Pharmacy beyond the dispensary: general practitioners' views

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice and Policy
• General Practice and Primary Care
• Healthcare Professional Attitudes

Background:

• The evolving role of community pharmacists is a key area in healthcare delivery.
• Understanding general practitioners' (GPs) perspectives is crucial for integrating extended pharmacy services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess general practitioners' attitudes towards an expanded scope of practice for community pharmacists.
• To identify specific areas of extended roles that GPs support or oppose.

Main Methods:

• A postal questionnaire was distributed to a representative sample of 1087 general practitioners across three UK regions.
• The survey collected data on attitudes towards specific extended roles, pharmacist prescribing, and interprofessional relationships.

Main Results:

• A 68.4% response rate (744 usable questionnaires) was achieved.
• GPs showed varied support for extended roles, with majority agreement on reporting adverse drug reactions (81%) but disagreement on supervising repeat prescriptions (36% agreement).
• Attitudes towards pharmacist prescribing ranged widely, from 84% agreement for nicotine gum to 11% for cimetidine; 50% supported GP dispensing, while 33% felt pharmacists should "stick to dispensing."

Conclusions:

• While most GPs favor extending community pharmacist activities, concerns exist regarding patient screening, counseling, and prescribing responsibilities.
• Despite generally positive interprofessional relationships, enhanced local communication, cooperation, and rigorous evaluation of new initiatives are necessary.