Patients’ knowledge about pharmacists, technicians, and physicians

PURPOSE Including pharmacists within care teams can lead to positive health benefits, yet pharmacists remain underused. Misperceptions about pharmacists' duties and expertise compared to physicians' may contribute. This study sought to determine how well patients know the differences between pharmacists, technicians, and physicians regarding their duties and levels of education about medications. It also investigated how patients' perceptions affect their likelihood to initiate interactions with pharmacists, as well as reasons why they choose not to speak with pharmacists. METHODS An online survey of 477 U.S. adults was administered via Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Participants' knowledge of pharmacists', pharmacy technicians', and medical doctors' education and expertise were measured. Logistic regression determined whether patients' attitudes toward pharmacists predicted patient-pharmacist interactions. Participants' reasons for choosing to not talk to pharmacists about their medications were assessed via an open-ended response. RESULTS Patients generally know the duties pharmacists can perform compared to duties of technicians, but they incorrectly believe that physicians have more years of drug education than do pharmacists. Patients who have more positive attitudes toward pharmacists versus doctors are more likely to initiate interactions with pharmacists. Not seeing a need to interact, believing their doctors told them everything, or their ability to find information elsewhere (e.g., the Internet) were the 3 most cited reasons for not interacting with a pharmacist. CONCLUSION Reaching across disciplinary lines to colleagues in health communication may assist the pharmacy profession in finding ways to increase patients' knowledge and perceptions about the important role pharmacists can play, thereby increasing the likelihood of patients wanting to interact with pharmacists.