Pharmacists as members of the healthcare team in Israel: sectoral differences

To examine the sectoral differences among Israeli pharmacists regarding their perception of actual versus desired contact with other members of the healthcare team, and measures necessary to achieve a closer working relationship among members.

Pharmacists from private, community, and hospital sectors (n = 145) completed a survey that assessed their respective views of the current and future roles of the pharmacist as a member of the healthcare team.

Common to pharmacists in all three sectors is their aspiration for greater cooperation among members of the healthcare team, especially with physicians. Intersectoral differences were found in their attitude toward their role in the healthcare team: hospital pharmacists would like a better relationship with patients, private pharmacists would like closer ties with physicians, and community pharmacists would like better teamwork with the nurse. No sectoral differences were seen in how pharmacists see themselves as members of the clinical healthcare team. Only 12 percent believe they have adequate knowledge to advise on clinical pharmacotherapy. To perform this function, they indicated that more training in pharmacotherapy would be needed (98.6 percent of respondents), as well as joint courses with medical students (84.2 percent), and a modification of their internship period requiring them to work in each of the different practice sectors (73.4 percent). No sectoral differences were observed regarding the benefits of a more active role of the pharmacist in the healthcare team.

One possible explanation for Israeli pharmacists' low professional self-image, despite the rewards of the profession, is that they lack the necessary clinical knowledge that would enable them to take a more active role in the healthcare team. Pharmacists' job satisfaction may improve if a more active advisory role in the healthcare team can be achieved.