Does an integrated information technology system provide support for community pharmacists undertaking Discharge Medicines Reviews? An exploratory study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the views of community pharmacists participating in the pilot of a secure online platform in Wales, the Choose Pharmacy application (CPA), with particular interest in the electronic Discharge Advice Letters (e-DALs) and online Discharge Medicines Review (DMR) form. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews was adopted. A gatekeeper from National Health Service Wales Informatics Service identified 35 pharmacies, of the 43 pharmacies where the CPA had been implemented, that had completed at least one DMR, and these were therefore invited to an interview. RESULTS: A total of 17 pharmacists were interviewed. Overall, the results were positive and CPA and e-DAL were perceived to facilitate continuity of care between care settings. The design and usability were perceived as good as pharmacists could navigate the CPA without problems; many felt this was due to the level of training they had received. Many pharmacists were happy for other services to be included on the platform due to its ease of use and automatic reimbursement. Several pharmacists felt that communication between primary and secondary care can be further improved as the uptake of e-DAL increases. CONCLUSION: CPA was found to streamline the completion of online DMR improving continuity of care between primary and secondary sectors, which in turn should improve patient safety on discharge from hospital.

Too far away to work with each other: Does location impact on pharmacists' perceptions of interprofessional interactions?

In recent years, the delivery of health services has seen a shift towards interprofessional teamwork in order to effectively utilise the skills of each member of the healthcare team to deliver optimal patient care. Nevertheless, a variety of barriers, including lack of communication between healthcare professionals (HCPs), have been identified. The expanding clinical services provided by community pharmacies have increased the potential for pharmacist-HCP interaction; however, primary care pharmacy environments vary from individual distinct premises to part of interprofessional 'health centres'. As such, one potential factor affecting interprofessional communication could be the geographical location ('space') of HCPs. This study sought to determine whether these different primary healthcare 'spaces' impact on the frequency of interprofessional interactions. An anonymous, self-complete questionnaire was sent to all community pharmacies in Wales (n = 716) to quantify the frequency of interprofessional interactions between community pharmacists and other HCPs. A response rate of 62% was achieved. Results showed that pharmacists working in pharmacies physically linked to general practitioner (GP) surgeries had significantly more frequent interaction with HCPs based within the surgeries. This suggests that housing HCPs in the same physical space will enable more interprofessional interaction, supporting the drive to improve the quality of patient care.