A Survey involving Pharmacists Working in Community Pharmacies to Examine their Awareness toward Communication with Patients with Impaired Cognitive Function

Abstract

The study was conducted to qualitatively analyze the attitudes of pharmacists working in community pharmacies toward patients with dementia to examine the status of support provided for them and related problems. Semi-structured interviews with 15 pharmacists in Aichi Prefecture were conducted, and the results were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The opinions of pharmacists were classified into "the status of consideration for dementia patients and responses to them at the pharmacy counter," " problems related to the status of drug administration management for patients with dementia," and "the status of support provided for dementia treatment." Pharmacists must play various roles at the pharmacy counter and homes of patients: they should report "changes in dementia patients that they have identified" and conduct drug administration management for them. However, the pharmacists had difficulty due to their lack of knowledge and awareness of their roles, the current system of pharmacies only focusing on drug prescription, differences in problems attributed to specific symptoms unique to dementia and the specificity of individual cases, and a lack of understanding of other people and collaboration with them. To help pharmacists provide quality services for dementia patients, it is necessary to encourage them to: undergo training to improve their awareness, learn to provide services with emphasis on the establishment of relationships between patients and their families, and closely collaborate with other pharmacists and different healthcare professionals, as well as enhance the functions of pharmacies as bases for consultation.