A science-based profession?

摘要

It is generally acknowledged that the profession of pharmacy is built on a sound scientific base, and that the raison d'etre of practice - an ever-increasing pharmacopoeia of effective medicines - is one of the key scientific success stories of the last century. However, despite this there is a general belief that most pharmacists do not see the relevance of science to their everyday practice, and are reluctant to engage with researchers in new empirical studies. Research has been conducted from time to time to identify the barriers which restrict participation in research, with time often cited as one of key barriers. An article by Cvijovic in this issue confirms this, with time reported as the main reason why pharmacists did not collect the data expected in their study, despite the fact that the data collection took just a few seconds per patient. Facilitators include interest, a belief that research is important and that it will benefit the customer.