COUNSELING ON THE USE OF PERSONAL MEDICAL DEVICES
AND DRUG-DELIVERY PRODUCTS – A TRADITIONAL OR
EXTENDED COMMUNITY PHARMACY SERVICE?
TAGNE RATASSEPP1, ALINA SHAGANDINA2, JUHA TURUNEN3, RIITTA AHONEN4, PEEP VESKI┼2, JYRKI HEINÄMÄKI2, DAISY VOLMER2*
1Medical Device Department, Estonian Health Board, Põllu 1a, 50303 Tartu, Estonia
2Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu, 1 Nooruse Street, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
3Farenta Oy, Äyritie 16, 01510 Vantaa, Finland
4School of Pharmacy, Faculty of health Sciences, University of Eastern-Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
*corresponding author: daisy.volmer@ut.ee
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Abstract:
The use of personal medical devices (PMDs) and various drug-delivery products (DDPs) is rapidly growing in primary health
care worldwide. The aims of the present survey were to assess the attitudes of community pharmacists on counselling on the
use of PMD/DDP, and to investigate the connection between self-evaluated knowledge on counselling and the
implementation of new extended community pharmacy services regarding PMDs/DDPs. A descriptive cross-sectional
questionnaire-based survey using an internet-based eFormular survey platform was conducted in Estonian community
pharmacies between May-June 2012. Of the delivered questionnaires (n = 356) 137 were returned having a response rate of
38.5%. More than half of the respondents considered the PMD/DDP counselling services as a traditional community
pharmacy service. The majority of the respondents (89.9%) reported a wide public interest in the self-screening of health
indicators and in the use of PMDs for these purposes. Only 24.8% of community pharmacists reported having problems in
this specific counselling area. Nevertheless, 67.2% of the responders considered their professional knowledge insufficient for
providing extended services. There is a clear need to improve the knowledge of community pharmacists in PMD/DDP
counselling services, and consequently to support the quality of respective services.

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