Perceived Roles of Independent Community Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians in Patient Referrals to Community Resources: A Study from the Medication Safety Research Network of Indiana (Rx-SafeNet).

Introduction: Referrals to community resources represent one element of the Chronic Care Model, however, little is known about the perceived role of community pharmacy staff in referring patients to community resources.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe community pharmacists', community pharmacy technicians', and patients' perceptions of pharmacist referrals to community resources.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with community pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and patients from community pharmacies that are members of the Medication Safety Research Network of Indiana (Rx-SafeNet). Qualitative analysis was conducted to identify emergent themes.
Results: A total of 37 participants, including six community pharmacists, one pharmacy student completing an advanced pharmacy practice experience, 15 community pharmacy technicians, and 15 patients across four independently-owned community pharmacies were interviewed. Themes included: 1) Need to build on a foundation of strong patient-community pharmacist relationships to clearly define the pharmacist's role in referrals, 2) Need to improve familiarity with community resources, 3) Need to clearly delineate and support the role for pharmacy technicians in making referrals, and 4) Need to follow-up on referrals.
Conclusion: To enhance community pharmacy staff provision of referrals to community resources, interventions are needed to improve patient and pharmacist familiarity with available resources, patients' perception of the pharmacist's role outside of prescription fulfillment, and follow-up on referrals. Moreover, pharmacy technician education and training could be expanded to optimize their role in supporting community pharmacists in making referrals.
Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Statement The authors declare no conflicts of interest.