Pharma24

An Academic Pharmacy for Research and Teaching

Project Description

Pharma24, located at the exit of Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), is an academic pharmacy open 24/7, dedicated to delivering high-quality pharmaceutical care to the Geneva population, as well as promoting and conducting research, education, and innovation in community pharmacy. Pharma24 stands out as a true living lab—a space where daily pharmacy practice and academic research interact to develop and implement innovations. Its research mission is rooted in the University Research and Training Centre (CRFU), directed by Marie P. Schneider. The CRFU at pharma24 is a pioneering academic center dedicated to community pharmacy, in close partnership with the University of Geneva, Geneva University Hospitals, and the canton's pharmacies. Its mission is to support the transformation of the sector through the evaluation, implementation, and dissemination of new services and training programs. The CRFU operates on three levels: support for research, initial and postgraduate education and the promotion of interprofessional collaboration through communities of practice. Thanks to its location at the heart of Geneva’s hospital network, Pharma24’s CRFU promotes clinical research on patient pathways, deploys interprofessional projects, and enriches university education, creating a unique dynamic in Switzerland. To sum up innovation for patients and healthcare providers. The Pharma24 framework provide a unique opportunity to enhance professional skills and to contribute to the evolution of pharmaceutical practices. Fore more information visit the website of pharma24, here.

Innovative Services and Expanded Pharmacist Roles

The CRFU adopts a "living lab" approach to action research, integrating implementation science. It leads or participates in several living lab projects, such as:

HUG@home: assisted medical teleconsultation in the pharmacy for minor emergencies when a patient's general practitioner is unavailable. Learn more down bellow.
PROMETRA: interprofessional medication education program for transplant patients upon discharge from hospital.
BATIR: study on the effectiveness of ADHD treatment in correctional settings and the continuity of medication adherence after release.
myCare Start-I: pilot pharmacy for an interprofessional service aiming to support medication adherence at the start of treatment for chronic illness.

The scientific leadership relies on an advisory board bringing together physicians, pharmacists, and patients It also participated in numerous applied research projects to better understand and describe interprofessional collaboration, medication adherence, care transitions, managing contradictory information, and the organisational impact of new community pharmacy services. The main research axes were:

Evaluation of contradictory medication information perceived by chronic patients and its impact on therapeutic adherence. Learn more down bellow.
Dispensing of Paxlovid® for the Treatment of COVID-19 in Ambulatory Settings Learn more down bellow.
Research on the safety and quality of ambulatory dispensing, notably during hospital-to-community transitions and with high-risk groups. Learn more down bellow.

Research Activity

Secure Teleconsultation: HUG@home

Pharma24 offers a secure teleconsultation service in collaboration with physicians from the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG, Primary Care Medicine Service). This teleconsultation ensures remote medical evaluation for patients with limited access to treating physician (permanent or temporary unavailability), symptoms requiring advance triage by the pharmacist and requiring additional medical evaluation.

This program aims to rationalize the patient pathway within the ambulatory healthcare system. By identifying and purposing cares for “pseudo-emergency”, it prevents potential congestion effects in emergency rooms. Overall, it helps to improve efficiency by concentrating expensive cares on people with more critical health states.

The pharmacist is involved in several steps. First, during the triage, pharmacist will guide patients to the relevant healthcare provider, if needed. During the teleconsultation, pharmacist will transmit the anamnesis to physicians, preserving medical time consumption. They will perform required clinical tests (e.g., use of an electronic otoscope, palpation of lymph nodes). They will support the patient in the transmission of relevant information (e.g., emotions). They define, with medical doctors, the adequate follow-up of the patients (e.g., providing recommendations or a prescription, possible referral to emergency services, transmitting information to the treating physician).

Perceived Contradictory Information by Patients Regarding Their Chronic Medications

Individuals living with chronic diseases often receive information from various sources that are not always coordinated, increasing the risk of perceiving contradictions, particularly regarding medications.

