Abstract
BackgroundPharmaceutical care has been playing an increasingly critical role in Chinese hospitals. However, evidence about the most recent development of pharmaceutical care in China is limited. This study analyzed the current situation of pharmaceutical care and the capacities of pharmacists in Chinese public tertiary hospitals.MethodsAll on-duty pharmacists of 143 public tertiary hospitals responded to the Likert-5 pre-set online questionnaire about their pharmaceutical care capacities in eight aspects, and their respective hospitals valued pharmaceutical care in clinical practice from March 18 to 31, 2019. This study measured the appraisals of the responding pharmacists as positive (“strongly agree” and “agree”) or negative (“neither agree nor disagree,” “strongly disagree,” and “disagree”) results. The study performed a descriptive analysis of the responding pharmacists and unconditional multivariate binary logistic regression analysis to predict the influencing factors of the pharmacists’ appraisals of pharmaceutical care. The dependent variable was transformed into binary categories and assigned 1 = positive response and 0 = negative response. The independent variables included the identifications of sample hospitals and the characteristics of the responding pharmacists.ResultsThe survey retrieved 10 815 valid responded questionnaires. 74.5%, 67.5%, and 65.0% of the responding pharmacists made a positive self-appraisal of their abilities of communication with patients and doctors, reviewing prescriptions, and communication with particular patients, respectively. 65.5% had a positive appraisal of their respective hospitals to conduct active monitoring of the clinical use of new medicines, and 68.9% admitted that their respective hospitals valued the clinical pharmaceutical care. The doctor’s degree and senior academic rank of the responding pharmacists, as well as maternal and child hospitals, were predictors of higher appraisals of the responding pharmacists about their pharmaceutical care capacities, and their respective hospitals valued pharmaceutical care (all ORs > 1.5, P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe study suggested that there is a need to strengthen the pharmacy education, training, and staffing of pharmacists with improved professional skills to offer value-added specialized pharmaceutical care in Chinese public hospitals. Patient-centered and inter-disciplinary interactions in medical practice should be promoted. There is also a need for public hospitals to provide a platform for the achievement of the professional values of high-quality pharmacists at different carrier development stages.
Highlights
IntroductionHepler and Strand proposed the most widely accepted international concept of pharmaceutical care in 1990, which referred the care to provide pharmaco-therapy to patients to achieve specific health outcomes that expect to improve patient’s quality of life [1]
Professor Robert L Mikeal firstly raised the concept of pharmaceutical care in 1975
There is a need for public hospitals to provide a platform for the achievement of the professional values of high-quality pharmacists at different carrier development stages
Summary
Hepler and Strand proposed the most widely accepted international concept of pharmaceutical care in 1990, which referred the care to provide pharmaco-therapy to patients to achieve specific health outcomes that expect to improve patient’s quality of life [1]. The core of pharmaceutical care has been shifting from “medicines” to “patients.” Pharmacists have been increasingly expected to use their professional knowledge and skills to help patients for achieving satisfactory health outcomes and reducing medical expenditures. In 2002, the Chinese Ministry of Health firstly proposed to establish a clinical pharmacist system in hospitals, required pharmacists to participate in clinical practice [3], and called for a patient-centered comprehensive clinical practice model [4]. This study analyzed the current situation of pharmaceutical care and the capacities of pharmacists in Chinese public tertiary hospitals
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
