Qualitative Assessment of the Pharmacist's Role in Punjab, Pakistan: Medical Practitioners' Views

Purpose: To assess the perception of Pakistani doctors regarding pharmacist's role in Punjab Pakistan. Methods: A qualitative approach was used to assess the perception of doctors regarding pharmacist's role in the study setting. A total of 12 doctors were interviewed using a semi- structured interview guide. The study was conducted for a period of 3 months in the Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Lahore, from July to September 2011. Doctors were informed regarding the aim, objective and nature of the study. Results: All the interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed for their content. Thematic content analysis yielded four major themes: 1) Availability of pharmacist in Pakistan's healthcare setting. 2) Willingness to collaborate with pharmacist. 3) Separation of prescribing from dispensing. 4) Difference in academic levels of doctors and pharmacist. Conclusion: Doctors are receptive to an expanded role for pharmacists, also regard them as drug information experts, but their expectations fall short of the quality of clinically-focused pharmacy services that pharmacists are actually rendering.