Pharmacists' and general practitioners' pharmacology knowledge and pharmacotherapy skills

Abstract

Understanding differences in the pharmacology knowledge and pharmacotherapy skills of pharmacists and physicians is vital to optimizing interprofessional collaboration and education. This study investigated these differences and the potential influence of work experience. The pharmacology knowledge and pharmacotherapy skills of pharmacists, general practitioners (GPs), and trainees were compared, using a written assessment; 294 participants were included. Overall scores (mean ± SD) ranged from 69.3% ± 6.5% to 76.5% ± 9.5% for basic knowledge, 70.3% ± 10.8% to 79.7% ± 8.4% for applied knowledge, and 66.3% ± 21.1% to 84.7% ± 20.7% for pharmacotherapy skills (analysis of variance all P < .05). The pharmacists had the highest scores for all domains (P < .05), with the exception of pharmacist trainees, who had comparable scores for basic knowledge and pharmacotherapy skills (both P > .05). The GPs scored the lowest for pharmacotherapy skills (P < .05). More work experience was associated with better knowledge of applied pharmacology among pharmacists (by 2% per 10 work-years), but with poorer pharmacotherapy skills among pharmacists and GPs (by 3% and 4% per 10 work-years, respectively). In conclusion, pharmacists and GPs differ in their knowledge and skills, and these differences become more pronounced with more work experience. In general, pharmacists outperform pharmacist trainees, whereas GP trainees outperform GPs. These differences could be important for interdisciplinary collaboration and education.

Essential competencies in prescribing: A first european cross‐sectional study among 895 final‐year medical students

“…Although a gold standard for sufficient knowledge is not available, we believe, in line with the UK Prescribing Safety Assessment, that medical graduates should have high test scores (≥80–90%) to be able to prescribe safely and effectively after graduation. In particular, students had a poor knowledge of drug interactions and contraindications (50%), as also reported for junior and senior doctors . This poor knowledge could be because the quantity and quality of undergraduate clinical pharmacology teaching is inadequate, as implied by the students.…”

“…In particular, students had a poor knowledge of drug interactions and contraindications (50%), as also reported for junior and senior doctors. 13 This poor knowledge could be because the quantity and quality of undergraduate clinical pharmacology teaching is inadequate, as implied by the students. Despite the growing digital support (e.g., apps, websites), clinical pharmacology remains a target for educational improvement, because an adequate knowledge of drug 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%…”

Nurse-led medicines’ monitoring in care homes, implementing the Adverse Drug Reaction (ADRe) Profile improvement initiative for mental health medicines: An observational and interview study

“…When medicines reviews are scheduled, giving pharmacists and prescribers a copy of ADRe alongside the MAR chart links residents’ problems to the clinical goal of freedom from ADRs (Fig 3) [58,59]. When reviewing medicines, pharmacists and doctors rarely have time to interview patients about every possible adverse effect of all their medicines, many residents are non-verbal, and the resident’s key carer is often off-duty, due to 12 hour shift patterns.…”

Knowledge, Perceptions and Practices of Community Pharmacists Towards Antimicrobial Stewardship: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…CPs are well-positioned to collaborate and communicate with GPs and patients if an antimicrobial prescription is believed to be inappropriate [8,9,11]. Multiple studies [12][13][14] reported that providing recommendations on the choice, and dose of antimicrobial prescriptions and ability to assess appropriateness of GPs' antimicrobial prescriptions by CPs depend on adequate knowledge, skills and positive attitudes of CPs towards AMS. CPs' ability to implement AMS in collaboration with GPs has been shown to depend on the context where they work [15,16].…”