Interprofessional collaboration in pharmacist-led primary care clinics

Pharmacists are essential to team-based care, contributing knowledge and expertise that positively impact patient care. However, it is less clear how interprofessional collaboration is enacted by pharmacists in single-disciplinary outpatient practice environments.

We recruited pharmacists from 3 university-affiliated, pharmacist-led primary care clinics in Canada. Employing a social network analysis approach, the data collection encounter explored the nature and composition of collaboration in patient care. We conducted semistructured interviews, including participant drawings (sociograms), to illustrate their network experiences caring for specific patients. Transcripts from the data collection encounters were systematically coded and analyzed in an iterative process. Initial codes were generated inductively and broader categories refined through constant comparison and finalized by author discussion.

Eleven (78%) pharmacists were interviewed and drew 28 sociograms. Pharmacist networks encompassed a wide array of health professionals and patient family members. Despite the physical distribution of interprofessional members, pharmacists formed and maintained relationships to support patient care through conscientious communication and medication management decision-making. Network relationships and system factors influenced collaboration and patient care, often resulting in practice paralysis and/or the need to re-emphasize patient self-advocacy.

Our findings underscore the dynamic nature of pharmacist networks and how they are navigated to support pharmacist-led medication management. Primary care pharmacists attempt to overcome encountered barriers to implementing patient care plans through various strategies, including leveraging new and existing network relationships. System obstacles impeding effective and efficient patient care could in part be overcome through pharmacist scope of practice expansion.