Pharmacy practitioners' views on computerized documentation of drug-related problems

To evaluate the practice by community pharmacy practitioners of computerized documentation of drug-related problems (DRPs) and pharmacy interventions in nonprescription drug consumers.

A questionnaire was administered in December 1999 to pharmacy practitioners in 45 community pharmacies of different sizes and locations across Sweden to survey their attitudes and experiences after participation in a 10-week period of computerized DRP documentation.

The participants (n = 376, response rate 84%) found the development of computerized documentation of DRPs and pharmacy interventions to be very important. The instrument was perceived as easy to learn and to work well in daily practice. The documentation made many practitioners more attentive to the drug-related needs of self-care consumers and changed their perception of good quality in self-care counseling. The weighted multiple linear regression analysis showed no correlation between the proportion of practitioners experiencing time constraints and the DRP documentation rate of their work site. However, the magnitude of interest in the documentation practice had a significant effect on the documentation rate, regardless of the extent of the time constraints experienced (p = 0.004).

The positive findings of the evaluation speak in favor of an expanded implementation of computerized documentation of DRPs and pharmacy interventions. Commitment among participating pharmacy practitioners to the new practice is essential and appears to overcome possible time constraints.