General practitioner engagement: the key to repeat dispensing?

摘要

Objective To identify and explore general practitioners' (GPs') experiences of, and views about, repeat dispensing by community pharmacists.Background Repeat dispensing by community pharmacists is now an essential service in the new contract for community pharmacy. However, the service relies on referrals of patients by prescribers and little is known about GPs' perceptions of the process and their role within it. Setting GP practices in England.Methods A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted at 15 general practices distributed across England. The interviews were undertaken with GPs and other practice staff to explore their views regarding their reasons for using or not using repeat dispensing, their experiences of using it and views about the benefits and problems of the scheme.Key findings Fourteen GPs and four non-medical practice staff participated in the study. The operation of repeat dispensing varied between practices in terms of recruitment approaches and inclusion criteria, and at some sites there were a mixture of active and non-active GPs in the same practice. There were some reports of the workload associated with printing prescriptions being reduced, although difficulties with the initiation process and software system were viewed to have constrained uptake of repeat dispensing. GPs generally agreed that repeat dispensing had the potential to improve patient care. Reports on working relationships with community pharmacists were generally positive, although some GPs expressed concerns about patients using pharmacies staffed by locums,Conclusion Repeat dispensing is a pharmacy-based service that relies on GP referral and involvement. While GPs seem receptive to the scheme in principle, uptake has remained variable. Strategies for wider implementation could include incorporating repeat dispensing into prescribing incentive schemes, and promoting increased collaboration between GPs and community pharmacists.