Diabetes risk assessments and HbA1c-measurements in community pharmacies.

Objectives: Due to a lack of clear symptoms, type 2 diabetes (T2D) can remain undetected for many years. The aim of the study was to explore if Norwegian community pharmacies could identify individuals with a high risk of developing T2D by offering a diabetes risk assessment service. This study also investigated if the service recruited individuals that the national guideline recommends for diabetes risk assessment, and the proportion of participants who had visited their GP at least once a year.

Power dynamics and interprofessional collaboration: How do community pharmacists position general practitioners, and how do general practitioners position themselves?

Power differentials and medical dominance can negatively affect collaboration between physicians and pharmacists. Norway is recognized as having a relatively egalitarian work sector, which could affect power differentials. In this qualitative study, we used positioning theory as a framework to explore the aspect of power dynamics between Norwegian general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists.

Changes in Dentists' Prescribing Patterns in Norway 2005-2015.

Background: There is scant knowledge of dentists' total prescribing patterns, and little is published on this internationally. The Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD) includes data on all dispensed prescription medication in Norway from 2004 and can be used to investigate how dentists' prescribing has changed over time. There are few Norwegian guidelines supporting dentists' prescribing, and Norwegian legislation on dentists' prescribing rights leaves room for interpretation.

Type 2 diabetes in general practice - a focus-group study.

Background: The National Diabetes Plan 2017-21 has implemented measures to improve diagnosis and follow-up of persons with type 2 diabetes by the primary health services. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences and thoughts of Norwegian general practitioners (GPs) with regard to diagnosis and follow-up of this patient group.

Material And Method: In this qualitative study, three focus-group interviews were conducted with a total of 17 GPs.

Risk assessment and HbA1c measurement in Norwegian community pharmacies to identify people with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes - A feasibility study.

Objectives: Determine the feasibility of using a diabetes risk assessment tool followed by HbA1c-measurement in a community-pharmacy setting in Norway.

Methods: In this longitudinal study two pharmacists in each of three community pharmacies were trained to perform risk assessments, HbA1c-measurements and counselling. Pharmacy customers who were > 18 years old and could understand and speak Norwegian or English were recruited in the pharmacies during a two-months-period.

Perception of the Professional Knowledge of and Education on the Medical Technology Products among the Pharmacists in the Baltic and Nordic Countries-A Cross-Sectional Exploratory Study.

Unlabelled: With increased development of medical technology (MT), new challenges emerge related to education and training of pharmacists and other healthcare specialists. Currently, only a few universities in the EU promote MT education and research.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the current status, views on, and need for the education on MT for the pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists in the Baltic and Nordic countries.

Dental providers and pharmacists: a call for enhanced interprofessional collaboration.

Reports concerning medication discrepancies in dental records indicate that the concept of interprofessional collaboration between the dental team and pharmacists should be considered at all educational levels in dentistry and pharmacy. Inclusion of oral health as a therapeutic area in didactic pharmacy curricula is needed. Early exposure of dental students and student pharmacists to collaborative practices through interprofessional educational experiences may create a higher degree of awareness of the role of each profession and the potential to improve patient outcomes.

The potential for deprescribing in care home residents with Type 2 diabetes.

Background Type 2 diabetes is a common diagnosis in care home residents that is associated with potentially inappropriate prescribing and thus risk of additional suffering. Previous studies found that diabetes medicines can be safely withdrawn in care home residents, encouraging further investigation of the potential for deprescribing amongst these patients. Objectives Describe comorbidities and medicine use in care home residents with Type 2 diabetes; identify number of potentially inappropriate medicines prescribed for these residents using a medicines optimisation tool; assess clinical applicability of the tool.

'I try not to bother the residents too much' - the use of capillary blood glucose measurements in nursing homes.

Background: Capillary blood glucose measurements are regularly used for nursing home residents with diabetes. The usefulness of these measurements relies on clear indications for use, correct measurement techniques, proper documentation and clinical use of the resulting blood glucose values. The use of a regular, invasive procedure may also entail additional challenges in a population of older, multimorbid patients who often suffer from cognitive impairment or dementia.

Nursing home patients with diabetes: prevalence, drug treatment and glycemic control.

Aims: Determine prevalence of diabetes, and describe use of blood glucose lowering (BGL) drugs and glycemic control in Norwegian nursing homes.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study we collected details of BGL drugs, capillary blood glucose measurements (CBGM) in the last four weeks and HbA1c measurements in the last 12 months from the medical records of patients with diabetes, within a population of 742 long-term care patients from 19 randomly selected nursing homes in Western Norway. Descriptive statistics were applied, and Pearson's chi-squared (P≤0.