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Background: In health care, burnout has been defined as a psychological process whereby human service professionals attempting to positively impact the lives of others become overwhelmed and frustrated by unforeseen job stressors. Burnout among various physician groups who primarily practice in the hospital setting has been extensively studied; however, no evidence exists regarding burnout among hospital clinical pharmacists. Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the level of and identify factors independently associated with burnout among clinical pharmacists practicing in an inpatient hospital setting within the United States. Methods: We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional pilot study utilizing an online, Qualtrics survey. Univariate analysis related to burnout was conducted, with multivariable logistic regression analysis used to identify factors independently associated with the burnout. Results: A total of 974 responses were analyzed (11.4% response rate). The majority were females who had practiced pharmacy for a median of 8 years. The burnout rate was high (61.2%) and largely driven by high emotional exhaustion. On multivariable analysis, we identified several subjective factors as being predictors of burnout, including inadequate administrative and teaching time, uncertainty of health care reform, too many nonclinical duties, difficult pharmacist colleagues, and feeling that contributions are underappreciated. Conclusions: The burnout rate of hospital clinical pharmacy providers was very high in this pilot survey. However, the overall response rate was low at 11.4%. The negative effects of burnout require further study and intervention to determine the influence of burnout on the lives of clinical pharmacists and on other health care-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is known and objective Non-adherence to controller asthma medications is an important public health problem. It is estimated to occur in 30-70% of individuals and is a significant risk factor for asthma morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the level of adherence, as indicated by refill rates, to controller asthma medications in a community pharmacy setting. Methods Secondary analyses of a community pharmacy dispensing database in 15 locations throughout Utah. Results and discussion The dispensing records of 2193 patients who received controller medications for asthma in a 12-month period, and had a minimum of 6-month potential coverage (180 days) from the date of their first receipt of a controller medication in that period, were examined. Using standard metrics to gauge adherence, the proportion of days covered ( PDC) and the medication possession ratio ( MPR), the average coverage for controller asthma medications across a 6-month period (180 days) was poor, averaging less than 50% of days' availability. Standard cut-offs (≥80% medication availability) indicated that only 14-16% of patients had 'satisfactory' adherence over their 6-month follow-on period. Females and older patients had significantly greater satisfactory adherence. Medication adherence was significantly greater with inhaled corticosteroid ( ICS)-long-acting β2-agonist ( LABA) combinations than with ICS alone. What is new and conclusion This study confirms the considerable scope of the asthma therapy non-adherence problem. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct survey-based research linked directly to pharmacy-based dispensing data to derive patient behavioural, attitudinal and environmental factors that may contribute to the issue, and then pilot and evaluate interventions for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]