Social pharmacies and their role in the healthcare system

Abstract

The aim of this study is to know the pharmacists’ opinion about the work of social pharmacies and the social activity of community pharmacies, as well as to develop recommendations on improvement of the social activity of the pharmacy network in the Republic of Moldova. The survey of pharmacists (specialists with higher pharmaceutical education) has been conducted. The advanced working experience of the social pharmacies on the example of the Rumanian pharmacies has been analyzed. The absence of social pharmacies in the Republic of Moldova has been found. The majority of respondents supports the need for social pharmacies (94%) and considers the presence of such pharmacies in the Republic of Moldova to be possible (72.4%). The social activity of community pharmacies (78.8% of the respondents) has been also supported. The provision of social pharmaceutical services for the population of the Republic of Moldova through the pharmaceutical network is mentioned only by 46.6% of the respondents working in these pharmacies. The causes of the absence of social pharmacies in the Republic of Moldova, including, first of all, their unprofitable activity (100%) and the lack of regulations (57.3%), have been determined. The methodological recommendations for improving the social activity of pharmacies in the Republic of Moldova have been developed.