Barriers to pharmaceutical care in Argentina.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the perceived barriers to implementing pharmaceutical care in Argentina.


METHODS
A semi-structured questionnaire was designed to carry out a cross-sectional descriptive study. The questionnaires were distributed in different continuing professional development events for pharmacists during November-December 2005.


RESULTS
Ninety completed questionnaires were collected with the following distribution: 16.7% at the national congress of hospital pharmacy, 18.9% after a conference, 64.4% during two courses related to pharmaceutical care. The surveyed pharmacists work for community pharmacies (76.7%), hospital/institutional pharmacies (20.0%) and primary care centers (2.2%). The most important barriers mentioned were lack of time, lack of specific training and lack of communication skills.


CONCLUSIONS
The opinions of Argentinian pharmacists from different places and professional practice settings were obtained. In all work settings, "lack of time" is the main barrier to overcome for implementing pharmaceutical care.
Uema
Sonia A
SA
Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Ciudad Universitaria, Cordoba, Argentina. suema@fcq.unc.edu.ar
Vega
Elena M
EM
Armando
Pedro D
PD
Fontana
Daniela
D
D001118:Argentina; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D010593:Pharmaceutical Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends*; D010594:Pharmacies; D010595:Pharmacists; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires