Pharmacy in the future, part of the NHS Plan, envisages pharmacists providing new services such as medication review. Knowing patients' views of such services is important for successful implementation. This study aimed to ascertain patients' perceptions of a pharmacist-run medication review clinic in general practice, as part of a wider study of clinical medication review¹.

Method

As little is known of patients' views, focus groups were selected as an exploratory tool. Information of interest was informed by informal conversations with patients during the study and a previous survey of patients declining to take part². The resulting preliminary themes were:

• Patients' reactions to being invited to attend
• Patients' expectations from attending (and whether achieved or not)
• Patients' perception of the pharmacist's role
• Patients' concerns about discussing medication with a pharmacist rather than a doctor
• Patients' reaction to having medication changed

Patients who had attended for medication review were recruited to the groups which were taped and transcribed. Units of information were identified, analysed and categorised by DP & PK.

Results

Forty patients were invited and 18 attended one of the 3 groups. Discussions fell into 4 broad themes: (1) Pre- review clinic perceptions; (2) Experiences of the medication review clinic (3) Relationships with GPs & experience of care; (4) Perceptions of pharmacists. Eight broad categories were identified for Theme 1, and 7 for Theme 2. For each category a number of constructs (inferences in the data) were identified and these will be discussed in the presentation:

Discussion

Attending a pharmacist-conducted medication review clinic in general practice was new to patients. Their concerns were largely dispelled by attendance, but need addressing if the service is rolled-out. Experiences of the clinic were mostly positive; detailed review and explanation of� medicines was welcomed and not seen as a threat to the GP relationship. Disappointment arose mostly from unrealistic expectations, such as the hope that the pharmacist would stop treatments.

References

1. Zermansky AG, Petty DR, Raynor DK, et al. Randomised controlled trial of clinical medication review by a pharmacist for elderly patients on repeat prescriptions in general practice. Br Med J 2001; 1340-3.
2. Raynor DK, Petty DR, Lowe CJ, Vail A. "No thank you": why elderly patients decline to participate in a research study. HSR & Pharmacy Practice Conference, Aberdeen 2000.