Pharmacists In General Practice Research Articles

Review of the top 5 cardiology studies of 2011–12

Each year, hundreds of trials are published in various specialties, making it difficult for pharmacists in general practice to ensure they are reviewing the studies that are most likely to affect patient care. In this article, we present the 5 recent cardiovascular trials judged to have the greatest importance for pharmacists.

Integration of pharmacists into general practice clinics in Australia: the views of general practitioners and pharmacists

Pharmacists working collaboratively with general practitioners (GPs) in primary-care settings can improve patient outcomes; however, there are challenges to the implementation of collaborative services. A possible solution is the co-location of pharmacists within general practice clinics. To elicit the views of GPs and pharmacists on the integration of pharmacists into general practice in Australia. Semi-structured, individual interviews with a sample of 11 GPs and 16 pharmacists. Four major themes emerged: the current GP-pharmacist relationship; the role of the general practice pharmacist; the pros and cons of integration; and the barriers to and facilitators for integration. Most participants had experienced positive inter-professional relationships, though there were limitations in the collaborative services currently provided. Various methods of integration were discussed, including the co-location of pharmacists within practices. The potential roles for practice pharmacists were deemed to be multifaceted and in some cases allowed for role expansion. Although these roles were thought to offer potential benefits to practice staff, patients and pharmacists, they were also perceived to be potentially disadvantageous. The integration of pharmacists into general practice was believed to be hindered by limited funding and infrastructure and by practitioner perceptions. Various facilitating factors were proposed that could help ensure viability of the role. Various roles and methods of integration were identified for pharmacists in general practice; however, a number of barriers and facilitators to integration would need to be considered to ensure viability of services. Future research should explore different methods of collaboration and trial their implementation.

Pharmacists', General Practitioners' and Consumers' Views on Integrating Pharmacists into General Practice

ABSTRACTBackgroundIntegrating pharmacists into general practice is not a novel concept. However, it is new to Australia and evidence supporting this role is limited.AimTo seek the views of pharmacists, general practitioners and consumers on integrating pharmacists into general practice.MethodQuestionnaires were used to elicit the opinions of pharmacists, general practitioners and consumers on integrating pharmacists into general practice.Results1038 participants (829 pharmacists, 167 consumers, 42 general practitioners) completed the survey. Commonly agreed roles for pharmacists in general practice included drug information and medication review. Perceived barriers to service provision included the pharmacist's clinical ability and turf protection. Remuneration was viewed as a facilitator and a barrier. Perceived facilitators included additional training for pharmacists and an existing rapport with the general practitioners.ConclusionThere was support for integrating pharmacists' professional activities into general practice. These findings will guide the development of a new model of integrated primary care with practice pharmacists.

Valuing the Extended Role of Prescribing Pharmacist in General Practice: Results from a Discrete Choice Experiment

Objectives: To quantify patients' preferences for new pharmacist independent prescribing services in general practice for managing common existing long-term conditions compared with usual medical prescribing. MethodsA discrete choice experiment cross-sectional survey was conducted in five general practices in England (October–November 2009). Four service attributes reported on the length of consultation and aspects of patient-professional interaction. A choice between three alternatives—novel pharmacist independent prescribing service (“prescribing pharmacist”), “own (family) doctor” service, and “available (family) doctor” service—was presented. Alternative regression models were compared according to their goodness of fit, and the preferred one was used to inform policy analysis. ResultsA total of 451 patients completed questionnaires. Respondents preferred a “pharmacist” or “own doctor” compared with “available doctor,” with a larger value given to own doctor. All attributes on patient-professional interaction were important in choosing how to manage diagnosed hypertension, while the “length of consultation” (P = 0.42) did not have any impact. The impact of introducing a pharmacist prescribing service into a general practice setting was estimated from these findings. Patients' preferences suggested that about 16% of consultations with a patient's own doctor can be switched to a prescribing pharmacist instead. Although there is a stronger preference for seeing own doctor, alternative combinations of attribute levels can be used to compensate and reconfigure a more preferred prescribing pharmacist service. ConclusionsThe pharmacist service is valued by patients as an alternative to doctor prescribing in primary care and therefore represents an acceptable form of service delivery when informing policy.

Development of a method for clinical medication review by a pharmacist in general practice.

Medication review of patients on long-term treatment in general practice in the UK has been reported to be inadequate. Proposals followed suggesting that pharmacists could use their expertise to lead such a medication review in conjunction with the general practitioner. This paper describes the concept of clinical medication review by a pharmacist based in general practice. We describe the development of a method for a structured and systematic process for undertaking such a review in clinics conducted by a pharmacist. The method was developed for a nationally funded study in the UK. We provide a definition of clinical medication review and suggests a structure for the process through data gathering, evaluation and implementation.

WOMEN AND PHARMACY—A VIEW FROM NORWAY

Norwegian people in general, even with only a superficial knowledge of Norwegian pharmacy, appear to associate pharmacy with women. Approximately 4,250 are employed in 319 pharmacies throughout Norway. About 1,000 of these employees are pharmacists and about 90% of pharmacists in general practice are women. The remaining employees are pharmacy technicians, also with an overwhelming majority being women. This position has remained static for several years, and there are no indications that it will change.

Use of drugs by the elderly.

This paper outlines the use of both prescribed and non-prescribed medication by the elderly in the community. The study examined a number of factors related to medication including compliance, the types of drugs taken, the manner in which drugs were stored and disposed of, and the advice that patients received. The findings revealed a lack of coordination of responsibility in the management of patients' medicines leading to inappropriate drug use, posing a potential risk to the patient. It is against this background that we propose that the role of the general practice pharmacist should be extended within a structured health care programme; pharmacists should be encouraged to keep total medication records on patients of 65 and over.

The role of the general practice pharmacist in health education and health maintenance.

The role of the general practice pharmacist in health education and health maintenance.

The general practice pharmacist's viewpoint.

The general practice pharmacist's viewpoint.