The objectives of this study are to characterize information perceived as contradictory and their impact on patient health. An epidemiological study conducted at Pharma24 in 2019 using a questionnaire administered to pharmacy patients showed that 47% of patients perceived at least one piece of contradictory information concerning one or more of their chronic medications over the past 12 months. The main causes identified by patients were lack of time, insufficient information, and poor communication between healthcare professionals and the patient. In some cases, these issues modified the patients' journey through the healthcare system and affected their medication adherence.

Based on these results, a second qualitative study aimed at understanding the adjustments made by patients to their medications is being developed. Analyses are currently underway.

Dispensing of Paxlovid® for the Treatment of COVID-19 in Ambulatory Settings

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, Swissmedic authorised the commercialisation of Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir boosted by ritonavir). Indicated for adult outpatients with risks of developing severe disease forms, this medicine is exposed to interaction risks with other medicines, notably when experiencing chronic conditions.

This study aims to explore the prescription, dispensing, and management of Paxlovid® by patients in ambulatory settings. It also explores potential medicine interactions and how patients assess the quality of information received about the medicine. A cross-sectional study was conducted via a telephone survey of patients 8-10 days after the dispensing of Paxlovid® at Pharma24, i.e., 3 to 5 days after the end of Paxlovid® treatment. Analyses are currently underway.

Transition of Care Between Hospital and Ambulatory Settings: Understanding the Perspective of Patients and Healthcare Professionals

Transitioning from hospital to home is a critical and risky time for patients, especially those taking multiple medications. During this period, patients often face difficulties managing their medications due to inconsistent communication and lack of coordination between hospital and outpatient care. Medication errors, drug interactions, and not taking medicines as prescribed can lead to hospital readmissions. Interprofessional collaboration among healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and community pharmacists, has shown promise in enhancing patient safety and reducing readmissions—but these approaches are not yet widely adopted in routine care.

This thesis studied the experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals and patients with long-term conditions during the post-hospital transition. One study followed patients with type 2 diabetes after hospital discharge, revealing challenges such as poorly planned transitions and insufficient support for managing medications at home. Another study examined healthcare workers’ collaboration, finding that communication is often reactive and roles are unclear, signaling the need for better coordination and policy support. A third study focused on community pharmacists, showing they handle medication tasks well but sometimes miss patient needs, with their clinical decisions influenced by assumptions that may lead to errors.

Overall, the results highlight the need to improve communication, standardise practices, and clearly define professional roles. Preparing and supporting patients better before discharge is essential to ensure safe and effective medication use. Strengthening community pharmacists’ clinical skills and integrating them fully into the care team can improve medication safety and patient outcomes.

This work underscores the evolving role of community pharmacists as key players in safe care transitions and calls for expanding their scope towards more patient-centred services in collaboration with other health professionals

Related Publications

Academic Pharmacy and Therapeutic Adherence

Perraudin, C.; Schneider M.P.; Macé, F.; Gauthier, R.; Panchaud, A.; Allemann, S.; Erni, S.; Amador- Fernandez, N.; Berger, J. Pharmacie d’officine académique: Qui? Quoi ? Pourquoi ? pharmaJournal 2024, 6-7 ,16-18
Picchiottino, P.; Paignon, A.; Hesse, L.; Bos, S.; Wiesner Conti, J.; Schneider, M. P.; Fassier, T. Large-scale, mobile and technology-enhanced serious game for interprofessional education: pilot study and lessons learnt. Journal of Interprofessional Care 2024, 1-5. DOI:10.1080/13561820.2024.2339291.
Rousseau M, Solh Dost S, Santos B, Gauthier R, Cavassini M, Calmy A, Schneider M. Remise des autotests VIH en pharmacie d’officine. État des lieux et recommandations de pratique pour une collaboration interprofessionnelle "[HIV self-tests in community pharmacies Inventory and practice recommendations for interprofessional collaborations]". Rev Med Suisse. 2023 Oct 25;19(847):2017-2020. French. doi: 10.53738/REVMED.2023.19.847.2017. PMID: 37878102.
Lehner Forence, Jérémy Jeanbourquin, Ralitza Gauthier, Rémi Lafaix, Marie Schneider. Un exemple de démarche pour gérer les incidents et événements indésirables liés aux médicaments. PharmaJournal, 5.2022, 14-17

