Ethics and Practices of the Pharmacist

Abstract

Introduction: In their practice, pharmacists are confronted with situations that may pose ethical problems. They must make decisions based on scientific knowledge as well as the principles of bioethics.

Aim: To evaluate pharmacists' attitudes towards specific ethical dilemmas.

Methods: We conducted our study using a validated English questionnaire, containing 9 ethical scenarios to be rated by participants on a 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaire was distributed via Google Forms on Facebook pages and Messenger and WhatsApp groups. The data were processed with Microsoft Excel and statistical tests were performed using SPSS version 23.

Results: The participants in our study achieved 70% of the total score for all encountered situations. We found that in response to the non-maleficence scenario of "Dispensing amphetamines to a medical student," pharmacists exhibited the most ethical attitude compared to other studied situations. In general, confidentiality scenarios received the highest number of "disagree" responses, while the least ethical attitude concerned justice scenarios. We also found a significant correlation between supplementary ethics training and the dimensions of confidentiality and non-maleficence .Conclusion: Our study, the first of its kind in Tunisia, highlighted the need to strengthen medical ethics training for pharmacists.