Exploring pharmacy service users' support for and willingness to use community pharmacist prescribing services.

BACKGROUND: In 2012, community pharmacists in Ontario, Canada gained regulatory authority to independently prescribe, including renew and adapt prescriptions. Studies have explored views of pharmacists, physicians and policymakers about pharmacist prescribing but less is known about the views of community pharmacy services users.

OBJECTIVE: To describe Ontario community pharmacy service users' support for and stated willingness to use pharmacist prescribing services.

METHODS: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted with 19 adults who had filled or refilled prescription(s) at a community pharmacy within the past three months. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were collected through one-on-one, semi-structured interviews between May and September 2016. Interview transcripts were coded and thematic analysis conducted. The first two transcripts were independently coded and analyzed by 2 researchers and after consensus was achieved, the lead researcher coded and analyzed the remainder of the data.

RESULTS: Most community pharmacy service users lacked experience with pharmacist prescribing services but perceived some potential benefits, including personal convenience. The majority of participants supported pharmacist prescribing. Support for and stated willingness to use pharmacist prescribing services varied by the type of service and was contingent upon the clinical purpose of the prescription, pharmacists' access to patient clinical information (e.g. health records), and the extent of pharmacist-physician collaboration during the prescribing process.

CONCLUSION: Community pharmacy service users in Ontario expressed varying support for and stated willingness to use pharmacist prescribing services. This seemed to be due to their perceptions of the pharmacists' role (compared to physicians) and concerns about risks. Understanding these contributing factors will help implement strategies that address concerns and facilitate use of community pharmacists' prescribing services.