P623 - PHARMACISTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN ORAL NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

P623

PHARMACISTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN ORAL NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

Ö. Geridönmez^1,*, N. Büyüköz², B. Kelleci Çakır¹, S. K. Demirkan¹

¹Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Hacettepe University Faculty of Pharmacy, ²Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye

Rationale: Safe and effective administration of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) requires a thorough understanding of usage recommendations. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of community pharmacists regarding the usage and storage conditions of ONS.

Methods: An online survey (23 questions covering demographic information, knowledge about usage and storage conditions of ONS) created for this study was applied to the community pharmacists.

Results: The study included 95 pharmacists (67.4% female, mean±SD age 38.9±11.3 years). Only 16.8% of pharmacists reported having knowledge of ONSs, while 77.9% had never received any education on the topic. Dispensing of ONS prescriptions was reported as always, frequently, and occasionally (2.1%, 27.4%, 46.3%, respectively). Majority of the pharmacists (63.2%) were familiar with ONS usage due to their relatives/friends. Less than half of pharmacists (42.1%) had no designated specific area for storing ONSs prior to patient delivery. They informed the patients about ONSs mostly on their usage (86.3%), storage conditions (65.3%), and prescription information (52.6%). Drug information databases are the primary source for pharmacists (90.5%) to learn ONS storage conditions. Pharmacists were more likely to provide correct answers about the storage conditions of unopened ONSs compared to opened ONSs (68.4-84.2% and 31.6-52.6%, respectively). The instructions on how to properly dispose expired ONS were not provided by 66.3% of the pharmacists. Almost all the pharmacists (93.7%) requested education on ONSs.

Conclusion: The study indicated that pharmacists have limited knowledge on ONS particularly about storage conditions and unpackaged product disposal, due to lack of pre- or post-graduate education. It is anticipated that community pharmacists will be able to address their gaps through comprehensive education on ONSs, thereby enhancing their ability to provide improved information services to patients.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared