Providers’ Perceived Value of Clinical Pharmacist and Technician Services within Primary Care Clinics

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated the benefit of clinical pharmacy services in primary care. However, studies are limited on providers’ perceived value of embedded primary care pharmacy teams. The purpose of this project was to determine how primary care clinical pharmacists and technicians provide value to medical providers. Primary care providers in University of Utah health clinics where primary care clinical pharmacists are embedded were invited to participate in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews. Interview sessions were recorded, transcribed, and de-identified. The transcripts were coded and analyzed to determine common themes. Questions were on various topics, including what is of greatest value to them, pharmacy integration into care teams, provider burnout, provider happiness at work, provider workload, and provider retention in the health system. In total, 25 interviews were conducted from nine different clinics (response rates of 19.7% for providers and 81.8% for clinics). Coding revealed themes of increased job satisfaction, enhanced patient care, decreased workload and burnout, and a desire for increased access to clinical pharmacy services. The responses related to clinical pharmacists in primary care were overwhelmingly positive, and providers almost unanimously expressed the need for more pharmacy services in primary care.