Open AccessCommunity pharmacists' views and experiences of counter‐prescribing in pregnancy
Author(s) -
HUTCHINSON SANDRA,
MITCHELL KELLY,
HANSFORD DENISE,
STEWART DEREK
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international journal of pharmacy practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.42
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 2042-7174
pISSN - 0961-7671
DOI - 10.1111/j.2042-7174.2001.tb01024.x
Subject(s) - medicine , community pharmacist , family medicine , pharmacy , community pharmacy , pharmacist , over the counter , pregnancy , telephone number , alternative medicine , nursing , medical prescription , computer network , pathology , biology , computer science , genetics
Objective — To ascertain the sources of community pharmacists' knowledge base for counter‐prescribing in pregnancy, whether sufficient additional information was readily accessible and, if not, to discover pharmacists' areas of concern. Method — A structured telephone interview of community pharmacists by a single researcher using a pre‐piloted questionnaire to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data. Questions covered previous education about counter‐prescribing in pregnancy, reference sources used, and satisfaction with available reference sources. Respondents were also asked to cite examples where they would or would not recommend a medicine in pregnancy. Setting — A random sample of 50 community pharmacies in Scotland. Key findings — From the high response rate (43 pharmacists, 86 per cent) the topic was demonstrably important to community pharmacists, most of whom perceived their knowledge base for counter‐prescribing in pregnancy to be experience‐gained. Thirty‐four pharmacists (79 per cent) agreed there was a need for more information to be available. Ten pharmacists (23 per cent) highlighted complementary therapies as an area where they found available information inadequate. Examples of requests from pregnant women and the action taken by the pharmacist are reported. Conclusion — There is a need for an accurate, current and comprehensive data source for counter‐prescribing in pregnancy. The field of complementary medicines and therapies is of particular concern to many community pharmacists. More research is required into GP referrals.