University of Limpopo Researchers Add New Study Findings to Research in Global Health (The untapped skills of hospital pharmacists in South Africa: How can pharmacists improve service delivery in preparation for National Health Insurance?): Health and Medicine – Global Health

Health & Medicine Business Daily

2023 NOV 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Business Daily -- New research on global health is the subject of a new report. According to news reporting originating from Sovenga, South Africa, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “The tertiary education of a pharmacist in South Africa covers a wide range of expertise; however, many of these skills remain untapped more especially at the public health facilities.”

Our news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from University of Limpopo: “To meet the National Health Insurance’s goals, the role of a pharmacist is anticipated to change as they will be required to embark on a more integrative role by shifting from product-centered focus to a patient-centered approach. The aim of this review is to explore the untapped skills of public hospital pharmacists as a way of improving service delivery in preparation for National Health Insurance. A secondary qualitative technique using desktop approach served as the foundation for this research. The study used thematic content analysis to identify and analyse the roles of hospital pharmacists. The findings of this article indicate that pharmacists can play different roles within the public hospital setting to improve service delivery. The identified roles are: provision of Pharmacists Initiated Therapy, the integration of pharmacists into the wards, the involvement of pharmacists as part of the multidisciplinary healthcare team and the utilisation of specialities such as clinical pharmacists’ services.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “To improve service delivery and promote the idea of holistic pharmaceutical care, it is crucial that the hospital pharmacist delegate responsibilities and functions related to product supply to pharmacist’s assistants as this will give pharmacists more time for patient-focused roles.”

For more information on this research see: The untapped skills of hospital pharmacists in South Africa: How can pharmacists improve service delivery in preparation for National Health Insurance?. GHMJ (Global Health Management Journal), 2023,6(2). (GHMJ (Global Health Management Journal) - http://publications.inschool.id/index.php/ghmj). The publisher for GHMJ (Global Health Management Journal) is Yayasan Aliansi Cendekiawan Indonesia Thailand.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.35898/ghmj-62964.

Our news editors report that more information may be obtained by contacting Tiisetso Chuene, Department of Student Affairs, University of Limpopo, Sovenga, 0727, South Africa. Additional authors for this research include Noko Moloto.