The diffusion process of patient education in Dutch community pharmacy: an exploration

Patient education activities in pharmacies are receiving much attention. These activities are relatively new and implementation requires individual and organisational change in pharmacies. The aim of this study is to identify barriers and facilitators to the implementation of patient education in community pharmacies and to classify these barriers and facilitators into the diffusion stages of Rogers' 'Innovations in Organisations' model [Rogers, EM. Diffusion of innovations. 4th ed. New York: The Free Press, 1995]. Six focus group interviews, three with pharmacists and three with pharmacy technicians (total n = 38) were carried out. The initiation phase has been dealt with by community pharmacies, whereas the implementation phase has not. The barriers and facilitators in the redefining/restructuring stage were mainly related to the organisation of patient education. In the clarifying and routinizing stages, barriers were related to repetition and knowledge transfer. The facilitators in these stages relate to performing and talking about patient education. Interventions for implementation of patient education should aim at these barriers and facilitating factors.