Impact of an educational program on community pharmacist's preparedness to conduct pharmacist-led diabetes clinic in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Demand for diabetes care and prevention has increased due to Saudi Arabia's high prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its insufficient treatment. This raised awareness of the significance of community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia, who may significantly improve diabetes treatment by setting up pharmacist-led diabetic clinics. Thus, to assess community pharmacists' readiness to lead diabetes clinics in Saudi Arabia, this study evaluated the usefulness of an educational session on diabetes care.

Community pharmacist's preparedness to provide patient-centred care in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Community pharmacy practice in Saudi Arabia is evolving and needs to be at par with the developed world. Community pharmacists can play a vital role in bridging gaps in the delivery of healthcare services by providing patient-centred care to patients and contributing toward the healthcare transformation plan of vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia. The present study is aimed at evaluating the knowledge, attitude, and practices of community pharmacists in delivering patient-centred care services.

A comprehensive survey of cancer medicines prices, availability and affordability in Ghana.

Introduction: In Ghana, prices for cancer medicines are characterized by high retail markups, forex fluctuations and high variation in prices of medicines. Most patients cannot afford the cancer medicines. There is a problem of unaffordability and limited availability of essential cancer medicines which suggests potential inequity in patient access to cancer medicines.

A systematic review of patient-reported outcomes associated with the use of direct-acting oral anticoagulants.

Aims: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are a distinctive method of evaluating patient response to health care or treatment. This systematic review aimed to analyse the impact of PROs in patients on direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) treatment, prescribed for any indication (e.g.

Change in central corneal thickness, corneal endothelial cell density, anterior chamber depth and axial length after repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

Objective: To compare the effects of Pars Plana Vitrectomy (PPV) and Scleral Buckling (SB) with reference to Central Corneal Thickness (CCT), Corneal Endothelial-Cell Density (CED), Anterior Chamber Depth (ACD) and Axial Length (AL) in repair of Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment (RRD).

Methods: This comparative cross sectional analytical study was conducted at Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology (AFIO), Rawalpindi from July 2013 to July 2015. A total of 69 eyes of 69 patients which underwent repair of RRD by either PPV or SB were analyzed to compare mean change in CCT, CED, ACD and AL between two groups.

Access to Orphan Drugs: A Comprehensive Review of Legislations, Regulations and Policies in 35 Countries.

Objective: To review existing regulations and policies utilised by countries to enable patient access to orphan drugs.

Methods: A review of the literature (1998 to 2014) was performed to identify relevant, peer-reviewed articles. Using content analysis, we synthesised regulations and policies for access to orphan drugs by type and by country.

Evaluation of policies to support drug development in New Zealand.

Objectives: Changes in the traditional model of drug development are creating a potential opportunity for New Zealand's drug development industry. This research evaluates whether New Zealand could utilise some of the policies employed by countries with successful drug development industries.

Methods: A framework to support a drug development industry was developed by taking into account policies that affect the industry.

New bioactive steroidal alkaloids from Buxus hyrcana.

Phytochemical studies on the crude methanolic extract of Buxus hyrcana, collected from Iran, resulted in the isolation of two new steroidal alkaloids, (+)-O6-buxafurandiene (1) and (+)-7-deoxy-O6-buxafurandiene (2) along with four known steroidal bases, (+)-benzoylbuxidienine (3), (+)-buxapapillinine (4), (+)-buxaquamarine (5) and (+)-irehine (6). The structures of these new and known compounds were established with the aid of extensive NMR spectroscopic studies. Compounds 1 and 2 belong to the rarely occurring class of Buxus alkaloids having a tetrahydrofuran ring incorporated in their structures.