Pharmacists’ opinions and self-reporting performance regarding the professional tasks and responsibilities in Isfahan, Iran

BACKGROUND: The pharmacists’ roles and responsibilities toward the pharmaceutical care practice have developed considerably during the recent years. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this program is to explore the opinions and performances of community pharmacists with regard to their professional tasks and responsibilities in Isfahan city. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire survey of community pharmacists was conducted on a sample of 150 pharmacists using the Delphi process. Data were collected on the opinions and performances of the pharmacists’ task, professional responsibility and expertise, organizational and managing skills, and sociodemographic information. RESULTS: The response rate was 93.3%. High expressions of agreement were found with most of the task and professional responsibilities and managerial skills and the mean rates of the self-reporting performance of most key tasks were ‘always’. The important differences were found in two opinions about the pharmacists’ responsibilities, (a) declining to dispense the prescribed drug that was not appropriate for the patient's illness and (b) keeping the patient's medical records for future needs. The pharmacists’ opinions on various forms of professional expertise were diverse, especially on recognizing that the required medications were not prescribed for the patient, being informed on the pharmacotherapy subsequence and predicting the therapeutic outcomes, interpreting the laboratory tests results, and assisting persons in need of emergency first aid. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists largely agreed with most of the professional tasks and responsibilities, however, new educational programs should be developed to promote the pharmacists’ knowledge and skills concerning pharmacotherapy. Also an extended role for pharmacists needs to be addressed in the pharmacy regulations and laws.