A qualitative study of physicians' and nurses' experiences of multidisciplinary collaboration with pharmacists participating at case conferences

Objectives  Previous studies have revealed a range of drug-related problems for nursing home and hospital patients. Different attempts to reduce drug-related problems have been tested. Medication reviews performed by pharmacists and subsequent presentation of findings at case conferences is one of these methods. Physicians' and nurses' experiences from multidisciplinary collaboration with pharmacists have to a lesser degree been investigated. This study aims to describe how Norwegian physicians and nurses experience collaborating with pharmacists at case conferences to reduce drug-related problems in elderly patients. Methods  This was a qualitative interview study using systematic text condensation. The setting was nursing homes (long-term care) and hospital wards (gerontology and rheumatology). Four physicians and eight nurses participated and the main outcome was physicians' and nurses' experiences of multidisciplinary collaboration with pharmacists. Key findings  Organizational problems were experienced including, among others, what professional contribution team members could expect from pharmacists and what professional role the pharmacist should have in the multidisciplinary team. Both professions reported that ambiguities as to when and if the pharmacist was supposed to attend their regular meetings resulted in some aggravation. On the other hand, the participants valued contributions from pharmacists with regard to pharmaceutical skills, and felt that this raised awareness on prescribing quality. Conclusions  Physicians and nurses valued the pharmacists' services and reported that this collaboration improved patients' drug therapy. However, before implementing this service in nursing homes there is a need to make an organizational framework for this collaboration to support the professional role of the pharmacist.