A Descriptive Study of Community Pharmacy Practice in Palestine: Analysis and Future Look

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the community pharmacy practice in Palestine from a clinical and legal aspects. The study was conducted on a random sample of community pharmacies and carried out by pharmacy students of An-Najah University using a 15-item questionnaire. The working hours of community pharmacies is approximately 9 hours daily and the average working people in the pharmacy is 2.8. The average customer turnover is approximately 25.8. Medical representatives and manufacturer brochures are the primary source of drug information for 90% community pharmacists. Over the counter sale of many prescription medications is unregulated. Substitution of prescribed medications is common in 25% of community pharmacies. No official record of prescription is available. The Ministry of health, the Palestinian Pharmaceutical Association and the college of pharmacy at An-Najah University ought to take measures to improve the pharmacy practice and to provide continuing educational opportunities for community pharmacist in Palestine.