Collaboration between community pharmacists and general practitioners, pharmacists' and physicians' perspectives

Background. While the collaboration between general practitioners and pharmacists has developed well abroad and has shown its effectiveness in patient care, in France, it is almost non-existent. Objectives. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the perceptions that general practitioners and pharmacist have of their relationship. The secondary objective was to highlight possible areas for improvement. Methods. Qualitative study with analysis inspired by grounded theory. Eighteen semi-structured interviews with pharmacists and general practitioners in Ile-de-France took place between May and November 2019. Results. In this study, a superficial and one-sided relationship emerges, based on phone calls made mostly at the initiative of the pharmacist for prescription problems, without any real collaboration. The overall experience still remains positive, and pharmacists and doctors want to invest more in collaborative work through regular cross professional meetings for the best possible care of the patient. We propose an explanatory model of the mechanisms underlying the establishment of collaboration between doctors and pharmacists: the 4 pillars; definition of roles, definitions of needs, meetings and communication, arise on the basis of competence trust. On these pillars arises the collaboration in the form of a doctor-pharmacist triangle with the patient at the top. Conclusion. Collaboration must be based on the trust and recognition of each other's skills. It is necessary to define the roles and expectations of each other through regular meetings and effective communication.