Public Perception of the Range of Roles Played by Professional Pharmacists

Abstract

Background: Professional pharmacists should be directly involved in patient healthcare as members of therapeutic teams are not the only dispensers of medication. Public perceptions of the professional role of pharmacists is expressed through patients’ attitudes, trust, and expectations as health and illness consultants, or qualified retailers of medicines. This perception is influenced by numerous determinants, both health-related and social. Objective: This research intends to describe the range of social roles pharmacists play from the perspective of potential pharmacy customers/patients. Methods: The data presented in the article comes from cross-sectional survey-based research, undertaken in 2018, on a representative sample of 600 Polish adults. Results: Over-the-counter medication is purchased by almost all Polish adults, but they do not tend to ask for advice at pharmacies. Most respondents consider a pharmacist to be “a person qualified to sell medicines”, with some of the participants regarding pharmacists as “ordinary retailers”. A small number of respondents are interested in benefiting from pharmaceutical care, but the pharmacy is still perceived to be a point of purchase for medication. Conclusions: Respondents do not treat pharmacists as health advisors and reduce its role to that of dispensing medication. Sociodemographic variables have no significant effect on social perception of pharmacists.

Is there a time and place for health education in chain pharmacies? Perspectives of Polish community pharmacists

“…Meanwhile, effective health education requires establishing a proper consultative relationship with the patient (World Health Organization & Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, 2012). Experiences from different countries suggest that the image of pharmacists gradually evolves, but patients may be unaware of these changes (Majchrowska et al, 2019). In Italy, for instance, a study published in 2003 showed that local pharmacists have only a small role in the education of patients because they go to the pharmacy mainly to buy medicaments (Bernardini et al, 2003).…”

Pharmacists’ Preparedness to Patients Education at the Time of Pandemic—A Cross-Sectional Study with an Example of SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak in Poland

“…Meanwhile, although Polish patients still connect pharmacists mostly with selling medicaments [ 16 ], there are reports indicating patients’ positive attitudes and expectations for pharmacists’ advice or information on drugs, smoking cessation, and minor or chronic health conditions, including their screening and prevention [ 17 , 18 ]. The majority of Polish pharmacists also express positive attitudes and readiness to expand the scope of their practice [ 19 , 20 ].…”

“…However, at the same time, they seem to have an unclear idea of their educatory role [ 19 ]. Moreover, the extent to which such services are actually provided remains unsatisfactory in the opinion of the majority of Polish patients [ 16 ]. Currently, there are no cognitive services implemented in Polish pharmacies, e.g., vaccinations or advice on smoking cessation services that would be financed by the public insurer.…”

A qualitative exploration of the healthcare challenges and pharmaceutical care needs of people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers

“…In Malaysia, participants of a qualitative study viewed pharmacists mainly as suppliers of medication and had trouble envisaging their expanded roles as part of a healthcare team [27]. There is indeed an erroneous perception that a pharmacist's main role is dispensing, with many unaware of the enhanced roles of pharmacists such as providing PC services and managing long-term diseases [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] It has been postulated that this 'reductionist perception' [36] of pharmacists stems from the lack of interaction between patients and pharmacists at a higher level [35]. Where there is a lack of understanding of these expanded pharmacist roles, pharmacists can find it challenging implementing services and the ability of the profession for role expansion can be hindered [33].…”