Developing a Tool for Auditing the Quality of Antibiotic Dispensing in Community Pharmacies: A Pilot Study

Background: The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control describes the community pharmacist as the gatekeeper to the quality of antibiotic use. The pharmacist has the responsibility to guard safe and effective antibiotic use; however, little is known about how this is implemented in practice. Aims: To assess the feasibility of a method to audit the quality of antibiotic dispensing in community pharmacy practice and to explore antibiotic dispensing practices in Greece, Lithuania, Poland, and Spain. Methods: The Audit Project Odense methodology to audit antibiotic dispensing practice was adapted for use in community pharmacy practice. Community pharmacists registered antibiotic dispensing on a specifically developed registration chart and were asked to provide feedback on the registration method. Results: Altogether, twenty pharmacists were recruited in four countries. They registered a total of 409 dispenses of oral antibiotics. Generally, pharmacists were positive about the feasibility of implementing the registration chart in practice. The frequency of checking for allergies, contraindications and interactions differed largely between the four countries. Pharmacists provided little advice to patients. The pharmacists rarely contacted prescribers. Conclusion: This tool seems to make it possible to get a useful picture of antibiotic dispensing patterns in community pharmacies. Dispensing practice does not seem to correspond with EU guidelines according to these preliminary results.