Integrating a Brief Pharmacist Intervention into Practice: Osteoporosis Pharmacotherapy Assessment

Integrating pharmacists into primary care teams: barriers and facilitators

“…Interestingly, some of our findings are inconsistent with the existing literature on this topic. Previous studies, performed primarily in urban settings, found that pharmacists struggle to develop a relationship of trust and respect with other team members, which is a major barrier to integration into the team . Pharmacist interviewees in our study, performed primarily in rural settings, found that most pharmacists had a strong pre‐existing relationship with other team members, which was a major facilitating factor to successful integration.…”

“…Our study found that pharmacists consistently struggle with: (1) lack of pharmacist role definition, (2) limited support and mentorship (mostly from management) and (3) lack of adequate resources and space. Previous studies have also identified similar themes . Fortunately these are three barriers that can be mitigated by proper planning and preparation.…”

“…The limited data available in the literature, including results from the IMPACT trial, suggest that pharmacists struggle with several barriers when attempting to integrate into these teams. These include: lack of role definition, absence of an established relationship of trust and respect with existing team members, inadequate pharmacist training, need for mentorship or peer support and a lack of adequate space . Unfortunately, these studies evaluated small numbers of pharmacists practising exclusively in urban settings.…”

“…These include: lack of role definition, absence of an established relationship of trust and respect with existing team members, inadequate pharmacist training, need for mentorship or peer support and a lack of adequate space. [3,[5][6][7][8][9] Unfortunately, these studies evaluated small numbers of pharmacists practising exclusively in urban settings.…”

Guidelines for pharmacists integrating into primary care teams

“…17 Other frequently reported barriers include physician resistance, lack of pharmacist assertiveness, inadequate pharmacist support, lack of space and inadequate pharmacist training. [9][10][11]13,14,[17][18][19][20][21] Many of these barriers to pharmacist integration can be minimized or avoided if pharmacists are prepared. Unfortunately, recent evidence suggests that pharmacists often continue to make the same mistakes and struggle to integrate into these teams, despite the fact that these barriers are well documented in the literature.…”