Interprofessional education in pharmacy: Bridging collaborative competence and clinical impact

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Pharmacy Education
• Healthcare Systems Integration

Background:

• Interprofessional education (IPE) is common in pharmacy to foster collaboration.
• Evidence shows IPE enhances communication and teamwork but not clinical outcomes.
• Current IPE lacks real-world healthcare system integration and longitudinal continuity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze why IPE's impact on clinical outcomes is inconclusive.
• To argue that IPE limitations stem from system integration deficits, not pedagogy.
• To propose a shift towards outcome-oriented, system-integrated IPE models.

Main Methods:

• Commentary examining global literature on IPE in pharmacy.
• Analysis of the disconnect between IPE competencies and clinical practice.
• Review of current IPE models and their integration within healthcare systems.

Main Results:

• IPE effectively improves collaborative competencies but not consistently measurable clinical outcomes.
• Lack of authentic clinical embedding and continuity hinders translation of skills.
• Pharmacy's limited clinical agency in interprofessional settings restricts its impact.

Conclusions:

• IPE's effectiveness is limited by insufficient integration with healthcare systems.
• A transition to system-integrated, outcome-oriented IPE is necessary.
• Recommendations include embedding IPE in practice, outcome-based evaluation, and enhanced pharmacist roles.