Community pharmacists’ views of using a screening tool to structure medicines use reviews for older people: findings from qualitative interviews.

<p><b>Background </b>The Medicines use review (MUR) service, provided by community pharmacists, seeks to optimise patients' use of medicines. There is limited evidence on the clinical effectiveness of this service. Structuring MURs to include an assessment of prescribing appropriateness, facilitated by a validated prescribing screening tool, has the capacity to enhance this service.</p><p><b>Objective </b>To explore community pharmacists' views on the facilitators and barriers towards the utilisation of a screening tool as a guide to conducting structured MURs. Setting Community Pharmacy, Northern Ireland. </p><p><b>Method</b> Using the 14 domain Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), semi-structured interviews were conducted with community pharmacists. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the Framework method. </p><p><b>Main Outcome Measure</b> Pharmacists' views towards utilisation of a screening tool as a guide to conducting structured MURs. </p><p><b>Results</b> Based on the analysis of 15 interviews, 11 TDF domains ('Knowledge', 'Skills', 'Social and professional role and identity', 'Beliefs about capabilities', 'Beliefs about consequences', 'Reinforcement', 'Goals', 'Memory, attention and decision process', 'Environmental context and resources', 'Social influences', 'Behavioural regulation') were deemed relevant. Facilitators included: knowledge of patients, clinical knowledge, perceived professional role, patients' clinical outcomes, influence of peers. Barriers included: prioritisation of other clinical activities, inability to access patients' clinical information, perceived alienation from the primary healthcare team and staffing issues.</p><p> </p><p><b>Conclusions </b>Using the TDF, key facilitators and barriers were identified in the use of a screening tool as a guide to conducting MURs. These findings may assist in further development of MURs as a means to optimise patients' medicines use.</p><br>