Pharmacists' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Medication Therapy Management: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Understanding pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) and their perceptions of challenges, barriers, and facilitators towards medication therapy management (MTM) provision are vital in informing the design and implementation of successful service delivery. Thus, this review examined pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and their perceived challenges, barriers, and facilitators to MTM services provision, globally. A systematic search was conducted on 1-31 August 2022 to identify relevant studies on PubMed and EBSCO, supplemented with a bibliographic and a particular hand search. We focused on original research in quantitative survey form with the key concepts of "medication therapy management", "pharmacists", and "knowledge, attitude, practice". We assessed the reporting quality using the Checklist for Reporting of Survey Studies (CROSS). Results are reported narratively and according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. From 237 articles identified, 17 studies met the eligibility criteria. Of the included studies, five reported that pharmacists had a considerable level of knowledge, seven suggested a positive attitude among pharmacists, and five revealed that pharmacists had been practicing some MTM elements. Factors associated with pharmacists' KAP may include age, educational degree, additional qualification, income, years of practice, practice setting, and experience in patient care service. The challenges toward MTM provision were related to the pharmacist-patient and pharmacist-physician relationship. Insufficient time, staff, compensation, and training were the barriers, while patients' willingness to participate and educational background were the facilitators of MTM provision. These findings of studies on KAP could help develop an MTM program and design an intervention to improve program effectiveness. Further research focusing on other quantitative and qualitative studies of KAP is needed to obtain a comprehensive approach to MTM provision.

Keywords: drug therapy management; pharmaceutical services; pharmacists; professional practices.

Figure 1

PRISMA flowchart: the study selection.