Abstract
Purpose: To explore healthcare providers' (HCPs) and medical students’ attitudes to, and perceptions of the pharmaceutical services that clinical pharmacists can provide in United Arab Emirates.Methods: A total of 535 participants (265 HCPs and 270 medical students) were asked to complete a questionnaire over a period of three months (January through March 2009). Results: Almost three quarters of the students perceived that the clinical pharmacist is an important part of the healthcare team while 82% believed that clinical pharmacists can help improve the quality of medical care in hospitals. Eighty one percent of medical students expressed confidence in the ability of clinical pharmacists to minimize medication errors. Although slightly more than half of the respondents (53%) reported that they did not have clinical pharmacy services in their institutions, there was substantial willingness among physicians and nurses to cooperate with clinical pharmacists. The majority of physicians (92%) and nurses (87%) expressed the view that the clinical pharmacist is an important integral part of the healthcare team. Conclusion: The HCPs and medical students in the study setting valued the role of clinical pharmacists in healthcare delivery. However, new developments in pharmacy services in the UAE hospital setting is recommended for adoption in hospitals.Key words: Clinical pharmacy services, Pharmaceutical care, Perception, Healthcare providers.
Highlights
Clinical pharmacy is a health science discipline whereby pharmacists provide patient care that optimizes medication therapy and promotes health, wellness, and disease prevention [1]
Response rates of 90.0 and 88.3 % were recorded for medical students and healthcare providers' (HCPs), respectively
The majority of the respondents 199 (74 %) perceived that the clinical pharmacist is an important part of the medical team while 221 (82 %) believed that clinical pharmacists can help improve the quality of medical care in a hospital setting
Summary
Clinical pharmacy is a health science discipline whereby pharmacists provide patient care that optimizes medication therapy and promotes health, wellness, and disease prevention [1]. This field of pharmacy practice focuses on patient-oriented rather than drug product-oriented service [2]. Clinical pharmacists are a primary source of scientifically valid information and advice regarding the safe, appropriate, and cost–effective use of medications [1,3,4,5]. Many studies have shown that physicians are receptive to several clinical services provided by pharmacists if these services were provided in the form of consultation or in a supportive role [4,5,6,7]. The relationship between the physician and community pharmacist has been described as a ‘complex one’ [3,8,9,10,11,12,13] and some studies have reported the existence of communication gap between pharmacists and medical doctors [14.15]
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