A qualitative study investigating Stakeholders' perspectives on a professional body of pharmacy

BACKGROUND: With the advent of “shared regulation” over a decade ago in healthcare to allow for greater public input, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) shed its professional leadership role. Since then there has been no unified voice for the profession of pharmacy in Ireland, which is in stark contrast to other jurisdictions and allied healthcare professions, where both public and practitioner are catered for in separate entities. This is an issue which has received little academic scrutiny thus far, and therefore this study provides a unique opportunity for stakeholders to submit their views. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders working in representative bodies in Ireland using purposive and snowball sampling. Each interview was audio-video recorded and transcribed accordingly for six phase thematic analysis. RESULTS: Interviews were conducted with thirteen participants working in diverse sectors relevant to professional representation. There was a consensus regarding the existing void in the pharmacy profession, and how this has had a detrimental impact on the development of the profession and pharmacists' position in the Irish healthcare system. Different structural models were proposed by participants and potential financial and logistical hurdles for the profession to overcome were considered. CONCLUSION: The study provides a unique review of stakeholders' perspectives who had clear desires for change. The manner in which such change will occur is a consideration for the profession and policy makers going forward.