Development of Drugstores to Good Pharmacy Practice by Participatory Action Research in Samutsongkhram Province

Abstract

Drugstore is the first gate line of health service in Thailand. The ministry of public health had launched the notification of the ministry of public health B.E.2557 (2014) Re: Good pharmacy practice regulation which came into force on June, 25, 2014 to be the guideline standard for drugstores in Thailand and a drugstore that got the license before the notification announced must achieve the mandatory GPP regulation within 8 years. For Samutsongkhram province there is a slowly change of all 25 drugstores for the past 3 years.

The purpose of this research was to develop the drugstores in Samutsongkhram province to achieve the mandatory GPP regulation by participation method. This research was also to create the GPP self- assessment by drugstore’s owners. This participatory action research (PAR) was both quantitative and qualitative research.  

          The result was shown that in Samutsongkhram Province, the drugstores have been developed to pass GPP standard from 2 stores (8%) to 22 stores (88%) within 6 months.

The total score of the second assessment of GPP standard of every drugstore has increased significantly from the first time (p-value < 0.001). These samples have shown that this research can develop every drugstore equally to have the same standard. The medicine in all stores has high quality with a few expired one.  As a result, everyone can use medicine more safely with confidence of pharmacist.

          Moreover, there was the GPP self- assessment process developing by pharmacists of the drugstores. The key factor is the participation of every step which should been applied to other areas to develop all drugstores to acquire GPP standard by participatory action policy. It might be chosen by appropriate zone.