Patients\u2019 experiences of pharmacists in general practice: an exploratory qualitative study

Georgios Dimitrios Karampatakis,Kath Ryan,Nilesh Patel,Graham Stretch

doi:10.1186/s12875-021-01393-0

Georgios Dimitrios Karampatakis, Kath Ryan + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-021-01393-0

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Abstract

BackgroundSince 2015, pharmacists have been integrating into English general practices and more recently into primary care networks. General practice-based pharmacists provide a range of patient-facing services, such as medication reviews, management of long-term conditions and minor ailments, prescribing duties and answering queries over the telephone. Literature reports patients’ satisfaction with general practice-based pharmacists’ services, however, previous research captured only limited experiences. The aim of the current study was to pursue an extensive exploration of patients’ experiences of pharmacists in general practice.MethodsGeneral practice-based pharmacists, working in practices in West London, Surrey and Berkshire, handed invitation packs to patients seen during consultations. Patients that wanted to take part in the study were invited to undertake a qualitative, in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interview within the practice with which each patient was registered. Interviews lasted from 15 min to more than 1 h and were audio-recorded. Recruitment continued until data saturation. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and transcripts analysed thematically.ResultsTwenty participants were interviewed. Four themes were discerned: awareness (“I had been coming to this practice for 24 years and I didn’t know that there was a pharmacist”); accessibility (“People ring for a GP [general practitioner] appointment … it’s Monday and they [receptionist] tells you ‘We can slot you in on Friday’ … with a pharmacist on board, they can [instantly] look at you”); interactions (“I’ve always had a really good interaction with them [pharmacists] and they listen and they take on board what I’m trying to say”); and feedback (“It’s easier [to collect feedback instantly] because I could have forgotten half of what they [pharmacists] have told me in an hour or so’s time”).ConclusionsFindings indicate that pharmacists’ integration into general practices could improve accessibility to, and the quality of, care received. The findings will assist policy development to provide general practice-based pharmacists’ services as per patients’ needs.

Highlights

Since 2015, pharmacists have been integrating into English general practices and more recently into primary care networks
In early 2019, the National Health Service (NHS) Long Term Plan was announced that urged general practices to form Primary Care Networks (PCNs) [8]
The findings of the current study could best be interpreted in light of ‘scientific realism’, which views ‘realities’ in the contemporary world as meanings constructed by human minds [51, 52]

Summary

Introduction

Since 2015, pharmacists have been integrating into English general practices and more recently into primary care networks. Patients have been experiencing decreased access to primary care services, which has subsequently led to high levels of dissatisfaction [2,3,4]. To tackle these problems, and in parallel exploit the increasing numbers of qualified pharmacists [5, 6], there has been a wide drive to integrate pharmacists into general practices. Efforts to integrate pharmacists began with a two-phased scheme between 2015 and 2019, supported by the National Health Service (NHS), that introduced approximately 1000 general practice-based pharmacists in England [7]. A typical practice serving 10,000 patients is anticipated to have a pro-rata coverage by a pharmacist for 12 h per week [12]

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