Pharmacists in general practice - a qualitative process evaluation of the General Practice Pharmacist (GPP) study.

Aim: To explore the implementation of The General Practice Pharmacist (GPP) intervention (pharmacists integrating into general practice within a non-randomised pilot study in Ireland), the experiences of study participants and lessons for future implementation.

Design and Setting: Process evaluation with a descriptive qualitative approach conducted in four purposively selected GP practices.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a thematic analysis.

Results: Twenty-three participants (3 pharmacists, 4 GPs, 4 patients, 4 practice nurses, 4 practice managers, and 4 practice administrators) were interviewed. Findings are reported under the themes of day to day practicalities (incorporating location and space, systems and procedures, and pharmacists’ tasks), relationships and communication (incorporating GP/pharmacist mode of communication, mutual trust and respect, relationship with other practice staff, and with patients) and role perception (incorporating shared goals, professional rewards, scope of practice, and logistics).

Conclusions: The study found that a pharmacist working within the general practice team had potential to improve prescribing quality. This process evaluation found that a pharmacist joining the general practice team was well accepted by the GP and practice staff and effective interprofessional relationships were described. Patients were less clear of the overall benefits. Important barriers (such as funding, infrastructure and workload) and facilitators (such as teamwork and integration) to the intervention were identified which will be incorporated into a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial.