Abstract
Background: Effective communication between community pharmacists and patients, particularly with a patient-centered approach, is important to address patients' concerns relating to antidepressant medication use. However, few studies have investigated community pharmacists' communication behaviors in depression care. Objective: To characterize community pharmacist-patient interactions during consultations involving use of antidepressants. Methods: Twenty community pharmacists received 3 simulated patient visits involving issues related to the use of antidepressants: 1) patient receiving a first-time antidepressant prescription; 2) patient perceiving lack of efficacy of antidepressants after 2 weeks of treatment, and 3) patient intending to discontinue treatment prematurely. All 60 encounters were audio-recorded and analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS), a quantitative coding system that characterizes communication behaviors through discrete categories. A patient-centeredness score was calculated for each encounter. Results: The majority of pharmacist communication was biomedical in nature (50.7%), and focused on providing therapeutic information and advice on the antidepressant regimen. In contrast, only 5.4% of pharmacist communication was related to lifestyle/psychosocial exchanges. There were also few instances of emotional rapport-building behaviors (8.6%) or information gathering (6.6%). Patient-centered scores were highest in the scenario involving a first-time antidepressant user, as compared to other scenarios involving issues with continued therapy. Conclusions: Community pharmacists appeared to adopt a "medication-centered" approach when counseling on antidepressant issues. There is scope for improvement in patient-centered communication behaviors, particularly lifestyle/psychosocial discussions, facilitating patient participation, and emotional rapport-building. The RIAS appears suited to characterize brief consultations in community pharmacies and can provide a framework in guiding communication training efforts. Further research is needed to assess the impact of pharmacist communication behaviors on patient care outcomes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 419-437 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2014 |
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Keywords
- Antidepressant adherence
- Patient-centeredness
- Pharmacist-patient communication
- Roter Interaction Analysis System
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacy
- Pharmaceutical Science
Cite this
Pharmacist-patient communication on use of antidepressants : A simulated patient study in community pharmacy. / Chong, Wei Wen; Aslani, Parisa; Chen, Timothy F.
In: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, Vol. 10, No. 2, 03.2014, p. 419-437.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Pharmacist-patient communication on use of antidepressants
T2 - A simulated patient study in community pharmacy
AU - Chong, Wei Wen
AU - Aslani, Parisa
AU - Chen, Timothy F.
PY - 2014/3
Y1 - 2014/3
N2 - Background: Effective communication between community pharmacists and patients, particularly with a patient-centered approach, is important to address patients' concerns relating to antidepressant medication use. However, few studies have investigated community pharmacists' communication behaviors in depression care. Objective: To characterize community pharmacist-patient interactions during consultations involving use of antidepressants. Methods: Twenty community pharmacists received 3 simulated patient visits involving issues related to the use of antidepressants: 1) patient receiving a first-time antidepressant prescription; 2) patient perceiving lack of efficacy of antidepressants after 2 weeks of treatment, and 3) patient intending to discontinue treatment prematurely. All 60 encounters were audio-recorded and analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS), a quantitative coding system that characterizes communication behaviors through discrete categories. A patient-centeredness score was calculated for each encounter. Results: The majority of pharmacist communication was biomedical in nature (50.7%), and focused on providing therapeutic information and advice on the antidepressant regimen. In contrast, only 5.4% of pharmacist communication was related to lifestyle/psychosocial exchanges. There were also few instances of emotional rapport-building behaviors (8.6%) or information gathering (6.6%). Patient-centered scores were highest in the scenario involving a first-time antidepressant user, as compared to other scenarios involving issues with continued therapy. Conclusions: Community pharmacists appeared to adopt a "medication-centered" approach when counseling on antidepressant issues. There is scope for improvement in patient-centered communication behaviors, particularly lifestyle/psychosocial discussions, facilitating patient participation, and emotional rapport-building. The RIAS appears suited to characterize brief consultations in community pharmacies and can provide a framework in guiding communication training efforts. Further research is needed to assess the impact of pharmacist communication behaviors on patient care outcomes.
AB - Background: Effective communication between community pharmacists and patients, particularly with a patient-centered approach, is important to address patients' concerns relating to antidepressant medication use. However, few studies have investigated community pharmacists' communication behaviors in depression care. Objective: To characterize community pharmacist-patient interactions during consultations involving use of antidepressants. Methods: Twenty community pharmacists received 3 simulated patient visits involving issues related to the use of antidepressants: 1) patient receiving a first-time antidepressant prescription; 2) patient perceiving lack of efficacy of antidepressants after 2 weeks of treatment, and 3) patient intending to discontinue treatment prematurely. All 60 encounters were audio-recorded and analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS), a quantitative coding system that characterizes communication behaviors through discrete categories. A patient-centeredness score was calculated for each encounter. Results: The majority of pharmacist communication was biomedical in nature (50.7%), and focused on providing therapeutic information and advice on the antidepressant regimen. In contrast, only 5.4% of pharmacist communication was related to lifestyle/psychosocial exchanges. There were also few instances of emotional rapport-building behaviors (8.6%) or information gathering (6.6%). Patient-centered scores were highest in the scenario involving a first-time antidepressant user, as compared to other scenarios involving issues with continued therapy. Conclusions: Community pharmacists appeared to adopt a "medication-centered" approach when counseling on antidepressant issues. There is scope for improvement in patient-centered communication behaviors, particularly lifestyle/psychosocial discussions, facilitating patient participation, and emotional rapport-building. The RIAS appears suited to characterize brief consultations in community pharmacies and can provide a framework in guiding communication training efforts. Further research is needed to assess the impact of pharmacist communication behaviors on patient care outcomes.
KW - Antidepressant adherence
KW - Patient-centeredness
KW - Pharmacist-patient communication
KW - Roter Interaction Analysis System
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84896720874&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84896720874&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.sapharm.2013.05.006
DO - 10.1016/j.sapharm.2013.05.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 23787139
AN - SCOPUS:84896720874
VL - 10
SP - 419
EP - 437
JO - Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
JF - Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
SN - 1551-7411
IS - 2
ER -