A report on pharmacists with the NCMP credential

Objective: To characterize the demographics and practices of pharmacists with The North American Menopause Society Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) credential. Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey was disseminated to pharmacists with the NCMP credential in June 2018. Twenty-four items were posed to respondents regarding demographics, educational background, and employment, in addition to perspectives regarding the utility of the credential in practice. The questions consisted of multiple choice, as well as open-ended responses. Results: Of the 40 pharmacists who were invited to participate, 26 (65%) responded. The majority of respondents were women (84%), practicing for at least 10 years (range 5-47 y), based in Canada (70%), and practicing in the community (43%) or compounding (39%) pharmacies. Most pharmacists reported pursuing the credential for credibility with patients (81%), to increase their knowledge about menopause (77%), and for credibility with other healthcare providers (73%). Almost all (88%) plan to renew their credential. Among these pharmacists, many are presently counseling about treatment options (78%) and educating about selected treatment (78%). Pharmacists are most interested in initiating systemic hormonal therapy (61%) and modifying or continuing systemic hormonal therapy (57%). Conclusions: Pharmacists find the NCMP credential to be valuable. Although pharmacists are engaged in counseling and recommendations, they desire prescriptive authority related to menopause care. Future studies should explore the various pharmacist care models and evaluate the impact of pharmacist care on organizational operations and patient outcomes.