Exploring pharmacists' perceptions of integrating pharmacists into the general practice setting

BACKGROUND: In several countries worldwide, pharmacists have integrated into the general practice setting. This has resulted in enhanced medication management, a reduction in patients' appointments with general practitioners (GPs), and decreased medication costs. However, there is a paucity of research that has focused on exploring pharmacists' views of this emerging role prior to its implementation in countries where it is not yet commonplace. OBJECTIVE: To explore pharmacsists' perceptions of integrating pharmacists into the general practice setting, the proposed roles for such pharmacists, and the factors affecting integration. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with pharmacists in Ireland, who were sampled based on years of experience in community pharmacy and work location using convenience and snowball sampling. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, which subsequently underwent thematic analysis. RESULTS: Twelve pharmacists – with a median of six years' experience as a community pharmacist – were interviewed between September and October 2019. Four main themes were generated: (i) expectations of integrated role (including the importance of role definition, pharmacist experience, and increased job satisfaction); (ii) altered pharmacist-patient dynamic in primary care (including patient trust, patient safety, and the impact on community pharmacist roles); (iii) GP-pharmacist relationship (including pre-existing relationships, autonomy, reducing GP workload, and individual GP attributes); (iv) logistical issues and financial implications (including practice characteristics, co-location time, and supporting evidence-based implementation). CONCLUSION: This study is unique as it has focused solely on exploring pharmacists' perceptions of integrating into general practice in a country where such roles are mostly non-existent. The attitudes of pharmacists in this study were primarily positive, for reasons such as intrinsic motivation, reducing GP workload, and improving patient health outcomes. However, the routine implementation of these roles will require funding and support from key stakeholders (other than pharmacists) and should be guided by the evidence from other countries.