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Survey Finds High Trust in Pharmacists to Expand Role in Patient Care
A survey of providers, patients, and pharmacists revealed high levels of trust in pharmacists to meet patient needs and expand their roles in the primary care setting.
The survey,1 conducted by Express Scripts Pharmacy and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, collected data from 1000 pharmacists, 3000 patients, and 500 medical providers, including physicians and nurse practitioners.
“With more than half (51.8%) of the US population experiencing at least one chronic condition, and one-quarter suffering from multiple chronic conditions, prescription medications are often the first line of defense to help patients manage these conditions,” authors of the report explained. “The need for change has revealed an underutilized resource that could bridge the access gap, help attain cost and quality goals, and assist with chronic disease management—pharmacists.”
Three-quarters of pharmacists surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that they would be able to meet provider and patient needs in the future, by offering expertise on drug interactions, medication management, and pharmaceutical therapy.
Most patients who responded expressed that they trusted pharmacists to dispense medications/fill prescriptions (78.9% high trust, 17.7% moderate trust), counsel patients on drug interactions (73.6% high trust, 22.2% moderate trust), administer vaccines (62% high trust, 29.3% moderate trust), and advise other health care professionals on medication interactions (61.2% high trust, 30.2% moderate trust).
Findings also indicated that patients trusted pharmacists to:
- prescribe medications (40.5% high trust, 32.4% moderate trust);
- conduct health and wellness screenings (37.5% high trust, 42.1% moderate trust);
- provide additional health support services (37.7% high trust, 43.3% moderate trust); and
- provide disease-specific counseling (33.1%. high trust, 44% moderate trust).
“When providers were asked whether they trusted pharmacists to perform specific activities for patients with chronic conditions, providers noted a high level of trust for traditional pharmacist tasks, with high to moderate trust often exceeding 90%,” authors said. “For more direct patient care tasks, providers’ level of trust declined from slightly above to slightly below 50%.”
Many pharmacists who participated in the survey believed that they would become more involved in direct patient care responsibilities by 2030. In fact, 80% expressed agreement that “they will increase patient counseling responsibilities, take on more of a role in preventive care measures, and be more integrated in a care management team structure.”
According to the findings, 80% or more pharmacists believed patients would increasingly establish relationships with pharmacists, trusting them as a liaison to the health care system and part of the care team.
About three-quarters (77.3%) of patients who responded to the survey agreed “the pharmacist is an integral member of the health care team.”
Many patients also expressed they would be comfortable with pharmacists performing clinical activities. Patients indicated they were very comfortable or extremely comfortable with pharmacists performing the following:
- checking vitals (76.2%);
- prescribing medications for acute conditions (58.1%);
- diagnosing acute conditions (54.9%);
- adjusting dose of prescribed medication (48.2%); and
- prescribing medications for chronic conditions (44.9%).
Findings also showed, “Pharmacists in ambulatory clinics/health systems are more likely to prescribe medication (20.2%), act as a disease specialist (39.9%), and interact with a larger health team about patient care (77.4%), while home delivery pharmacists are more likely to act as a disease specialist (20.4%) as compared with retail pharmacists (11.9%).”
Authors emphasized training and education as the future of pharmacy evolves. Only about half (53.3%) of pharmacists agreed or strongly agreed they could sufficiently manage patients with their current training. Likewise, 49.3% of physicians cited “insufficient pharmacist training” as the top challenge in involving pharmacists more with patient care.
Pharmacists responded that greater education is needed in chronic diseases (35.5%), diagnosing (17.4%), and prescribing (13.3%) if they are to sufficiently care for patients in the future.
Providers were also surveyed about the role of pharmacists in value-based care models. Nearly one-third (28.8%) of providers said they used shared savings or value-based payment models. Compared to 72.2% of all providers, 83.7% of those who participated in value-based models “agreed or strongly agreed that pharmacists would be regularly included in multidisciplinary teams that collaborate on patient care.”
Providers also believe that pharmacists will help fill in gaps in primary care amidst a physician shortage, according to survey findings.
Data indicated 44% of provider respondents anticipate a greater number of pharmacists will be hired in primary care practices. Additionally, 63.4% of providers agreed or strongly agreed pharmacists will take on greater roles in preventive care, and over half (51.1%) believed pharmacists will increasingly specialize in specific diseases.
“Agreement with these statements increased when limiting to provider respondents that have collaborated with pharmacists on a multidisciplinary care team,” authors wrote.
More than half (62.6%) of providers also believed pharmacists will be able to access electronic medical records in the future.
“In considering the impact of technology on efficiency, 97.6% of pharmacists in an ambulatory clinic/health system setting found electronic medical record access to improve efficiency, whereas nearly 30% of pharmacists in the retail setting responded ‘not applicable’ because they do not have access,” the report noted.
Beyond electronic medical records, many pharmacists (70.8%) agreed or strongly agreed that automation will bolster patient care by reducing human error, and 86.1% think pharmacy will be made safer through technological advances.
Over half (64.2%) of surveyed patients also expressed that it would be very or extremely helpful if it were easier to compare pharmacies.
“Couple this with the high percentage of provider and pharmacist respondents that expect greater integration of pharmacists into value-based models, and the need for greater transparency and data interoperability is clear,” authors wrote.
“Most people trust pharmacists to play a greater role in providing their care,” said John McHugh, MBA, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in a press release.2 “As the shortage of doctors and nurses persists, and as complex new therapies and digital health care technology solutions are developed, the role of the pharmacist will continue to evolve.”
References:
- Express Scripts Pharmacy. The prescription of trust: pharmacists transforming patient care. January 12, 2022. Accessed January 17, 2022. https://d17f9hu9hnb3ar.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/2022-01/The%20Prescription%20of%20Trust-FINAL.pdf
- Pharmacists’ role to expand over next decade amid the pandemic and provider shortages. News release. Express Scripts Pharmacy; January 12, 2022. Accessed January 17, 2022. https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8985151-express-scripts-evernorth-research-pharmacists-take-expanded-role-in-health-care/
