General practitioners’ perceptions of medicines use reviews by pharmacists

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The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7476 p501-503
3 November 2007

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Original papers

General practitioners’ perceptions of medicines use reviews by pharmacists

By Michael Wilcock and Geoffrey Harding

Michael Wilcock, MRPharmS, is head of the prescribing support unit, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust.

Geoffrey Harding, PhD, is senior research fellow at Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Exeter.

Correspondence to:
Michael Wilcock, c/o Pharmacy Department, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Truro, Cornwall TR1 3LJ
e-mail mike.wilcock@ciospct.cornwall.nhs.uk

Abstract

Aim
To explore GPs’ perceptions of community pharmacist-conducted medicines use reviews (MURs).

Design
Self-administered questionnaire.

Subjects and setting
GP practice prescribing leads who attended three locality meetings held by Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust prescribing team.

Results
Fifty-two (90%) of 58 GPs completed the questionnaire. Nearly two-thirds of the doctors claimed to have a good working relationship with their local community pharmacist. Half of the respondents consulted with the community pharmacist on drug-related issues at least once a month. However, GPs in general expressed negative views about MURs.

Conclusion
There is a positive foundation as regards working relationships between community pharmacists and GPs, but the GPs identified a number of aspects of the MUR service that they considered needed revision and improvement.