Care of the stroke patient—communication between the community pharmacist and prescribers in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

The findings of this study indicated that community pharmacists perceive that there is room for improvement in the communication between themselves and prescribers in the primary and secondary care settings, concerning the care of the stroke patient. This highlights the need for the development of formal communication channels between community pharmacists and other members of the healthcare team involved in the care of the stroke patient. However, the challenges of communicating patient information across healthcare sectors are recognized.

Sources of pre-admission medication information: observational study of accuracy and availability

“…[34] Regarding the care of patients with stroke, an Irish study identified that community pharmacists perceived that the sharing of drug allergy information between GPs, community pharmacists and hospital prescribers was not common. [36] In this study, personal communication with the nursing home or the GP staff was identified as the best means of identifying allergy status. There was less frequent agreement between the GS-PAML and information provided by the community pharmacy, or documented in the hospital Kardex, discharge summary or GP referral letter.…”

“…One recent UK study of nursing home residents identified that the GP record contained drug‐sensitivity information for 73% of patients identified as having one or more sensitivity, but did not identify the frequency of documentation of no known allergy [34] . Regarding the care of patients with stroke, an Irish study identified that community pharmacists perceived that the sharing of drug allergy information between GPs, community pharmacists and hospital prescribers was not common [36] . In this study, personal communication with the nursing home or the GP staff was identified as the best means of identifying allergy status.…”

Exploring the General Practitioner–pharmacist relationship in the community setting in Ireland

“…A study by Harding and Taylor identified the ‘reticent nature of pharmacists’ as a negative influencing factor in the relationship. A review of the literature uncovered only one study conducted in the Republic of Ireland related to the topic . Grimes et al .…”

The influence of pharmacy and pharmacist characteristics on the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease

“…Working with GPs was also a factor predicting the provision of CVD support, which confirms the ''patient care process'' component [33] and meets one of the criteria of pharmaceutical care [40], ''the provider must be able to develop the relationships with the patient and other healthcare professionals that are needed in the provision of pharmaceutical care''. Documentation was an independent predictor of CVD support, reflecting the importance of documentation in facilitating the ongoing patient monitoring required for chronic disease management [17,18,24,34,41]. The implementation of information and communication infrastructure between different healthcare settings has also been acknowledged as critical to delivering effective care, especially for patients with chronic conditions who require treatment continuity from tertiary to primary care [41].…”

“…Documentation was an independent predictor of CVD support, reflecting the importance of documentation in facilitating the ongoing patient monitoring required for chronic disease management [17,18,24,34,41]. The implementation of information and communication infrastructure between different healthcare settings has also been acknowledged as critical to delivering effective care, especially for patients with chronic conditions who require treatment continuity from tertiary to primary care [41].…”