Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice最新文献

{"title":"The paradox of community pharmacy practice in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).","authors":"Nadir Kheir","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2475082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20523211.2025.2475082","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Community pharmacies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are widely accessible yet underutilized due to regulatory constraints, educational disparities, public misconceptions, and economic pressures. These factors limit pharmacists' roles to mere dispensers, hindering their integration into healthcare systems. Addressing this paradox requires regulatory reforms, alignment of education with practice, public awareness campaigns, and systemic integration to fully leverage community pharmacies' potential in enhancing healthcare delivery.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2475082"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11899197/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143615771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Access to single-inhaler triple medicines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China: a national survey on accessibility and utilisation.","authors":"Wei Li, Wei Guo, Hongdou Chen, Wei Lu, Shule Yu, Menglei Wang, Fangfang Zheng, Huanhuan Wu, Qingqing Yang","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2466215","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2466215","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The maintenance medicines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) include inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) and long-acting β2-agonists (LABA). Budesonide/glycopyrronium/formoterol (BUD/GLY/FOR) and fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) are two representative drugs for prefixed ICS/LAMA/LABA association in a single inhaler and have shown comparable efficacy and safety with other ICS/LAMA/LABA open combination therapies in patients with moderate-to-very severe COPD. This study aimed to investigate the availability, price, affordability, and utilisation of single-inhaler triple medicines for COPD in China.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Quarterly data about the use of BUD/GLY/FOR and FF/UMEC/VI from 2020 to 2022 were collected from the Chinese Medicine Economic Information Network. We used the adjusted World Health Organization and Health Action International methodology to calculate the availability and affordability of the two investigated medicines in 596 tertiary general hospitals and 299 secondary general hospitals in 31 provincial administrative regions in China.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The availability and consumption of BUD/GLY/FOR were significantly higher than those of FF/UMEC/VI during the study period. At the end of 2022, the availability of BUD/GLY/FOR and FF/UMEC/VI in tertiary general hospitals was 69.80% and 52.01% respectively, while in secondary general hospitals, it was 52.51% and 28.76% respectively. Both medications were equally affordable at 1.3 days of the minimum wage after reimbursement in 2022. In the first quarter of 2021, with the inclusion of both drugs in the Medicare catalog, their DDDc decreased significantly, which was accompanied by notable improvements in their availability, affordability and consumption.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The overall accessibility and consumption of BUD/GLY/FOR and FF/UMEC/VI were improved in China from 2020 to 2022. The implementation of the national drug price negotiation policy reduces the cost of drugs in China and plays an important role in improving the availability of the investigated drugs.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2466215"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11894743/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143605252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Perceptions, attitudes and experiences of hospital pharmacists working in the private sector regarding drug shortage in Lebanon: a national cross-sectional study.","authors":"Hadi Hallal, Maha Hoteit, Souheil Hallit, Mahmoud Hallal","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2464786","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2464786","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Our objective was to assess the perception, attitudes, and experiences of Lebanese hospital pharmacists in everyday practice regarding the drug shortage as well as to identify challenges and propose solutions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional survey was conducted between February and June 2021, enrolling 36 Lebanese hospital pharmacists.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The economic crisis and issues with the quality of medicines were ranked as the top two causes of drug shortages in Lebanese hospitals; 88.9% of hospital pharmacists thought that switching to lower doses and using alternatives (97.2%) can be considered viable solutions. To address the issue of drug shortages, efforts made by manufacturers were 36.1%; the availability of alternative drugs in hospitals was 63.9%. All classes of drugs were shorted in hospitals. Hospital pharmacists spent less than 5 h/day to track medicine shortages (44.5%), identifying alternatives (97.3%), purchasing alternatives (91.7%), deliberating with physicians (91.7%). Pharamcists approached 'the parallel import' approach (75%) and contacted other hospitals (52.8%) to insure medicines alternatives.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Drug shortages in Lebanon are driven by various factors and have been increasing across governorates. Public health is the most impacted, especially for patients requiring intensive care, which consequently affects their quality of life.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2464786"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11894753/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143605263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"1925-2025: a century of international pharmaceutical law.","authors":"Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2470840","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2470840","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The 1925 Brussels Pharmacopoeia Agreement and Geneva Opium Convention were foundational in shaping international pharmaceutical regulation. The former sought to standardise potent medicines, while the latter established controls over psychoactive substances. Despite differing objectives, both treaties influenced global pharmaceutical governance, contributing to modern regulatory frameworks and standards such as those of WHO or the European Pharmacopoeia. A century later, the year 2025 is witness to turbulent shifts in geopolitics and global health governance, but also revived contemporary debates on drug policy and traditional medicines. This letter revisits the seldom-documented history and impact of international pharmacy law, highlighting the relevance of these two pioneering treaties to evolving pharmaceutical governance and international health law.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2470840"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11892055/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143597191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevalence and relationship with health of off-label and contraindicated drug use in the United States: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Katharina E Blankart, Frank R Lichtenberg","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2472221","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2472221","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Off-label and contraindicated prescription drug use can result in adverse health outcomes. Despite concerns, the extent and characteristics of such usage patterns remain underexplored in the American population. We conducted a cross-sectional study analysing outpatient prescription data between 2016 and 2021 to determine the prevalence of off-label and contraindicated drug use.