Background: Vaccination is an effective public health intervention in reducing morbidity and mortality of infectious diseases. Compared to other countries where community pharmacists (CPs) administer vaccines, CPs in Malaysia are not authorised. This study aimed to assess CPs' readiness and willingness to provide vaccination in Malaysia, identify potential barriers to and factors supporting the provision of this service. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Malaysian CPs from April to June 2021. A validated online questionnaire was distributed through social media, instant messaging, email, and pharmacy societies. Results: Of 492 CPs recruited throughout Malaysia, 439 (89.2%) expressed willingness to provide vaccination services to the public, 403 (81.9%) agreed with the accessibility of community pharmacies to the public, and 73.4% agreed that their role in vaccination could help to improve the overall vaccination coverage rate. The lack of pharmacist training in vaccination and concerns on maintaining patient safety were identified as barriers to CPs' implementation of vaccination services, with 52.8% and 47.8% of them agreeing, respectively. Training sessions and operational guidelines on providing vaccination services are required to overcome the barriers. Conclusion: CPs in Malaysia were ready and willing to provide vaccination services to the public. However, the implementation demands training workshops and re-evaluation of CPs in public vaccination programmes by Malaysian healthcare policymakers.

An oligonucleotide DNA probe has been developed for the application in the DNA electrochemical biosensor for the early diagnosis of coronavirus disease (COVID‐19). Here, the virus microRNA from the N‐gene of severe acute respiratory syndrome‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) was used for the first time as a specific target for detecting the virus and became a framework for developing the complementary DNA probe. The sequence analysis of the virus microRNA was carried out using bioinformatics tools including basic local alignment search tools, multiple sequence alignment from CLUSTLW, microRNA database (miRbase), microRNA target database, and gene analysis. Cross‐validation of distinct strains of coronavirus and human microRNA sequences was completed to validate the percentage of identical and consent regions. The percent identity parameter from the bioinformatics tools revealed the virus microRNAs’ sequence has a 100% match with the genome of SARS‐CoV‐2 compared with other coronavirus strains, hence improving the selectivity of the complementary DNA probe. The 30 mer with 53.0% GC content of complementary DNA probe 5′ GCC TGA GTT GAG TCA GCA CTG CTC ATG GAT 3′ was designed and could be used as a bioreceptor for the biosensor development in the clinical and environmental diagnosis of COVID‐19.

Background: Psychiatric pharmaceutical care is the provision of pharmaceutical care services to patients with psychiatric related illnesses or disorders. Several studies have demonstrated the positive influence psychiatric pharmaceutical care on patients’ clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes. This study aimed to examine the extent of psychiatric pharmaceutical care practice in a convenience sample of Malaysian government hospitals and the barriers to the provision of these services.Methods: An anonymous cross-sectional survey of registered pharmacists working at a convenience sample of government hospitals in Malaysia was undertaken from September 2019 to June 2020.Results: Pharmacists frequently ensured the appropriateness of the dose (55%), dosage form (47%) and dosing schedule (48%) of the dispensed medications. Most pharmacists infrequently worked with patients and healthcare professionals to develop a pharmacotherapeutic regimen and a corresponding monitoring plan (28%). There was no statistically significant difference in the provision of pharmaceutical care services with respect to gender, age, years of practice, and professional board certification. However, the services offered were influenced by the respondent’s education and pharmacy setting. The obstacles perceived by pharmacists included lack of time (89%), shortage of pharmacy staff (87%), the patients’ inability to comprehend medical information (85%), insufficient demand and acceptance by patients (82%), the lack of official policies and standardised practice protocols (78%), inaccessibility to the patients’ medical records (77%) and the lack of structured communication channels between pharmacists and physicians (75%), the pharmacists lack of knowledge/skills and confidence (78%) and insufficient recognition from physicians to the pharmacists’ skills (76%).Conclusions: This is the first study to explore the extent and barriers of psychiatric pharmaceutical care in Malaysian hospitals; it highlighted the need for mobilising pharmacists to expand these services.

Lack of pharmacogenomics knowledge among healthcare professionals is the most significant cited barrier to implementing pharmacogenomics in clinical settings. Despite the growth in research initiatives and awareness of pharmacogenomics, healthcare professionals continue to report a lack of knowledge and confidence in practicing pharmacogenomics. This study aims to assess the current pharmacogenomics knowledge gaps and learning needs of healthcare professionals in Malaysia. A modified Delphi with a multidisciplinary expert panel was conducted, and a purposive sampling method was used with predefined selection criteria. Fourteen study sites in Malaysia were included. The cut‐off value to approach consensus was predefined as a threshold of 60% or higher, and a quantitative descriptive statistical analysis was performed. The study demonstrated that all experts rated the suggested educational content components as essential/important to be included in the educational intervention. Additionally, experts highlighted the significant barriers and gaps to adopting and practicing pharmacogenomics. To conclude, this multisite Delphi study enabled the development of a tailored, effective, evidence‐based, competency‐based educational intervention in pharmacogenomics for healthcare professionals in Malaysia. To keep up with the rapid evolution of the pharmacogenomics field, healthcare professionals should be equipped with the necessary competencies required to practice pharmacogenomics for better health outcomes. Future research is needed to determine the feasibility of the proposed educational intervention.

Background: Per oral methadone maintenance therapy [MMT] was introduced as part of harm reduction strategy to manage rising numbers of HIV infections caused by intravenous use of illicit drugs. Method: We aim to review published articles related to the side effects of long-term methadone therapy, focusing on hematological derangements in human studies published between 1 January 2000 till 31 January 2021. Results: Our search databases include Web of Science, Scopus, and Medline. Our search yielded 971 articles, of which 55 articles were related to the effects of MMT on various organ systems: cardiovascular [n=12], respiratory [n=1], endocrine [n=10], central nervous system [n=12], neurobehavioral [n=10], gastrointestinal [n=1], and bone [n=1]. There were eight articles specifically related to the hematological side effects of chronic methadone therapy that include [i] immune system hyperactivation, [ii] reduced circulating lymphocytes, and [iii] increased blood viscosity. Conclusion: In view of all foreseeable health risks seen with prolonged methadone therapy, pharmacological modulation is warranted to find a better substitute for managing patients with opioid dependence.

Introduction: Malaysia will be a full aging nation by 2030. The elderly (aged >65 years old) population often has multiple comorbidities, which increases the risk of polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs). This study aims to investigate the prevalence, factors associated with PIMs among elderly outpatients, and its burden of direct pharmacotherapy cost to the Ministry of Health Malaysia. Materials and method: A cross-sectional study involving clinic prescriptions among the elderly with more than one-month prescribing duration received from a tertiary hospital specialist clinic pharmacy from March to April 2017. Patient identifiers were screened using the Pharmacy Information System (PhIS) by including prescriptions from other clinics while excluding multiple visits and duplicate prescriptions. Patients were categorised as PIM group and non-PIM groups using Beers Criteria 2015. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the factors associated with PIMs. The median monthly prescription cost was compared between PIM and non-PIM groups by Mann-Whitney test. Results: Among 472 patients, 39.4% of patients had at least one PIM while 60.6% of patients did not receive any PIM. The number of medications prescribed was an independent risk factor contributing to PIMs (OR:2.04; 95% CI:1.40, 2.97). The median monthly prescription cost for the PIM group was MYR 29.50 (?USD 7.53) which was not statistically significant (p=0.735) compared with the non-PIM group which was MYR 28.50 (USD 7.28). Conclusion: PIM was frequently prescribed in our setting with the number of medications as the only factor. However, the prescribing of PIM did not add nor reduce the direct cost of pharmacotherapy.