Competency of Pharmacists in Drug System Management and the Practice of Thai Pharmacists

Abstract

Objective: To study the relevance of competency of pharmacists in drug system management and the practice of Thai pharmacists. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study used online questionnaires to survey the opinions of pharmacists on pharmacy competencies in drug system management. The competency was developed from literature review with two rounds of examination for its content validity by 21 pharmacy experts using the modified Delphi technique. The competencies consisted of 3 domains including 1) general management with 5 competencies and 28 behavioral competencies, 2) drug system management with 3 competencies and 13 behavioral competencies, and 3) leadership and governance with 5 competencies and 17 behavioral competencies. Each competency consisted of behavioral competencies at entry level and advanced level. The questions on the level of relevancy of 58 behavioral competencies with the practice of pharmacists were on a 4-point Likert scale (ranging from very likely to least likely). Results: A total of 386 pharmacists completed the questionnaires, consisting of 254 hospital pharmacists (65.80%), 71 marketing pharmacists (19.17%), 33 community pharmacists (8.55%), 21 pharmacists in consumer protection (5.44%), and 7 manufacturing pharmacists (1.81%). Fifty-one behavioral competencies (87.93%) were relevant with the practice of pharmacists. There were 7 behavioral competencies that were irrelevant with the practice including those related to financial management, procurement and supply chain management and implementation of national health policies. Those who were more likely to rate them as irrelevant were pharmacists without management position and working in manufacturing sectors. Conclusion: The developed competency framework on drug system management was relevant with the practice of pharmacists in Thailand and could be used in pharmacy manpower development.