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study used labelling information from DrugCentral and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, focusing on the American non-institutionalised population. We analysed 9872 drug-indication and 34,138 drug-contraindication pairs among 46,770 patients and 1,596,753 prescriptions. Linear and probit regressions, and a double machine learning approach, were employed to assess associations between off-label/contraindicated use, health status, and healthcare utilisation, adjusting for demographic and health-related factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, 75% of prescriptions were for labelled indications, while 25% were off-label; 54% were contraindicated. Only 33% of prescriptions were both indicated and not contraindicated. Off-label prescriptions had a lower contraindication rate (48.8%) compared to indicated prescriptions (56.2%). Improved health status and reduced medical expenditure correlated with lower off-label prescription rates. Notably, newer drugs (post-1997) had a higher rate of prescriptions that were both indicated and not contraindicated (43%) compared to older drugs (pre-1979, 21%). Patterns of off-label and contraindicated use were consistent across racial and educational demographics.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Off-label and contraindicated drug use is prevalent in outpatient prescriptions and is associated with worse health outcomes and increased healthcare utilisation. These findings suggest a need for enhanced monitoring and regulatory measures to minimise risks associated with inappropriate prescription practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2472221"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11892052/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143597150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of a clinical pharmacy intervention on medication adherence and the quality use of medicines in patients with acute coronary syndrome: a single centre nonrandomised controlled clinical trial.","authors":"N M Y Bagyawantha, I D Coombes, I Gawarammana, F Mohamed","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2468782","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2468782","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Acute coronary syndrome is a major global disease burden with high morbidity and mortality. This study aims to assess the impact of clinical pharmacy interventions on improving the quality use of medicines and drug-related problems in acute coronary syndrome patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An open, prospective, controlled, nonrandomised clinical trial was conducted at the Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Consenting patients were recruited and divided into control and intervention groups. Medication history, medication adherence and drug-related problems were assessed. The intervention group received clinical pharmacy interventions for six months. Improvements in medication adherence, discharge medication appropriateness, reduction of hospital readmissions for six months, and responses from the healthcare team's awareness and perception on clinical pharmacy services were recorded.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Both groups (control - 180 patients, intervention - 185 patients) showed poor medication adherence at baseline. Medication adherence improved significantly after 6-months post-discharge in the intervention group compared to the control group (49.3% vs 18.8%). The clinical pharmacists successfully identified drug-related problems and provided suggestions for resolving them. The treating team accepted the majority (60%) of these suggestions. Discharge medication appropriateness in the intervention group was significantly higher compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in hospital readmissions related to cardiovascular disorders between the groups. Most doctors and nurses were aware of clinical pharmacists but none of them had previously worked with one.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Clinical pharmacist-led interventions significantly improved medication adherence and appropriateness, underscoring the added value of clinical pharmacists in a multidisciplinary healthcare team. While most doctors and nurses were aware of clinical pharmacists, none of them had prior experience working with them, emphasising an opportunity to foster greater multidisciplinary integration for improved health outcomes. Overall findings highlight the potential role of clinical pharmacists in enhancing good patient outcomes and improving real-world patient care.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2468782"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11878162/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143557174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of pharmacist-led education and prospective audit and feedback on antibiotic dose optimization within medical intensive care units in Thailand: a retrospective study.","authors":"Tipanong Gatechan, Chotirat Nakaranurack, Rongpong Plongla, Thanawan Chuenjit, Alan Edward Gross","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2467456","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2467456","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Critical illness can affect antimicrobial pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Antimicrobial stewardship programs promote appropriate antimicrobial usage. This study aimed to compare the appropriateness of antibiotic dosing, therapeutic drug monitoring, and ICU mortality before and after antimicrobial stewardship program implementation in medical intensive care units.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective study was conducted at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thailand. Adults admitted to medical intensive care units from August 1, 2019, to July 31, 2021, who received selected antibiotics in the antimicrobial stewardship program were included. During the intervention period, general education as well as prospective audit with intervention and feedback were implemented by infectious disease pharmacist and clinical pharmacists. The appropriateness of dosing, therapeutic drug monitoring, and ICU mortality were compared before and after antimicrobial stewardship program implementation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There were 269 patients (455 prescriptions) and 376 patients (604 prescriptions) in the pre- and post-antimicrobial stewardship program implementation groups, respectively. Meropenem was the commonly prescribed antibiotic in both groups. Overall, the appropriateness of dosing and therapeutic drug monitoring improved after antimicrobial stewardship program implementation (36% to 63.58%, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Infectious disease and clinical pharmacists provided 40 interventions with an 87.5% acceptance rate. The most common recommendation was maintenance dose adjustment (79.17% acceptance rate). ICU mortality (29.37% to 18.62%, <i>p</i> = 0.001) and length of hospital stay in the ICU (7 days to 5 days, <i>p</i> = 0.005) were lower in the post-antimicrobial stewardship program implementation group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Pharmacist-led education and prospective audit and feedback on antibiotic dose optimization can improve appropriate antibiotic dosing and therapeutic drug monitoring with a high acceptance rate. We suggest implementing this strategy in other intensive care units such as surgical intensive care units. We still found some nonadherence to our dosing guidelines; additional strategies to optimize dosing should be evaluated.