• Tommy Westerlund and Jan-Olof Brånstad.
• Research and Development, Apoteket AB, PO Box 1052, SE 251 10, Helsingborg, Sweden. tommy.westerlund@gmail.com
• Pharm World Sci. 2010 Oct 1; 32 (5): 562-5.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine general practitioners' (GPs') views on (1) patients' drug-related problems (DRPs) and noncompliance and (2) the role of pharmacy practitioners in DRP management.MethodA brief questionnaire was designed and distributed to 224 GPs in Sweden.ResultsTotally 152 GPs responded (68%). Most felt that pharmacy practitioners could improve patients' drug use by identifying DRPs. A majority of the GPs also found presentations and analyses of their local pharmacies' DRP documentation valuable. According to the GPs' experiences, adverse drug effects and therapy failure were the most salient problems in patients' drug use. Half of the doctors believed that 50-75% of their patients were compliant with their prescribed drug treatments. A majority of the GPs found a 75-95% degree of compliance acceptable.ConclusionThe surveyed GPs demonstrated very positive attitudes towards the role of pharmacy practitioners in improving patients' drug use and managing DRPs. The GPs realised that many patients were not compliant with their prescribed drug treatments and accepted an imperfect compliance.

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