Teleconsultation

Thanh, T., C., P., Daidé, I., P., Valois, J., Braillard, O., Mazouri-Karker, S. (2020). Téléconsultation assistée: une nouvelle pratique aux nombreux enjeux. Rev Med Suisse, 6(706), 1714–1717.
Olivia Braillard, Sanae Mazouri Karker, Rafik Djarmouni, Bruno Herrera, Rémi Lafaix, Idris Guessous, Marie P. Schneider (2022). Assisted teleconsultation in an outpatient pharmacy: results of a pilot study in Geneva, Switzerland.
Backes C, Godot C, Gujer CY, Obegi N, Perez A, Gervaix A, Schneider MP. Digital healthcare services in community pharmacies in Switzerland: Pharmacist and patient acceptability, and pharmacist readiness-the Pneumoscope™ pilot study. Digit Health. 2025 Jan 15;11:20552076241313164. doi: 10.1177/20552076241313164. PMID: 39822303; PMCID: PMC11736744.

COVID-19

Santos B, Rousseau M, Gauthier R, Calmy A, Schneider MP. Patient Experiences With Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir for COVID-19 in a Collaborative Care Model: A Cross-Sectional Study on Self-Management, Information, and Medication Impact. J Patient Exp. 2025 May 14;12:23743735251342126. doi: 10.1177/23743735251342126. PMID: 40376119; PMCID: PMC12078955.
Santos, B.; Boulaguiem, Y.; Baysson, H.; Pullen, N.; Guessous, I.; Guerrier, S.; Stringhini, S.; Schneider, M. P. Patient-Perceived Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medication Adherence and Access to Care for Long-Term Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey. COVID 2024, 4 (2), 191-207.

Contradictory Informations

Santos, B., Blondon, K. S., Van Gessel, E., Cerutti, B., Backes, C., Locher, S., Guignard, B., Bonnabry, P., Carpenter, D., & Schneider, M. P. (2022). Patients’ perceptions of conflicting information on chronic medications: a prospective survey in Switzerland. BMJ Open, 12(11), e060083.
Beatriz Santos, Katherine Blondon, Elisabeth Van Gessel, Marie Schneider. Contradictions perçues par les patients dans leur prise en charge médicamenteuse.

Transition of Care Between Hospital and Ambulatory Settings

Boden, L., Castellsague, M., Perrenoud, L., Cimarelli, G., Schneider, M., P., Gastaldi, G. (2021). Transition hôpital-ambulatoire : les enjeux pour les patients avec un diabète sucré. Rev Med Suisse, 7(741), 1087–1090.
Léa Solh Dost, Célia Fumani, Giacomo Gastaldi, Marie Paule Schneider. What do we know about the patient journey through the healthcare system after hospital discharge?
Solh Dost L, Maillard G, Cardoso E, Schneider MP. Identifying Current Practices and Areas for Improvement in Medication Management During Care Transition Through an Interprofessional Collaboration Framework. J Multidiscip Healthc. 2025 Jul 30;18:4453-4467. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S528819. PMID: 40761587; PMCID: PMC12320136.
Solh Dost, L.; Gastaldi, G.; Dos Santos Mamed, M.; Schneider, M. P. Navigating outpatient care of patients with type 2 diabetes after hospital discharge - a qualitative longitudinal study. BMC Health Services Research 2024, 24 (1), 476. DOI: 10.1186/s12913-024-10959-4.
Solh Dost, L.; Gastaldi, G.; Schneider, M. P. Patient medication management, understanding and adherence during the transition from hospital to outpatient care - a qualitative longitudinal study in polymorbid patients with type 2 diabetes. BMC health services research 2024, 24 (1), 620. DOI:10.1186/s12913-024-10784-9.