Cooperation Between Pharmacists and Physicians – Whether It Was Before and is It Still Ongoing During the Pandemic?

• Main Authors: Waszyk-Nowaczyk M, Guzenda W, Kamasa K, Pawlak K, Bałtruszewicz N, Artyszuk K, Białoszewski A, Merks P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-08-01
• Series: Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
• Subjects: collaboration; pharmacist; doctor; pharmaceutical care
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/cooperation-between-pharmacists-and-physicians--whether-it-was-before--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JMDH

Magdalena Waszyk-Nowaczyk,1 Weronika Guzenda,1 Karolina Kamasa,2 Kornel Pawlak,2 Natalia Bałtruszewicz,2 Karolina Artyszuk,2 Artur Białoszewski,3 Piotr Merks4 1Pharmacy Practice Division, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, 60-780, Poland; 2Student’s Pharmaceutical Care Group, Pharmacy Practice Division, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, 60-780, Poland; 3Department of the Prevention of Environmental Hazards and Allergology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, 02-091, Poland; 4Faculty of Medicine, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw, 01-938, PolandCorrespondence: Weronika GuzendaPharmacy Practice Division, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 6 Grunwaldzka Street, Poznan, 60-780, PolandTel [phone]Email [e-mail]: Nowadays, it is very important to put an emphasis on widely understood teamwork. This is of great importance for achieving and maintaining success in all areas, especially in medicine. This kind of unity has many advantages, including unique ideas that are very helpful in a competitive environment, improve performance and knowledge, and create stronger supportive work relationships. Patient’s health can be improved by using comprehensive treatment. This provides an urgent need for multidisciplinary partnership in the medical community. Optimal pharmacological treatment is crucial to achieving treatment goals. To ensure excellent quality of medical care, interprofessional cooperation between physicians and pharmacists and/or other medical professionals is necessary. Their complementary knowledge and experience can lead to improved health outcomes and can also reduce treatment costs. There are also many barriers and difficulties in legal systems that would allow for more effective inter-professional cooperation. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to emphasizing the role of the pharmacist, increasing powers, and at the same time to teamwork, sometimes forced by the situation. The purpose of this publication is to view the literature on the cooperation of physicians and pharmacists in the provision of medical services for patients. Professional cooperation has been well known in many countries for years, as it is a key medium supporting optimized patient care. Analyzing the challenges and approaches can lead to better and improved health care.Keywords: collaboration, pharmacist, doctor, pharmaceutical care