“They come with multiple morbidities”: A qualitative assessment of pharmacist prescribing

Abstract

This paper presents qualitative findings from a larger sequential mixed methods study which sought to provide an in-depth understanding of pharmacist prescribing from the perspective of pharmacist prescribers, medical colleagues and key stakeholders in Northern Ireland. Transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis as the interviews progressed and emergent themes were identified and coded (along with supporting quotes) independently and by consensus of the research team. Three major themes emerged in relation to pharmacist prescribing: the effect on patient care; challenges facing pharmacist prescribers and the importance of the interprofessional team (where two or more different professions with varied, yet complementary experience work together with a common purpose). Pharmacist prescribing may have the potential to reduce the medication burden for patients (as reported by pharmacists) as pharmacists tend to provide a more comprehensive medication review than doctors; the additional time for consultations made this possible. Further research is required on how interprofessional team working can be maximized in the context of pharmacist prescribing, particularly in relation to the management of multi-morbidity.

Keywords::

• Independent prescribing
• non-medical prescribing
• Northern Ireland
• pharmacist prescribing
• qualitative method
• semi-structured interviews
• supplementary prescribing

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all participants who took part in interviews.

Declaration of interest This work was supported by Health and Social Care Research and Development Northern Ireland. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.