers that can be found in health care systems and may promote or hinder the implementation of new community pharmacy services. SETTING: European community pharmacy practice. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken where data were collected using an online survey sent to a purposive sample of representatives from 27 European countries. Main outcome measure variation in professional community pharmacy services across Europe. RESULTS: Data were obtained from 22 respondents in 19 countries (70.4%). Health care is mainly provided by a form of public National Health Services in 17 of the 19 countries. Demographic criteria for founding new pharmacies were present in 17 countries. Medicines are exclusively available in pharmacies in approximately one third of the countries. Smoking cessation (93.8%), drug waste management (81.3%) and pharmaceutical care programmes for specific diseases (77.8%) were reported as the most widely disseminated services in European pharmacies. CONCLUSIONS: There are still major differences between community pharmacy practice in Europe. Differences are mostly due to the legal framework and remuneration issues, which impact on the range of services available from pharmacies to the community of each country.

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BACKGROUND: Twenty-three years after Hepler and Strand published their well-known definition of Pharmaceutical Care (PhC), confusion remains about what the term includes and how to differentiate it from other terms. The board of the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) felt the need to redefine PhC and to answer the question: "What is Pharmaceutical Care in 2013". OBJECTIVE: The aims of this paper were to review existing definitions of PhC and to describe the process of developing a redefined definition. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in the MEDLINE database (1964-January 2013). Keywords included "Pharmaceutical Care", "Medication (Therapy) Management", "Medicine Management", and "Pharmacist Care" in the title or abstract together with the term "defin*". To ease comparison between definitions, we developed a standardised syntax to paraphrase the definitions. During a dedicated meeting, a moderated discussion about the definition of PhC was organised. RESULTS: The initial literature search produced 186 hits, with eight unique PhC definitions. Hand searching identified a further 11 unique definitions. These 19 definitions were paraphrased using the standardised syntax (provider, recipient, subject, outcome, activities). Fourteen members of PCNE and 10 additional experts attended the moderated discussion. Working groups of increasing size developed intermediate definitions, which had similarities and differences to those retrieved in the literature search. At the end of the session, participants reached a consensus on a "PCNE definition of Pharmaceutical Care" reading: "Pharmaceutical Care is the pharmacist's contribution to the care of individuals in order to optimize medicines use and improve health outcomes". CONCLUSIONS: It was possible to paraphrase definitions of PhC using a standardised syntax focusing on the provider, recipient, subject, outcomes, and activities included in PhC practice. During a one-day workshop, experts in PhC research agreed on a definition, intended to be applicable for the present time, representative for various work settings, and valid for countries inside and outside of Europe.

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OBJECTIVES: To explore and classify drug-related problems (DRPs) with new prescriptions detected in community pharmacies using a modified PCNE (Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe) classification system. SETTING: Sixty-four Swiss community pharmacies offering internships for pharmacy students. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Occurrence, nature and pharmacist's management of DRPs. METHODS: Fifth-year pharmacy students collected consecutively hospital discharge and primary care prescriptions. After training, they documented clinical and technical DRPs, causes and interventions. RESULTS: Prescriptions of 616 patients (43.0% discharged from hospital) were analysed. The patients' median age was 56 years and they received a median of 3 (range 2-19) different drugs. In 121 (19.6%) prescriptions 141 clinical DRPs were detected. The most frequent clinical DRPs were potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) (37.6%), drug choice (24.8%) and drug use problems (15.6%). These clinical DRPs led to a total of 299 interventions. There were 222 prescriptions (36.0%) that showed 278 technical DRPs, resulting in a total of 417 interventions. Most frequent technical DRPs were missing or unclear package size or therapy duration (32.7%) and missing or unclear dosing/application instructions (30.9%). Most DRPs (75.4%) could be managed by the pharmacist alone. The number of prescribed drugs was the main factor with an influence on the frequency of clinical and technical DRPs. CONCLUSION: Clinical and technical DRPs are frequently observed in primary care as well as in hospital discharge prescriptions. The modified PCNE classification system, especially the amendment with a technical DRP category, proved to be useful and allowed the classification of all DRPs. Neither the setting (hospital discharge vs. primary care) nor the quality of electronically printed prescriptions, but only the number of prescribed drugs influenced the occurrence of clinical or technical DRPs.

