Depression screening at community-based physician practice visits in the United States appears to be low (2.29%) and may reflect an undefined optimal screening interval or strategy in published guidelines, lack of reimbursement incentives, or incomplete documentation in the medical record. Opportunities exist to improve depression screening in males, patients with chronic disease (especially diabetes), and the western region of the United States.
Background:
Pharmacy technicians have become increasingly important in the delivery of
pharmacy care. As pharmacy technicians continue to advance their roles, it is
important to understand facets of their training and education that could enhance
their contributions to effective pharmacy operations.
Objective:
To explore pharmacists' attitudes toward technician certification. Specifically,
to describe (1) pharmacists' experiences in working with technicians who are
certified and those who are not certified, (2) pharmacists' perceptions of the
association between certification and technicians' competence and professional
demeanor, and (3) strengths and opportunities for improvement in technician
certification.
Methods:
An exploratory, qualitative approach using focus groups was employed. Sixteen
pharmacists were enrolled across 2 focus groups, with each session lasting
approximately 90 minutes. Digitally recorded and transcribed transcripts were
content analyzed in an iterative process. A phenomenologic perspective was
employed to capture the essence of participants' perspectives.
Results:
A content analysis of the transcripts revealed 3 main themes: benefits of
technician certification, pharmacist reliance on support staff, and barriers to
certification. The general perception was that certification benefits the
profession; however, pharmacists would like to see more standardized criteria in
education and training for technicians prior to them sitting for the certification
examination.
Conclusions:
The benefits of certification are likely to be observed on a daily basis in
practice. Further research is needed to more critically evaluate how certification
contributes to improving organizational effectiveness and improving patient
care.
The lack of relationship between reading of WMI and NSAID risk awareness questions the current strategy of distribution of patient-targeted print education materials at pharmacies. To maximize limited resources, future research should identify more effective strategies to deliver risk information to patients and ensure its retention, especially in high-risk groups such as the elderly, the indigent, and those with inadequate health literacy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.