Mindset shift

A patient is empowered when they are provided with sufficient knowledge to make informed decisions, given adequate control and resources to implement their choices, and armed with the necessary experience to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of any steps taken in the management and treatment of their condition.

A number of studies have shown that patients do not always view community pharmacies as service providers. Rather, they see them as an adjunct to the patient-doctor relationship.

This leads them to:

• Commoditise the community pharmacy service (prescription charges don’t help)
• Focus on the speed with which medicines are dispensed
• Consider the convenience of the pharmacy location (e.g. 24-hour access, free car parking)
• View the community pharmacy as a retail outlet for medicines and not as a provider of patient services.

For the delivery of effective, patient-centred care services, pharmacists must redefine their relationship with patients. Enhanced patient engagement, communication and consultation skills are all central. Good provider-patient relationships enable patients to ask questions, reach agreement about the problem and the need for follow up, and can facilitate decision sharing with other providers.

In order to grow ‘social authority’ as a healthcare professional, it is important to be able to use effective communication and consultation skills to probe patients’ attitudes towards medicine use, subjective perceptions of health or illness, and fears and concerns about therapy, and so on. Pharmacists must take the initiative to engage more patients in professional discussion, rather than speaking only with those who ask for advice.

The ability of the pharmacist and other staff to enhance their consultation skills is central to a patient-centred service and collaborative approach.

Anyone involved in giving advice to patients and customers must be able to communicate effectively, gain trust and engage in a two-way discussion about the patient’s condition and treatments.

Research suggests that this approach will make patients more likely to be adherent to and satisfied with the treatment they receive. Pharmacists are also likely to enjoy greater job satisfaction and experience a sense of professional autonomy by utilising key professional skills working this way.

A patient-centred service approach can also enhance customer loyalty and differentiate a pharmacy from its competitors. A strong set of consultation skills will enable you and your team to encourage patients to consider outcomes, ask questions and clarify preferences.