Barriers to Community Pharmacists’ Prescribing Role in Limpopo Province, South Africa: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background The healthcare system had rapidly advanced with greater focus on improving the quality of healthcare and safety of patients. Parallel with the transforming healthcare systems, new policies have emerged to allow pharmacists to prescribe. Little is known about the barriers to community pharmacists’ prescribing role in Limpopo province. Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the barriers to community pharmacists’ prescribing role in Limpopo province and give recommendations to enhance pharmacists’ prescribing role at community pharmacies. Methodology This was a qualitative study in which community pharmacists in Polokwane were interviewed. Due to data saturation, 14 pharmacists participated. Data collection was through semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using Tesch’s open coding method. Results Most participants reported their readiness to prescribe and viewed it as a positive initiative. Results revealed barriers associated with the prescribing role such as lack of knowledge and awareness of the supplementary program, lack of dedicated time for prescribing, lack of recognition from employer, lack of support from medical doctors, and limited scope of practice. Conclusion Pharmacists’ prescribing role is a great initiative that will strengthen the healthcare system however the identified barriers need to be addressed to ensure that pharmacists offer safe and effective patient-centred healthcare. A coordinated effort is therefore necessary for the formulation of clear policy frameworks, including more training facilities, increasing stakeholder awareness to support pharmacist prescribing role, and identifying financial, infrastructure, and other resource demands to support the smooth integration of pharmacist prescribing.