Perceptions of a group of hospital pharmacists and other professionals of the implementation of clinical pharmacy at a high complexity public hospital in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: During the process of implementation of clinical pharmacy services, internal and external factors may favor or hinder the incorporation of care into the hospital routine. This study aimed to understand the perceptions of a group of hospital pharmacists and other professionals of the implementation of clinical pharmacy at a high complexity public hospital in Brazil. METHODS: A focus group with 16 pharmacists and interviews with tree key stakeholders including managers in the pharmaceutical, medical, and nursing profession were conducted to understand their perceptions of the implementation clinical pharmacy services in a high complexity public hospital in Brazil. The service proposal was presented to the selected participants before conducting the focus group. Professionals with an overview of the hospital and influence on the relevant departments for the implementation of clinical pharmacy at the institution were selected. Data collected were transcribed and analyzed using the Bardin Content Analysis technique. Data analyzed were systematized into categories and registration units. The methodology involves the organization and analysis of reported content to make inferences. RESULTS: The data obtained were divided into four categories: "Perception of the current situation", "Implementation expectations", "Barriers to implementation", "Implementation facilitators". Participants discussed the stagnation of clinical activities of the pharmaceutical profession in Brazil, a reality that results from a lack of clinical training in the country. Pharmacists expressed their expectations for changes in professional performance. According to the managers, such services would positively affect clinical outcomes for patients. Gaps in academic education, lack of knowledge, and poor communication skills were barriers reported in this study. Pharmacists' clinical experience has been reported to facilitate the provision of services. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights factors that may influence the implementation of clinical pharmacy services in the institution analyzed, such as resistance, fear, and frustration as barriers, as well the experience in clinical pharmacy of some pharmacists in the institution was one of the facilitators most cited by participants. This knowledge may aid future planning for the implementation of clinical pharmacy in hospitals.

Evaluation of students' attitudes towards pharmacist-physician collaboration in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To measure undergraduate pharmacy and medical students' collaborative attitudes regarding Pharmacist-Physician collaboration. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from September 2016 to February 2017 in Northeast Brazil. Pharmacy and medical students from the first and the last year of courses were invited to complete Portuguese version of Scale of Attitudes Toward Pharmacist-Physician Collaboration (SATP2C). Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed using IBM SPSS (22 version). Differences were considered significant when p<0.05. RESULTS: Three hundred seventy students completed the SATP2C. Overall, the students had positive attitudes towards physician-pharmacist collaboration. There was no significant correlation between age and score (p=0.79). Women showed a more positive collaborative attitude than men (53.1, SD=6.8 vs. 55.1, SD=6.3). Pharmacy students had a higher score than medical students (57.5, SD=4.7, vs. 51.1, SD=6.4). The first-year medical students had a higher score than last-year medical students (52.3, SD=6.0 vs. 49.5, SD=6.6; p<0.007). There was no significant difference in the attitudes between the first and last year pharmacy students (p<0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacy and medical students showed positive attitudes towards physician-pharmacist collaboration. However, pharmacy students presented more collaborative attitudes than medical ones. Additionally, the first-year medical students had more collaborative attitudes than last-year medical students. Studies should be conducted to provide recommendations to improve interprofessional education efforts to further enhance the positive attitudes toward physician-pharmacist collaboration.