[The role of the pharmacist in patient education]

Interdisciplinary programs promoting therapeutic education rarely involve the pharmacist, though his major contribution in the health care system and his multiple competencies are of a big help towards patients treatment adherence. As a regular patients confident, specially for those who require a long term treatment, the pharmacist deserves a better acknowledgment for his therapeutic reinforcement's contribution. A research work has been done in the field of therapeutic education to inscribe pharmacist's engagement in this topic. Instruments have been worked out to measure and to estimate relevant competencies used by pharmacists when answering patients needs. More open minded discussions and better rearrangement in the pharmacy in order to respect patients intimacy would contribute to enhance his competencies which are largely appreciated by the public.

Asthma outpatient education by multiple implementation strategy. Outcome of a programme using a personal notebook

More than 10 years after publication, international guidelines remain poorly implemented. To better implement them, we need to develop new strategies adapted to the expectations of patients and health professionals outside hospital settings and to ensure better outpatient follow up in the community. We developed a bilingual education programme including a brochure designed to support an interdisciplinary health care network and measured hospitalisations (H), work absenteeism (WA), emergency visits (EV), asthma medication (AM) and quality of life (QL Juniper) before and 12 months after the intervention. All QL scores improved significantly in comparison with pre-intervention values. Health service use decreased dramatically when comparing the 12 months prior to and after the intervention(H: 35-8%, WA: 39-14%, EV: 88-53%). The final cost/benefit ratio of the programme was 1.96. Interdisciplinary implementation strategy of patient education is cost-effective, improves quality of life for asthmatics, and reduces strain on health services. Such a health care network does not require an expensive infrastructure and is better adapted to the reality and competences of clinical practice.

[Capillary puncture in children: a protocol]

This article presents a synthesis of the "Nursing Protocol in Microextraction Procedures" which was developed in collaboration with nursing professionals in the Biochemical Laboratory and the Educational Department of the Maternity-Childcare Ward in the Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona. This synthesis states the different procedural steps to follow for capilary puncture microextraction in pediatrics, specifying the necessary materials and the role of the team in charge of these extractions. Furthermore, the problems caused by an incorrect microextraction are mentioned.