Perceptions, experiences and expectations of physicians regarding the role of pharmacists in low-income and middle-income countries: the case of Tehran hospital settings

OBJECTIVE Pharmacists play a pivotal role in the health continuum, and the perceptions and expectations of physicians towards pharmacists have been reported as a key factor in the interprofessional relationship. This study aimed to elicit the perceptions and expectations of physicians towards the role of pharmacists in hospitals to clarify the level of interaction between physicians and pharmacists in hospital settings. DESIGN A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted to collect data in 2016. METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out at 20 large government hospitals in Tehran Province. Data was collected using a questionnaire consisting of four sections. It includes a section on demographic profile and three sections to measure the perceptions of physicians towards pharmacists, the expectations of physicians and their experiences with pharmacists, respectively. RESULTS More than two-thirds of physicians (67.2%) agreed that pharmacists were a reliable source of general drug information. The majority of physicians (90.6%) expected pharmacists to advise their patients about the dose and administration of their medications. Almost half of the physicians (51.6%) agreed that they were usually informed by pharmacists regarding potential problems in their prescriptions. Both senior and junior residents had the view that pharmacists would inform them if any potential problems with their prescriptions were discovered (P=0.04). CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that physicians had positive view on pharmacists' clinically defined roles and also accepted pharmacists as a valuable source of general drug information. However, the perceptions and expectations of physicians towards pharmacists did not match their real experience. Therefore, improving the awareness of physicians about the benefits of interprofessional collaboration with pharmacists seems to be a key step towards the implementation of pharmaceutical care practices in Iran.