Comparison of attitudes of general medical practitioners and community pharmacists to prescribing matters

Abstract

In order to compare the attitudes of general medical practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists to a broad range of issues concerning prescribing, a questionnaire was mailed in April, 1994, to all GPs and community pharmacists in contract with a local family health services authority (St Helens and Knowsley), an area covering 350,000 people. Replies were received from 60 per cent of the GPs and 84 per cent of the pharmacists. There was general agreement between the doctors and the pharmacists in their attitudes towards prescribing, and agreement that the quality of prescribing was a legitimate subject of concern for local health authorities. The role of community pharmacists was the main area of disagreement. With the GPs generally being more conservative while the pharmacists favoured a wider role. The professions shared a concern to improve the quality of prescribing, and about one third believed that a substantial amount of Pharmacy and Chemistry, prescribing was of poor quality. A substantial minority of each profession had little contact with the opposite numbers from the other profession: 43 per cent of doctors had met a pharmacist fewer than four times in 1993. We present evidence of general agreement between the, professions on a wide range of issues concerning the quality of prescribing in the community. However, if UK pharmacists are to achieve the wider role they and the government desire, the concerns of GPs need to be addressed.