Pharmacy owners' views and experiences with the implementation of medication reviews: a qualitative study.

Michel, Dorothee E.; Tonna, Antonella P.; Dartsch, Dorothee C.; Weidmann, Anita E.

Abstract

Following amendment of German legislation in 2020, patients are entitled to pharmaceutical care services including medication reviews (MRs). Despite this, provision of such services is not mandatory for community pharmacies and MRs are not widely available. The decision to implement these depends on the individual pharmacy owners. This study aimed to explore pharmacy owners' understanding, beliefs, and experience of MRs. Further objectives were to investigate their willingness to offer MRs as a service and to examine their perceptions of barriers and facilitators towards the implementation of MRs in German community pharmacies. Online semi-structured interviews with pharmacy owners were conducted between June and September 2021. Participants were purposively sampled based on a background survey. Recruitment occurred via a professional journal and newsletters. Interviews were conducted following written informed consent. The piloted topic guide for the interviews was based on findings of a previously published systematic review and used the Framework for the Implementation of Services in Pharmacy (FISpH) as theoretical underpinning. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and then coded against the FISpH independently by two researchers. QRS NVivo® was used to assist with analysis and data management. (Ethics approval: RGU, Aberdeen; Ärztekammer Hamburg). Findings: Sixty-seven pharmacists responded to the survey of which 21 participants were sampled according to implementation stage and geographical region. Participants identified themselves as being in the implementation stages of exploration (4), preparation (4), implementation (4), sustainment (7) and other (2). Data saturation was reached after 18 interviews. Pharmacy owners believed that implementation of MRs would benefit patients' medication safety, contribute to cost savings in the health system, and add to professional satisfaction of pharmacists. Owners' understanding of and experiences with MR was very heterogenous and MR-training as well as implementation support were desired. Nevertheless, most owners were willing to implement the service as they considered MRs to be the essence of a pharmacists' professional responsibility. Reported barriers were a general lack of awareness of the service, qualified staff and adequate remuneration. Long standing rapport and good relationships with patients and the community were perceived as important facilitators which help to advance implementation of MRs. The research indicates owners' desire to implement MRs but also highlighted their wish for implementation support. Various strategies such as raising awareness of the service and continuous support need action from different stakeholders on different socioecological levels to advance implementation of MRs and ensure patients have access to adequate pharmaceutical care.

Citation

MICHEL, D.E., TONNA, A.P., DARTSCH, D.C. and WEIDMANN, A.E. 2022. Pharmacy owners' views and experiences with the implementation of medication reviews: a qualitative study. Presented at 8th PCNE (Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe) working symposium 2022: navigating research on pharmaceutical care, 11-12 February 2022, Lisbon, Portugal.

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: 8th PCNE (Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe) working symposium 2022: navigating research on pharmaceutical care
• Conference Location: Lisbon, Portugal
• Start Date: Feb 11, 2022
• End Date: Feb 12, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 7, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 13, 2024
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-022-01407-6
• Keywords: Pharmaceutical care services; Medication reviews (MRs); Pharmacies; Implementation; Stakeholders
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1705803
• Additional Information: Abstract published as:; MICHEL, D., TONNA, A., DARTSCH, D. and WEIDMANN, A. 2022. Pharmacy owners' views and experiences with the implementation of medication reviews in German community pharmacies: a qualitative study. International journal of clinical pharmacy [online], 44(3): abstracts of 8th PCNE (Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe) working symposium 2022: navigating research on pharmaceutical care, 11-12 February 2022, Lisbon, Portugal, article 490. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11096-022-01407-6