Community pharmacists' perspectives on pharmaceutical care implementation in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVE: There were three objectives to this study: to establish New Zealand community pharmacists' level of understanding of the pharmaceutical care process, to determine their attitudes to the concept of pharmaceutical care; and to determine the barriers to commencing pharmaceutical care practice. Comparisons were made between proprietors (pharmacy owners) and employees, males and females, and younger and older pharmacists.
METHOD: The research tool was a questionnaire instrument, encompassing a total of 67 questions designed to determine community pharmacists' understanding, attitudes and appreciation of the opportunities and barriers inherent in the pharmaceutical care process. A total of 490 pharmacists representing 286 proprietors and 204 employees randomly selected from the Pharmaceutical Society register were sent a questionnaire.
RESULTS: The total responses numbered 377, which was a 76.9% overall response rate. Over 60% of the pharmacists surveyed had a correct understanding of pharmaceutical care. Approximately the same percentage felt the future of pharmacy would depend on the provision of services other than dispensing. Insufficient time, as a barrier to implementation, was identified by 87% of respondents, and an absence of a reimbursement system by a further 82%. Lack of: therapeutic knowledge; clinical problem solving skills; finance; appropriate space, patient demand; access to patient medical records, and data on the value of PC were identified as major barriers by over 50% of all respondents. There were significant differences in response to a number of issues recorded by males and females, proprietors and employees, and pharmacists above and below the mean sample age of 45 years.
CONCLUSION: This study found that the community pharmacy environment in New Zealand had a high level of understanding of the pharmaceutical care process, but identified some significant barriers to implementation.