Do Boundary Conflicts between the Roles of the Hospital Ward Pharmacist and The Medical and Nursing Team Still Exist?

Abstract

The hospital ward role of the pharmacist has developed in the last few years due to the necessity to improve the use of drugs. The Increasing complexity of drug therapy, particularly in hospitals, has highlighted the need to integrate the role of the pharmacist into the healthcare team. The aim of this paper is to verify if, after the Italian experiences of clinical pharmacists, there have been conflicts among pharmacists, physicians and nurses. Materials and Methods: After about 6 months from the introduction of a ward pharmacist into the surgery department at the Hospital of Udine, at a specific meeting, a questionnaire was given to the participants about the roles and responsibilities of physicians, pharmacists and nurses. Results: 30 nurses and 25 physicians out of 62 participants filled in the questionnaire completely; 4 nurses and 3 physicians didn’t answer all the questions. Only about 19% of the nurses and 23% of the physicians considered the ward pharmacist strategic in ensuring safety in medication therapy. Moreover, only about 6% of the nurses would contact the ward pharmacist in the case of an obvious risk of drug interactions due to a wrong prescription. However, all the nurses (100%) and 92% of the physicians considered the pharmacist a useful consultant. It is a contradiction which highlights the difficulty in establishing the equilibrium in the ward healthcare team and recognizing the specific competences of each single member. Conclusion: The role of the ward pharmacist, in particular regarding safety and medication errors prevention, seems still not to be fully recognized by nurses and hospital physicians.