Pharmacists in promotion of health and prevention

In France, professional interactions between physicians, pharmacists and other health professionals will help to enhance the efficiency of prevention actions. In this context, an action of formation and a brain storming have been initiated with the pharmacists of the Auvergne region of France. In May 2008, 126 pharmacists participated to a symposium about their roles as actor of Public Health in cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes. Data are collected with standardized questionnaires, before and after the symposium. Whatever their sex, ages and the localization of the pharmacies (i.e., in rural and urban areas) may be, the pharmacists considered to have a major role to play in prevention, especially for the problem of addictions, nutritional education and chronic diseases. Unfortunately, they considered that they have not time enough and they have not been adequately trained to play it. Moreover, the pharmacy facilities are often mentioned as a restricting factor. The pharmacists highlighted the appropriateness of the actions of prevention in the pharmacy as a evidence-based practice. Pharmacists are well placed to help patients with chronic diseases (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity…) to modify their main risk factors. Education and advices on lifestyle, addiction and diet can be dispensed concurrently with the drugs. Although community pharmacists have increasing involvement in prevention, they are not yet fully integrated in to the primary health actors and they don’t known very well the national structures of educational health or prevention (i.e., Inpes, Cespharm, …) which develop useful tools for the pharmacy. Some improvements must be brought to help the pharmacists to integrated coordinated networks in prevention.