To ensure the sustainability of pharmacy practice and provide health for all, pharmacy as a profession must embrace the digital transformation that has been changing healthcare at a rapid pace. The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has conducted a global study on digital health in pharmacy education to describe the readiness, adaptability, and responsiveness of pharmacy education programmes to train the current and future pharmaceutical workforce on digital health and to identify the knowledge and skill gaps of the existing pharmaceutical workforce with regard to digital health. An online survey was distributed to collect feedback from academics, pharmacy schools, pharmacists, and pharmacy students. The findings showed that a large proportion of pharmacy schools do not offer any digital health education, and the skillsets and knowledge of how to apply digital health technologies to solve existing clinical problems and improve care have been identified as a gap. The future of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences is digital and exciting. A digitally enabled and agile pharmaceutical workforce will capitalise on the benefits of digital health to serve the higher purpose of providing good health and wellbeing for all, leaving no one behind. Therefore, pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences education should act now.

Objectives: We aimed to develop a structured communication and counseling education program to improve pharmacy students' skills. Then, we objectively assessed this program by using simulated patients. The program aims to improve pharmacy students' communication and counseling skills by using a patient-centered approach. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in three stages. First, a "Pharmacist-Patient Communication and Counseling Skills" education program was developed. Second, this program was implemented for pharmacy students. Third, the program was tested on volunteer students and evaluated for its effectiveness. Results: The education program had a very large effect (Cohen's d(z): 6.074) on improving students' communication and counseling skills, especially their empathy skills. Conclusion: The education program achieved its goals. After demonstrating the program's success, a course was added to the pharmacy curriculum, and a communication skills laboratory was established in the school.

Objective:Pharmacists are vital in disaster response efforts, dispensing essential medications, managing pharmacy services, consulting, and educating survivors regarding their medications. Their contributions, however, are often underrepresented in scientific literature. This study aimed to explore the experiences of pharmacists who provided pharmacy services to meet the pharmaceutical needs of the survivors after 2 major earthquakes in Türkiye in 2023.Methods:This study adopted a phenomenological approach. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to invite pharmacists who provided pharmacy services to survivors. Interview transcripts were analyzed following an inductive, reflexive thematic analysis.Results:In total, 15 pharmacists were interviewed. Four main overarching themes “response to the earthquake,” “preparedness for the earthquake,” “experiences during service delivery,” and “mental and physical experiences” were developed.Conclusions:From participants’ experiences, it is essential to expand the clinical responsibilities of pharmacists and train them in providing wound care, administering immunization, and prescribing. Pharmacists should be integrated as essential members of disaster health teams. International health organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and governments are encouraged to work collaboratively and develop disaster management plans including pharmacists in early responders. This might help mitigate the deficiencies and overcome challenges in health-care systems to provide effective patient-centered care by health professionals and respond effectively to disasters.

In recent decades, there has been an interest in clinical pharmacy practice in Türkiye with emerging studies in this area. Despite the recent emergence of diverse pharmacy practice studies in Türkiye, a comprehensive assessment of overall typology of studies and impact has not been conducted thus far. This systematic review aims to document and assess pharmaceutical policy and practice literature published within the last 5 years in Türkiye. The other aim is to summarise the expected impact of published studies on policy and practice research. The systematic review was conducted according to the guidelines described in the PRISMA Statement. A comprehensive search approach, incorporating Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) queries and free-text terms was employed to locate pertinent literature related to pharmacy practice and policy in Türkiye. The search covered the period from January 1, 2019, to January 1, 2024, and involved electronic databases including PubMed, Medline Ovid, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Springer Link, PlosOne, and BMC. In the final grouping, 73 articles met the inclusion criteria and were selected for this review. Among the quantitative studies, majority studies were cross-sectional survey studies. Through the rigorous thematic content analysis seven research domains were developed from the selected literature: drug utilisation and rational drug use, the emerging role of pharmacist, access to medicines and generic medicines, community pharmacy practice, pharmacovigilance/adverse drug reactions, and pharmacoeconomic studies. The pharmacist role is evolving; however, several challenges remain in fully realising the potential of pharmacists. These include regulatory barriers, limited public awareness of pharmacists' expanded roles, workforce capacity issues, and the need for ongoing professional development and training. Research studies are needed in the areas of generic prescribing, medicine adherence, intervention studies in community and hospital pharmacy practice, and on pharmacoeconomics and pharmacovigilance.

Background: The hub-and-spoke model (HSM) offers a framework for efficient healthcare service delivery. This scoping review seeks to explore the implementation and effectiveness of the HSM in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) reporting guideline was followed. A systematic search was conducted in four electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar) from inception until January 2024. Studies where the HSM was used for delivering any AMS activity, intervention, or action, were included. No study-specific filters were applied and all populations, study designs, and health settings were included. Data screening and selection were achieved using Rayyan. Three authors independently screened studies, with conflicts resolved by a fourth author. Data were narratively synthesised. Standard appraisal tools were impractical; however, critical evaluation of data collection and outcome reporting was ensured. Results: Out of 1438 articles, three were included in the scoping review. The primary interventions utilising the HSM in AMS involved reducing antibiotic misuse, training healthcare professionals, case-based learning, establishing AMS programmes, developing antibiograms, and formulating policies or guidelines pertinent to AMS. The studies demonstrated significant clinical improvements in AMS. Clinical outcomes from the studies include a significant reduction in antimicrobial usage and improved antibiotic management, with a notable decrease in days on antimicrobial therapy and increased antibiotic de-escalation. Key facilitators for AMS programme success were tailored education, collaborative learning, strong leadership, strategic practices, and data-driven decisions. Key barriers were leadership challenges, change resistance, knowledge gaps, inadequate data systems, resource limitations, and technological constraints. Conclusions: The review identified a literature gap in HSM use in AMS programmes. Further studies are needed to assess HSM’s effectiveness, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness in AMS contexts.