Objective:

To determine the perception of patients and practitioners regarding the role of the hospital pharmacist along the care continuum.

Method:

This was a multicenter cross-sectional observational analytical study, carried out in two phases between 15 October and 31 December 2020. In the first phase, a literature search was carried out to identify specific questionnaires that measured the overall satisfaction of patients in relation to the work of hospital pharmacists. Subsequently, a specific consensus-based questionnaire was developed, structured into three areas: care, relationships, and capacity-building and training. The study included patients treated in the participating centers and served by patient associations. They had to be older than 18 years, present with a chronic condition, and be treated with medication for hospital use. In the second phase, a qualitative study was carried out using focus group discussions to analyze how hospital pharmacists are perceived and how they would like to be recognized by patients. Four meetings were held in different territories of Spain. Previously, the research team agreed on the questions to be asked, which were grouped into four sections: healthcare, relational, training and information.

Results:

A total of 482 surveys were obtained. The percentage of patients who expressed a positive view of the role of the hospital pharmacist was 88.0% (n = 424). In the multivariate analysis, the most positive opinions about these professionals were expressed by women and by patients who had received previous care in the hospital, those who had a high opinion of the coordination of these professionals with the rest of the care team, and those who had received the greatest amount of emotional support. Integration of the pharmacist with the healthcare team was found to vary across different hospitals and the hospitals' public image we seen to be related to the way they were pharmacoeconomically managed. In the sections related to capacity-building and training and challenges for the future, respondents emphasized the need to promote the introduction of new patient monitoring technologies.

Conclusions:

Patients have a good opinion of the service provided by hospital pharmacists, although many are unaware of the significance of their role.