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Journal of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners
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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 16(4)

Practice pharmacists in the primary healthcare team in Aotearoa New Zealand: a national survey

Janet McDonald https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4761-5371 1 * , Caroline Morris https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8751-0657 2 , Tara N. Officer https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2322-2525 3 , Jacqueline Cumming https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8369-2465 1 , Jonathan Kennedy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5676-6764 2 , Lynne Russell https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5360-5391 1 , Eileen McKinlay https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3333-5723 4 , Mona Jeffreys https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2617-0361 1
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

1 Te Hikuwai Rangahau Hauora–Health Services Research Centre, Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand. Email: jackie.cumming@vuw.ac.nz, lynne.russell@vuw.ac.nz, mona.jeffreys@vuw.ac.nz

2 Department of Primary Health Care & General Practice, Te Tari Hauora Tūmatanui, University of Otago Wellington, PO Box 7343, Wellington 6242, New Zealand. Email: caroline.morris@otago.ac.nz, jonathan.kennedy@otago.ac.nz

3 Te Kura Tapuhi Hauora | School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Practice, Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand. Email: tara.officer@vuw.ac.nz

4 Centre for Interprofessional Education, Division of Health Sciences, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. Email: eileen.mckinlay@otago.ac.nz

* Correspondence to: janet.mcdonald@vuw.ac.nz

Handling Editor: Tim Stokes

Journal of Primary Health Care 16(4) 332-340 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC24049
Submitted: 8 April 2024  Accepted: 21 June 2024  Published: 11 July 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Introduction

The integration of pharmacists into general practice settings is increasingly common internationally. Within Aotearoa New Zealand, the role has evolved variably in different regions. Recent health policy and professional guidance support further development.

Aim

To describe the current status of pharmacists working in primary healthcare settings other than community pharmacy.

Methods

An online survey of all pharmacists in Aotearoa New Zealand primary healthcare settings was conducted in 2022, and covered employment, current services, patient consultations, relationships with other health professionals, and service costs and benefits. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed.

Results

Responses from 39 pharmacists (~35% response rate) working in primary healthcare practice roles are reported. Most were female (84%), New Zealand European (81%), and 45% had <5 years’ experience in this setting. The most common service provided was responding to medicines information queries from other health professionals (87%). Most also offered one or more medicines management services: medicines use review (44%), medicines therapy assessment (62%), and medicines optimisation (69%). One-third were prescribing or repeat prescribing pharmacists; non-prescribers expressed strong interest in future prescribing roles. Most (86%) undertook patient consultations with varied capacity to do more. Key perceived benefits for patients included improved health outcomes and medicines understanding; benefits for the health services included supporting the workloads of busy primary healthcare staff.

Discussion

Practice pharmacists have both patient- and practice-facing roles. The proportion with a prescribing qualification has increased over time. There is some capacity for additional consultations, but this requires funding, space and time spent in a service/setting.

Keywords: Aotearoa New Zealand, clinical pharmacists, cross-sectional survey, general practice, pharmacists, practice pharmacists, primary health care.

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