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AIM OF THE REVIEW: To summarise the state of community pharmacy in India including: the provision of patient care, pharmacy education, the pharmaceutical market, healthcare delivery, community pharmacy services, the professional role of community pharmacists, and future developments. METHOD: Medline, Scirus, and Google Scholar databases and the journals "Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences" and "Indian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy" were searched up to the end of December 2008. In addition to these, other available sources were used to identify relevant articles. RESULTS: India has a fast growing pharmaceutical industry sector and a need for well educated pharmacists. Domestic sale of medicines is estimated to be $5 billion during 2006 and increasing. The supply of medicines to the population is undertaken by privately owned community pharmacies and sometimes also by hospital pharmacies. Community pharmacists are involved only in dispensing medicines. Community pharmacists have an opportunity to improve healthcare of the population, particularly of the disadvantaged section of the society that does not have the resources to visit clinics (both the poor and rural population). However, important barriers to the provision of pharmaceutical care exists, including lack of proper education and training of pharmacists, weak implementation of existing laws, and lack of recognition of the pharmacy as a profession by the other healthcare professionals. CONCLUSION: The healthcare services in community pharmacies, currently insignificant, must undergo reforms to meet the changing needs of modern medicines users. The pharmacist's role in patient care is expected to grow as professional and educational standards develop. Although pharmacists' contributions to health care are not yet recognized, there is every reason to be optimistic toward making patient care in community pharmacy setting a success. For this, the educational system for pharmacists has to be adapted.

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OBJECTIVE: To describe the current and possible future development of pharmaceutical care activities and research in healthcare settings in Peru. FINDINGS: Pharmaceutical care has developed slowly in Peru because, until recently, clinical practice never was part of community or hospital pharmacy practice. Some activities of the Ministry of Health, schools of pharmacy, pharmacy organizations, and individual pharmacists, including changes in legislation, are now creating the opportunity to develop pharmaceutical care practice. The implementation of pharmaceutical care in different settings will follow, based on the legislation and experiences of the pharmacists involved. DISCUSSION: The 2004 legislative changes in Peru in the field of drug regulation and the health system create more opportunities for pharmacists to be active in providing care to patients. To stimulate the provision of care, programs of formal training are offered by universities, but more pharmacists need to participate in these courses. As long as pharmacists are absent from their pharmacies (their presence is required by law), little can be expected. The development of interprofessional collaboration in the Peruvian health system, currently nonexistent, is also important. To improve the performance of the pharmaceutical care system, good relationships between teachers and practitioners must be stimulated. Such links are also essential for developing research into the impact of pharmaceutical care on clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes of patient care. CONCLUSIONS: The pharmaceutical care movement is growing in Peru. The legislation now supports the provision of pharmaceutical care. A number of developments must be stimulated, such as protocol development, appropriate continuing education, different kinds of networking, and remuneration procurement for care provision. When these successfully evolve, pharmaceutical care will become a professional aspect of the work of all pharmacists in Peru.

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OBJECTIVE: To describe the pharmaceutical care activities and research in community pharmacy in the Netherlands. FINDINGS: Pharmaceutical care is well advanced in Dutch pharmacy practice. This is largely due to the fact that clinical pharmacy was already an integrated part of community pharmacy practice by the end of the 1980s. Activities of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), some wholesale companies, and influential individuals in the Netherlands stimulated universities and the Royal Society for the Advancement of Pharmacy to advance the implementation of pharmaceutical care. DISCUSSION: Not all pharmacies in the Netherlands provide pharmaceutical care at the same level, although medication surveillance (concurrent and prospective medication analysis) is part of everyday practice. Implementation of quality assurance systems in community pharmacy practice could be helpful in assuring high levels of care. Similar to those in other countries, Dutch pharmacists are torn between the wish to provide pharmaceutical care and economic considerations, although the financial status of most pharmacies is still (very) healthy. New entrants into the market, such as supermarket and pharmacy chains, seem to put little emphasis on care provision. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmaceutical care has been implemented in many Dutch community pharmacies, but not everywhere to the same extent. Due to excellent automated medication surveillance; structured, high-quality medication counseling; and the fact that patients usually visit the same pharmacy, Dutch patients are well protected against many drug-related problems.

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