Related Experiment Videos
Billing for cognitive services: understanding Québec pharmacists' behavior
E Kröger1, J Moisan, J P Grégoire
1Equipe de Pharmaco-Epidémiologie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
The Annals of Pharmacotherapy
|August 5, 2000
Summary
Quebec pharmacists are more likely to bill for cognitive services if they are younger, educated on the topic, and believe billing is important. Improving working conditions and offering tailored education can increase billing for pharmaceutical care.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacy Practice
- Health Services Research
- Pharmaceutical Economics
Background:
- Community pharmacists in Quebec are reimbursed for cognitive services like pharmaceutical opinions and prescription refusals.
- Despite reimbursement, claims for these services are lower than anticipated.
- Evidence suggests pharmacists' interventions are effective and cost-saving.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine factors influencing Quebec community pharmacists' billing practices for pharmaceutical opinions and prescription refusals.
- To understand the behavioral determinants behind the underutilization of cognitive service billing.
Main Methods:
- A self-administered questionnaire surveyed 3517 Quebec community pharmacists in 1996.
- The survey assessed predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors related to billing behavior.
- Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze billing for opinions and refusals.
Main Results:
- Pharmacists who billed were typically under 45, had relevant continuing education, and valued billing for interventions.
- High billing was associated with handling 100-250 prescriptions daily, using decision-support software, and having adequate staff assistance.
- Belief in rapid billing and consistent payment by the provincial drug plan also correlated with higher billing rates.
Conclusions:
- Tailored educational programs are recommended to increase the billing of pharmaceutical care.
- Improving pharmacy working conditions is crucial for enhancing service utilization.
- Addressing pharmacists' perceptions of billing speed and payment consistency may encourage greater participation.