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2467456"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11873917/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pharmacy workforce: a systematic review of key drivers of pharmacists' satisfaction and retention.","authors":"Muna Barakat, Mohammed Sallam","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2470848","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2470848","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Pharmacy workforces are central to healthcare systems, yet the profession faces challenges in job satisfaction and retention due to evolving roles, workload pressures, and other issues. Understanding workforce stability is crucial for optimising pharmacy services.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This systematic review aimed to identify and analyze the critical factors impacting pharmacy staff job satisfaction and retention, providing actionable insights to improve workforce stability and long-term engagement in the profession.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A comprehensive search was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), covering broad academic databases including EMBASE, Web of Science, PubMed, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and the supplementary use of Google Scholar for studies published between 2019 and 2024. The quality of the included articles was evaluated, revealing a generally low to moderate risk of bias.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The review synthesised findings from 81 studies and extracted ten relevant themes. Countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia countries contributed most frequently, highlighting regional research diversity. Key factors influencing job satisfaction included burnout, stress, and workload (24%); work conditions and roles (22%); professional development (14%); earnings and benefits (10%); and leadership support (9%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>With a global perspective that travels across 36 countries in five continents, this study is the latest in-depth analysis of factors influencing job satisfaction in the pharmacy workforce. This review emphasises the need for policy reforms and further research on workplace conditions in different locations. It provides insights for policymakers and healthcare leaders to enhance the pharmacy workforce's strategic support and engagement initiatives.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2470848"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11873935/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Patterns of analgesic utilisation among people with knee osteoarthritis: a cohort study using UK primary care data.","authors":"Aqila Taqi, Sonia Gran, Roger David Knaggs","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2455067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20523211.2025.2455067","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent disabling joint disease affecting more than 300 million people globally and knees are most commonly affected. It is associated with pain and functional limitation that adversely affect mental well-being and compromise quality of life. Analgesic use is common among patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), however, data on patterns of analgesics use at an individual patient level are sparse. The present study describes patterns of analgesic use, by determining the proportion of persistent users within one year of therapy initiation in patients with KOA.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective cohort study using the clinical practice research datalink. Analgesic prescriptions for adults with an incident KOA diagnosis were captured and grouped into five exposure groups including: antidepressants, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and paracetamol. A persistent user was a person who used >180 defined daily doses (DDDs) per year and had prescriptions in at least three out of the four quarters of the year.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Variable proportions of patients used respective analgesic classes persistently during the first year after prescribing; 36.8% of antidepressant users, 27.0% of NSAIDs, 23.8% of AEDs, 17.5% of paracetamol and 14.9% of opioid users were persistent users. Across classes, persistent users were slightly younger, were issued more prescriptions and used higher doses of analgesics compared to non-persistent users.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Between 14.9% and 36.8% became persistent analgesic users by the end of the first year after their initial prescription. The study applied meaningful clinical attributes to define persistence. This informs future research on clinical and adverse drug outcomes in persistent users compared to non-persistent users across five separate analgesic classes.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2455067"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11869337/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing spatial accessibility of community pharmacies in England and Wales using floating catchment area techniques.","authors":"Stephen D Clark, Andy Newing","doi":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2466203","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20523211.2025.2466203","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Community pharmacies in England and Wales are taking on a broader range of primary care responsibilities in order to ease pressure on other health services. 'Pharmacy First', launched in 2024, allows patients to access treatment for a range of common conditions directly from a pharmacy without the need to consult a GP. However, funding and workforce pressures have resulted in a number of pharmacy closures in recent years. This study assesses the geographical accessibility of community pharmacies in England and Wales and identifies the impact of these recent closures.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using open data on pharmacy locations and opening hours this study calculates a Spatial Accessibility Index (SPAI) for access to pharmacies by car in 2022 and 2024. We use a Modified Huff Variable Three Step Floating Catchment Area (MHV3SFCA), a variant of the Floating Catchment Area (FCA) technique.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Suburban and rural neighbourhoods tend to have poorer access to community pharmacies, whilst more deprived neighbourhoods generally have comparatively better access. We identify neighbourhoods which could be classed as 'pharmacy deserts', which are primarily located in rural areas. We identify that all neighbourhood area types witness a reduction in overall accessibility to community pharmacies between 2022 and 2024. In total these result in a 10% reduction in the SPAI.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The MHV3SFCA applied here is novel in its application to community pharmacy accessibility in a UK context. We demonstrate its utility as a tool to identify the impact of changes to the community pharmacy network on accessibility as experienced by different neighbourhoods. We find evidence of a 'positive pharmacy care law' and also the existence of some 'pharmacy deserts'.</p>","PeriodicalId":16740,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice","volume":"18 1","pages":"2466203"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11864020/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143515735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}