Physicians’ perceptions of communication with and responsibilities of pharmacists

OBJECTIVE: To understand physicians' perceptions of (1) their communication with pharmacists, (2) pharmacists' professional duties, and (3) the degree of responsibility with which pharmacists perform these tasks. DESIGN: Structured interviews with convenience sample of physicians in phase 1; written survey mailed to convenience sample of physicians in phase 2. PARTICIPANTS: Six physicians in Wyoming in phase 1, and 313 primary care physicians who were members of the Wyoming Medical Society in phase 2. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Physicians' attitudes and experiences related to their interactions with pharmacists and their perceptions about pharmacists' responsibilities. RESULTS: Usable surveys were returned by 176 physicians (response rate = 59.1%). Age ranged from 27 to 86 years (mean +/- SD = 43.5 +/- 10.4 years), 79.5% were men, and 50.6% were in family practice. Almost 25% had personal contact with pharmacists regarding patients' medications four or more times daily, but 20.6% rarely had this type of contact. Pharmacists contacted physicians' offices regarding prescription refills frequently, with 28.7% reporting 10 or more contacts daily. For 79.2% of respondents, an office nurse had the most contact with pharmacists. Respondents were most comfortable with pharmacists' responsibilities of catching prescription errors (88.0%), providing patient education (65.1%), suggesting nonprescription medications (63.4%), and suggesting prescription medications to physicians (52.0%). Respondent's age was negatively correlated with three functions related to pharmacotherapeutic regimens: designing regimens, monitoring effects of failed regimens, and monitoring outcomes. The most common negative experiences with pharmacists involved pharmacists' scaring the patient, dispensing unauthorized refills, and making inappropriate comments in the presence of patients. CONCLUSION: Future research with a larger, more representative sample of physicians will help explain this dynamic relationship. These preliminary results should be useful in training future physicians and pharmacists.