Psychometrics of the scale of attitudes toward physician–pharmacist collaboration: A study with medical students

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Practice points

Interdisciplinary education, teamwork, and interprofessional collaboration among health professionals can lead to optimal clinical outcomes. Collaboration between physicians and pharmacists is important to reduce medical errors and improve patient outcomes. A psychometrically sound instrument is needed to measure outcomes of interdisciplinary education and interprofessional collaboration. The psychometric support for the Scale of Attitudes toward Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration provided in this study suggest that the instrument has a potential for the evaluation of interdisciplinary education and collaborative physician-pharmacist relationship outcomes.

Table 1.  Rotated factor coefficients^a for the scale of attitudes toward physician–pharmacist collaboration administered to 210 Students in Jefferson Medical College in 2011

Items^b	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3
1. Pharmacists are qualified to assess and respond to patients’ drug treatment needs. (2)	0.73	0.19	0.00
2. Both pharmacists and physicians should contribute to decisions regarding the type and dosage of medicine given to the patients. (8)	0.72	0.31	0.18
3. There are many overlapping areas of responsibility between pharmacists and physicians in drug treatment of the patients. (6)	0.71	0.20	0.19
4. Pharmacists as well as physicians should have responsibility for monitoring the effects of drugs on the patients. (11)	0.66	0.10	0.14
5. Pharmacists should be accountable to patients for the drug they provide. (5)	0.62	0.06	0.24
6. A physician should be viewed as a collaborator and colleague with a pharmacist rather than his/her superior. (1)	0.60	0.27	0.05
7. Pharmacist have special expertise in counseling patients on drug treatment. (7)	0.59	0.23	0.25
8. Pharmacists can contribute to decisions regarding drug interaction that can affect the patients. (4)	0.57	0.36	0.17
9. Pharmacists should be involved in making drug policy decisions concerning the hospital/pharmacy services upon which their work depends. (10)	0.53	0.09	0.41
10. Physicians should be made aware that pharmacists can help in providing the right drug treatment. (15)	0.23	0.76	0.28
11. Pharmacists should clarify a physician's order when they feel that it might have detrimental effects on the patient. (12)	0.32	0.69	0.09
12. The primary function of the pharmacist is to fill the physician's prescription without question. (9)	0.06	0.66	0.02
13. Physicians should consult pharmacists for helping patients with adverse reaction or refractory to drug treatment. (14)	0.27	0.64	0.18
14. Physicians and pharmacists should be educated to establish collaborative relationships.	0.33	0.56	0.50
15. During their education, pharmacy and medical students should be involved in teamwork in order to understand their respective roles. (3)	0.33	0.00	0.80
16. Interprofessional relationships between physicians and pharmacists should be included in their professional education programs. (16)	0.08	0.38	0.77
Eigenvalues	6.5	1.4	1.1
% Variance	41	9	7

Notes: ^aFactor 1 is considered as a construct involving “responsibility and accountability”. Factor 2 is considered as a construct involving “shared authority”. Factor 3 is considered as a construct involving “interdisciplinary education”.

^bItems are listed by the order of factor coefficients within each factor. Values greater than 0.50 are shown in bold. Responses to each item were based on a 4-point Likert Scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 4 = Strongly Agree). Item 12 is reverse scored. Numbers in parentheses represent the sequence of the items in the actual scale.

Table 2.  Descriptive statistics for the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician–Pharmacist Collaboration administered to 210 students at Jefferson Medical College in 2011

Statistics
Mean	53.8
Standard Deviation	6.3
25th Percentile	48
50th Percentile (Median)	54
75th Percentile	59
Possible Range	16–64
Actual Range	32–64
Reliability Coefficient^a	0.90
Validity Coefficient^b	0.70

Notes: ^aCronbach's coefficient alpha.

^bCorrelation with scores of the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician–Nurse Collaboration (20–25).