Clinical pharmacologist from the eyes of a clinical pharmacologist: a questionnaire-based survey

Abstract

Introduction: Management of a clinical condition is patient centric. Interdisciplinary coordination plays an influential role in patient management. Pharmacology deals with the study of drugs. Clinical pharmacology deals with applied aspects of pharmacology in addition to clinical research. Methodology: We set up a survey to assess the perceptions of clinical pharmacologists (CPs) regarding their roles and about clinical pharmacology courses in India. The survey was administered via a Google questionnaire sent via LinkedIn, Email, or WhatsApp to 100 CP’s working in India. Results: Respondents to the questionnaire were working as CPs. They were either postgraduate in pharmacology (MD pharmacology (doctor of medicine in pharmacology) 60.2%) or had a super-specialization degree in clinical pharmacology (DM clinical pharmacology (doctorate in medicine in clinical pharmacology) (34.7%)) or other pharma postgraduates. They were working in pharmaceutical companies (41.8%), hospitals (26.5%), or academic institutions (30.6%). When the responses from the respondents were stratified by qualification or experience, they showed that most of the CPs felt that the CPs played a significant role in academia, pharmaceutical organizations, hospitals, and drug regulatory bodies. Conclusions: All the CPs opined that training during the postgraduation course was not sufficient to be qualified as CP. There was no consensus among the CPs on the benefit of existing certification courses in clinical research. However, they felt that the centres offering these courses should be accredited, and the curriculum should be uniform. Respondents opined that CPs’ patient management role could be improved by collaborating with clinicians and organizing workshops and conferences.