Perceptions, Expectations, and Experience of Physicians About Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Care Services in Pakistan: Findings and Implications

Abstract

Background: Optimal collaboration between pharmacists and other healthcare professionals such as physicians is integral in implementing pharmaceutical care. However, there are concerns regarding the role of pharmacists, especially among low- and middle-income countries. This study explored the perceptions, expectations, and experience of physicians working in various hospital settings of Punjab, Pakistan, about pharmacists and their roles.Methods: A self-administered questionnaire consisting of four sections was administered from October to December 2020. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used for data analysis using SPSS.Results: Six hundred and seventy-eight physicians participated in this study with a response rate of 77.9%. Most of the physicians reported minimal to no interaction with pharmacists (n = 521, 76.8%). However, more than three-quarters of physicians (n = 660, 97.3%) accepted pharmacists as evidence-based sources of drug information. In addition, many physicians (n = 574, 84.7%) strongly agreed that pharmacists should attend patient care rounds to respond promptly to questions related to patient medication. A limited number of physicians (n = 124, 18.3%) assumed that pharmacists were advising their patients regarding the judicial use of their drugs. Median expectation and experience score had a significant association with age, experience, and education of physicians (P < 0.05).Conclusions: The perception of physicians was positive toward certain roles of pharmacists, coupled with high expectations. However, their experience was low, with most of the activities of pharmacists due to inadequate interprofessional coordination.

Development of the Pharmacist’s Stress Scale for Home Care (PSS) and evaluation of its reliability and validity

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Perception, Attitude, and Confidence of Physicians About Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Prescribing Among COVID-19 Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study From Punjab, Pakistan

“…This has already been documented that ID physician-led antimicrobial prescribing helps minimize consumption and antibiotic resistance with the best possible clinical outcomes ( Matono et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, the interprofessional collaboration between physicians, pharmacists, and nurses is essential for the smooth running of the healthcare system and improving patient outcomes that is missing in Pakistani hospitals ( Hayat et al, 2019a ; Hayat et al, 2021 ).…”

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