Pharmacists’ preparedness to contribute to achieving the objectives of Australia’s National Primary Health Care Strategy: attitudes, beliefs and awareness

Objective: To explore pharmacists’ awareness of Australia’s health care reforms and their beliefs and attitudes about their current and future roles.
Methods: Four focus groups were conducted with 32 South Australian pharmacists: two groups included community pharmacists and pharmacy owners; one included hospital pharmacists and another, consultant pharmacists.
Key findings: Four themes emerged: (1) poor awareness of health care reform agenda; (2) strong adherence to the supply model; (3) lack of appreciation of alternative models; and (4) communication barriers.
Conclusions: Participants’ low awareness of Australia’s health care reforms and their expressed beliefs and attitudes to their current role in the health system suggest
that they are not well prepared for the potential future roles expected of health professionals in the health care reform agenda.