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A qualitative study on community pharmacists' decision-making process when making a diagnosis
Vassiliki Sinopoulou1, Paul Summerfield2, Paul Rutter1
1School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UK.
Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice
|October 10, 2017
Summary
Community pharmacists often use memory aids instead of diagnostic reasoning when managing patient symptoms. Enhanced training in diagnostic skills is recommended to improve patient care and decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacy Practice
- Clinical Decision-Making
- Patient Consultation
Background:
- Growing emphasis on self-care directs patients to community pharmacists for advice.
- Pharmacists require robust diagnostic skills to identify diverse patient conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how community pharmacists manage patient signs and symptoms.
- Explore pharmacists' diagnostic decision-making processes during consultations.
Main Methods:
- Semi-structured interviews with 8 community pharmacists in England (2013-2014).
- Exploration of patient consultation experiences and hypothetical headache scenarios.
- Analysis of knowledge sources and experience, using framework analysis.
Main Results:
- Pharmacists' primary motivations were product selection and risk minimization.
- Decision-making heavily relied on mnemonic methods, leading to suboptimal information gathering.
- Clinical reasoning was present but often unconscious and inappropriately applied; decisions based on personal belief over evidence.
Conclusions:
- Community pharmacists predominantly use mnemonic methods over diagnosis-based decision-making.
- Findings indicate a need for improved diagnostic training for practicing pharmacists.
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