Components of the Collaboration between Hospital and Community Pharmacists in Municipal Hospitals: Findings from the Municipal Hospital Pharmacist Perspective Using Structural Equation Modeling / 社会薬学

ABSTRACT

Objective: The study aimed to identify potential components of the collaboration between hospital and community pharmacists from the perspective of pharmacists in municipal hospitals. Methods: Following a preliminary study, an online survey was conducted among pharmacy directors and those on an equivalent managerial level in municipal hospital pharmacies. The survey used a 5-point Likert scale with 32 items about the components of collaboration between hospital and community pharmacists. We performed an exploratory analysis and structural equation modeling of the data. Results: The analysis proposed a five-factor model (“Organizational climate,” “Information sharing system,” “Community support system,” “Interest in healthcare policy,” and “Understanding of healthcare policy”), which consisted of 17 items. Subsequent confirmation with structural equation modeling created a model with good fit (in terms of partial evaluation and overall goodness of fit) with a chi-square of 86.218, P-value of 0.564, goodness of fit index of 0.907, adjusted goodness of fit index of 0.857, and other good model fit indices (comparative fit index of 1.000 and root mean square error of approximation of 0.000). Discussion: This study identified two core universal concepts and three concepts adhering to the current medical context, that seem to guide the behavior of municipal hospital pharmacists─who are major players in community healthcare─in their collaboration with community pharmacists.