Public health roles for community pharmacy: Contrasts and similarities between England and Thailand
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Abstract
The role of community pharmacists in providing services designed to improve public health has expanded in many countries. This article compares community pharmacy in Thailand to England, where public health services have developed rapidly in recent years. From the literature we have reviewed, although still limited, we conclude that the general public in both countries view the community pharmacist mainly as an expert on medicines. The implementation of pharmacy regulation, prescription dispensing system and government support between the two countries are different. Evidence seems stronger from England that community pharmacy has the potential to provide public health services and has been strongly supported by the government, but more work is needed to explore this in Thailand. It is important that the public’s perception should be taken into account in both countries, in order to best design acceptable and accessible public health services.
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