Community pharmacy and selfcare provision: An international perspective

Abstract

A themed series of papers titled “Selfcare for Health System Sustainability: An International Series on the Role of Community Pharmacy” were published in the Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy journal between 2022 and 2024. The themed series covered 13 countries and had three objectives:

Objective 1 to describe selfcare policies, strategies and developments in countries and the key changes envisaged to ensure a more effective use of non-prescription products and ensure patient safety regarding drug, non-drug products and practices; Objective 2 to provide country-based selfcare activities and services with examples of programs; and Objective 3 to discuss the challenges and opportunities community pharmacy/pharmacists face in relation to the provision of selfcare services.

Most countries stated that there was little or no government policy recognition of selfcare and when they do exist, pharmacists' roles are rarely mentioned. Some countries stated that there was “no meaningful translation of the term selfcare” and on many occasions, different terminology such as “health promotion”, “prevention” or “disease prevention” were used.

Minor ailment services and counselling on self-medication were the only two services listed by all authors related to selfcare. Although some services may include selfcare elements, most services identified include selfcare as a side component. One could question whether the term “selfcare” is understood in its broad definition by the pharmacy profession.

Some of the challenges identified by authors were lack of service remuneration, lack of standardization of services, lack of selfcare training for pharmacists or lack of integration of pharmacies within the healthcare system. Pharmacies are reportedly already providing many services related to selfcare; however, it might be beneficial if the concept of selfcare was better defined, used more inclusively, more formally codified in regulatory policy to facilitate improvements and recognition of the roles of pharmacists and other health care providers.