Practice change challenges and priorities: A national survey of practising pharmacists

Background: Vision and action plans have been created to address the future of pharmacy and help pharmacists progress into expanded roles in order to provide more patient-centred care. To assess the thoughts and perceptions of pharmacists in these new roles, a survey was conducted among practising pharmacists in Canada. Methods: A Web-based survey, developed as part of the Canadian Pharmacists Association's Moving Forward initiative, was open to all practising pharmacists in September and October of 2007. This survey educated pharmacists on potential future roles and sought to gain feedback on the human resource challenges and priorities that might result from the proposed practice changes. Results: From the 1003 respondents, it was found that the majority of pharmacist time is spent on dispensing duties. However, over 60% of pharmacists felt that it was time to begin taking on new responsibilities and over 70% of pharmacists want to be performing expanded clinical duties within 5 years. Discussion: It is encouraging to see that most pharmacists are open to new expanded clinical roles in the near future. Despite the challenges identifed, such as the need for additional training, increases in workload and stress and expected poor physician acceptance, it was felt that changes would result in improved patient health outcomes and better personal job satisfaction. Conclusion: Pharmacists have responded positively to the proposed vision for the future of pharmacy and are eager to move away from the traditional dispensing role to an expanded clinical role that more fully utilizes their unique skills and knowledge.