Managing common ambulatory conditions: Exploring clinical decision making performance between pharmacists and family physicians
Background: Prescribing is part of the expanded scope of practice for pharmacists in Alberta, Canada. Given these responsibilities, clinical decision making (the outcome from the diagnostic and therapeutic decision making process) is an essential skill for pharmacists. The current study compared dia...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276623001385 |
| _version_ | 1827582692799021056 |
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| author | Vincent Chiang Lisa Guirguis Amy L. Warren David Topps Sarah J. Anderson Kent G. Hecker |
| author_facet | Vincent Chiang Lisa Guirguis Amy L. Warren David Topps Sarah J. Anderson Kent G. Hecker |
| author_sort | Vincent Chiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Prescribing is part of the expanded scope of practice for pharmacists in Alberta, Canada. Given these responsibilities, clinical decision making (the outcome from the diagnostic and therapeutic decision making process) is an essential skill for pharmacists. The current study compared diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making between Additional Prescribing Authority (APA) pharmacists and family physicians using a set of common ambulatory clinical cases that both practitioners could encounter in the community as part of their daily practice. Objectives: To explore clinical decision making performance and behaviors between APA pharmacists and family physicians during the assessment and prescribing of common ambulatory conditions. Methods: Eight written ambulatory clinical cases were developed by a panel of experts in both family medicine and pharmacy that were commonly encountered in both professions' daily practice. Participating APA pharmacists and family physicians reviewed the cases and responded with likely diagnoses, recommended treatments, and reported confidence in therapeutic choices. The responses of 18 APA pharmacists and 9 family physicians in community practices were analyzed. Results: There were no significant differences in diagnostic accuracy, therapeutic accuracy, confidence in diagnostic choices, and confidence in therapeutic choices between APA pharmacists and family physicians to these common ambulatory presentations. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary insights regarding the capabilities of pharmacists in the assessment of common ambulatory community conditions and suggests that APA pharmacists are making similar diagnostic and therapeutic decisions to family physicians. Future research could focus on examining the performance of pharmacists trained in different pharmacy education models, as well as their ability to provide clinical assessment in other specialties, or in more uncommon clinical scenarios. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:55:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3401f02d0d3f4c478108d6d65d79c162 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-2766 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:55:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy |
| spelling | doaj.art-3401f02d0d3f4c478108d6d65d79c1622023-12-16T06:10:48ZengElsevierExploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy2667-27662023-12-0112100357Managing common ambulatory conditions: Exploring clinical decision making performance between pharmacists and family physiciansVincent Chiang0Lisa Guirguis1Amy L. Warren2David Topps3Sarah J. Anderson4Kent G. Hecker5Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada; Corresponding author at: CWPH 1E34, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, CanadaFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, CanadaDepartment of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada; Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, CanadaDepartment of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, CanadaDepartment of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, CanadaBackground: Prescribing is part of the expanded scope of practice for pharmacists in Alberta, Canada. Given these responsibilities, clinical decision making (the outcome from the diagnostic and therapeutic decision making process) is an essential skill for pharmacists. The current study compared diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making between Additional Prescribing Authority (APA) pharmacists and family physicians using a set of common ambulatory clinical cases that both practitioners could encounter in the community as part of their daily practice. Objectives: To explore clinical decision making performance and behaviors between APA pharmacists and family physicians during the assessment and prescribing of common ambulatory conditions. Methods: Eight written ambulatory clinical cases were developed by a panel of experts in both family medicine and pharmacy that were commonly encountered in both professions' daily practice. Participating APA pharmacists and family physicians reviewed the cases and responded with likely diagnoses, recommended treatments, and reported confidence in therapeutic choices. The responses of 18 APA pharmacists and 9 family physicians in community practices were analyzed. Results: There were no significant differences in diagnostic accuracy, therapeutic accuracy, confidence in diagnostic choices, and confidence in therapeutic choices between APA pharmacists and family physicians to these common ambulatory presentations. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary insights regarding the capabilities of pharmacists in the assessment of common ambulatory community conditions and suggests that APA pharmacists are making similar diagnostic and therapeutic decisions to family physicians. Future research could focus on examining the performance of pharmacists trained in different pharmacy education models, as well as their ability to provide clinical assessment in other specialties, or in more uncommon clinical scenarios.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276623001385PharmacistsPrescribingFamily physiciansAmbulatory medicineClinical decision making |
| spellingShingle | Vincent Chiang Lisa Guirguis Amy L. Warren David Topps Sarah J. Anderson Kent G. Hecker Managing common ambulatory conditions: Exploring clinical decision making performance between pharmacists and family physicians Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy Pharmacists Prescribing Family physicians Ambulatory medicine Clinical decision making |
| title | Managing common ambulatory conditions: Exploring clinical decision making performance between pharmacists and family physicians |
| title_full | Managing common ambulatory conditions: Exploring clinical decision making performance between pharmacists and family physicians |
| title_fullStr | Managing common ambulatory conditions: Exploring clinical decision making performance between pharmacists and family physicians |
| title_full_unstemmed | Managing common ambulatory conditions: Exploring clinical decision making performance between pharmacists and family physicians |
| title_short | Managing common ambulatory conditions: Exploring clinical decision making performance between pharmacists and family physicians |
| title_sort | managing common ambulatory conditions exploring clinical decision making performance between pharmacists and family physicians |
| topic | Pharmacists Prescribing Family physicians Ambulatory medicine Clinical decision making |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276623001385 |
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