Emergency department physicians' experiences and perceptions with medication-related work tasks and the potential role of clinical pharmacistsShow others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, ISSN 1748-2623, E-ISSN 1748-2631, Vol. 18, no 1, article id 2226941
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Purpose Medication-related problems are frequent among emergency department patients. Clinical pharmacists play an important role in identifying, solving, and preventing these problems, but are not present in emergency departments worldwide. We aimed to explore how Norwegian physicians experience medication-related work tasks in emergency departments without pharmacists present, and how they perceive future introduction of a clinical pharmacist in the interprofessional team. Methods We interviewed 27 physicians in three emergency departments in Norway. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results Our informants' experience with medication-related work tasks mainly concerned medication reconciliation, and few other tasks were systematically performed to ensure medication safety. The informants were welcoming of clinical pharmacists and expressed a need and wish for assistance with compiling patient's medication lists. Simultaneously they expressed concerns regarding e.g., responsibility sharing, priorities in the emergency department and logistics. These concerns need to be addressed before implementing the clinical pharmacist in the interprofessional team in the emergency department. Conclusions Physicians in Norwegian emergency departments welcome assistance from clinical pharmacists, but the identified professional, structural, and legislative barriers for this collaboration need to be addressed before implementation.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis Group, 2023. Vol. 18, no 1, article id 2226941
Keywords [en]
Emergency department, physicians, medication safety, experiences, pharmacists, qualitative study, interviews, interprofessional team
National Category
Social and Clinical Pharmacy
Research subject
Health and Caring Sciences, Caring Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-123538DOI: 10.1080/17482631.2023.2226941ISI: 001010191200001PubMedID: 37343666Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85162906690OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-123538DiVA, id: diva2:1786694
2023-08-092023-08-092023-09-07Bibliographically approved