Interprofessional communication between community pharmacists and general practitioners: a qualitative study.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare communication
• Interprofessional collaboration
• Pharmacy practice

Background:

• Effective collaboration between community pharmacists (CPs) and general practitioners (GPs) is vital for comprehensive patient care.
• Existing communication between CPs and GPs is often limited and faces numerous obstacles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate perceptions of interprofessional communication content and methods between CPs and GPs.
• To identify barriers and information priorities for developing best-practice recommendations for information exchange.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative content analysis of focus groups and in-depth interviews with CPs and GPs in Germany.
• Semi-structured interview guidelines were used to gather data.

Main Results:

• Seven internal and nine external barriers to interprofessional communication were identified.
• CPs and GPs identified varying priorities for organizational, medication-related, and patient-related information.
• Phone communication was the most common method used by both professions.

Conclusions:

• Significant differences exist in the opinions of CPs and GPs regarding interprofessional communication.
• Despite differing views, communication is deemed crucial, necessitating standardized recommendations with flexibility for individual adaptation.