The roles and perspectives of an informatics pharmacist practicing in the Australian healthcare setting: a qualitative study

Background

The implementation of digital healthcare systems in hospitals globally and in Australia has led to the introduction of the informatics pharmacist as a career in the healthcare system. However, informatics pharmacists are not yet part of routine clinical services in Australia, so their perspective and roles are not well understood.

Aim

To explore pharmacists' and other health professionals' perspectives of the roles of informatics pharmacists within interprofessional teams in Australian health care.

Method

This study used semi-structured interviews with experts in pharmacy and/or informatics. They were recruited using convenience sampling and snowballing. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic techniques to identify major themes. Ethical approval was received from the local institutional Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval No: 2020000069).

Results

The process of inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview transcriptions of 11 participants. Six themes were identified: (1) a promising future for the informatics pharmacists, (2) education, (3) specific skills, (4) scope of informatics role, (5) impacts, and (6) barriers. Participants described the career of informatics pharmacists as an emerging specialty in today's healthcare systems. The roles of informatics pharmacists in Australian health care are described together with the skills and knowledge required for these roles.

Conclusion

A key role of informatics pharmacists is to facilitate the appropriate use of digital systems to prevent medication errors and improve patients' safety. While international experience has shown the potential scope for an informatics pharmacist, this research shows the use of informatics pharmacists in Australia is in its infancy.