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Background In order to achieve patient adherence, individuals require different levels of information. Basic and adequate information must be provided by different health care providers to patients. Objective To assess the information level of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to determine the source of their information regarding the medicine they use in addition to their satisfaction, inhalation usage techniques and perception of the information providing role of health care professionals. Setting Respiratory disease clinics in Nicosia and Famagusta state hospitals and community pharmacies in North Cyprus. Method A cross-sectional multicentered observational study was carried out in respiratory disease clinics and community pharmacies. Patients' knowledge and healthcare providers' perceptions of their roles were evaluated using "The satisfaction with information about medicines scale". Evaluation of patient's inhalation techniques was performed using a validated checklist. Main outcome measure (a) Patients' knowledge of their medication and satisfaction with the information provided by health care professionals, (b) the prevalence of critical inhalation mistakes, (c) health care professionals' perceptions of their patient counseling practice. Results A total of 110 patients were evaluated, and 6 physicians and 76 pharmacists were recruited for the interview. The health care professionals reported that they talk about the action and the use of medicines with the patients. The standardized average patients' satisfaction score for action and use was 0.35 (± 0.21), whereas for potential side effects, it was 0.26 (± 0.15). Even though 92% of patients believed that they use their inhaler properly, 75% of the patients made at least one critical mistake while using the inhalation demo, which would likely affect the delivery of the medicine to the lungs. Conclusion In spite of health care professionals feeling comfortable with their counseling practices, the majority of patients reported dissatisfaction with the information they provided about medicine, and three out of four patients were making critical mistakes in the use of inhalers. More effort is warranted by health care professionals on patient education to limit critical mistakes.

Background Pharmacogenomics is a branch of biotechnological science integrating medicine, pharmacology, and genomics techniques. Moreover, it focuses on creating drug therapies in order to analyze genetic differences in patients causing various responses to a single therapeutic regimen. Objective This cross sectional study aimed to examine the attitude, knowledge and adoption among pharmacists in North Cyprus and the most appropriate method to improve education among them. Setting Community pharmacy setting. Method A total of 103 out of 140 pharmacists responded to a pre-tested and validated questionnaire consisting of 25 items during July through September 2016. Main outcome measure Pharmacists attitude, knowledge and adoption towards pharmacogenomic tests. Result Data showed that most of the pharmacists in North Cyprus had positive attitude and knowledge scores with mean value of 28.3 ± 5.3 (out of 40) and 6.9 ± 0.8 (out of 10) respectively, further findings showed that there is a significant difference among age groups in their total attitude score (p < 0.05). Conclusion Even though pharmacogenomics is a field promising a variety of benefits, it is vital to implement it in clinical settings in order to improve outcomes. Our findings highlight the necessity for more education on the availability and interpretation of pharmacogenomics tests.

Background Clinical pharmacists are the primary source of scientifically valid information and advice on the safe, rational, and cost-effective use of medications. However, ward-based clinical pharmacy services are not well optimized in Northern Cyprus. Objective Ward based clinical pharmacy services were introduced and evaluated in cardiovascular clinics. Setting Cardiology and cardiovascular surgery departments in a tertiary university hospital. Methods A prospective interventional study introduced and documented clinical pharmacy services for 120 days. Drug-related problems were classified using the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe PCNE DRP classification tool V6.2. Main outcome measure Interventions proposed and acceptance rate of recommendations. Results A total of 133 patients were reviewed, and, 81 patients had drug-related problems. Only 402 (93.1%) of the 432 suggested interventions were accepted and regarded as clinically relevant. Drug-related problems primarily involved antihypertensive, diuretic, and antithrombotic agents. Treatment effectiveness was the major type of drug-related problems (107; 49.3%) followed by adverse drug reactions (74; 34.1%). Drug dose and selection were the most frequent causes of drug-related problems. Add/change/stop medications were the most common types of intervention at the prescriber level. A total of 171 (78.8%) of the identified 217 drug-related problems were solved, 4 (1.8%) of the problems were partially solved, 32 (14.7%) problems were unsolved, and 10 (4.6%) problems had unknown outcomes. Conclusion Clinical pharmacy services may have optimized therapy effectiveness and prevent adverse effects. The pharmacist interventions were highly accepted by cardiologists; this may indicate the presence of a great opportunity and need to optimize and implement CPS in other hospitals in Northern Cyprus.