Document resource
Background and Importance Clinical pharmacists are essential for improving medication safety and PLAY an important role in the interprofessional collaboration in hospitals. Pharmacists can help manage complex medication regimens and ensure continuity of care. Despite their proven benefits, their implementation in Germany remains inconsistent, with limited data on their prevalence, roles, and contributions to patient care. The ‘Stationsapotheker:in NRW’ project systematically fills gaps in data of clinical pharmacists in hospitals across North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the perception from collaborating physicians.Aim and Objectives The study aims to assess the current state of clinical pharmacist implementation in hospitals, analyse their roles and activities, and identify factors influencing effective interprofessional collaboration with physicians.Material and Methods A mixed-methods approach was employed, comprising three phases: (1) an online survey with 780 participants to assess the prevalence and tasks of clinical pharmacists, (2) 13 semi-structured interviews with interprofessional teams to explore collaboration dynamics and identify success factors, and (3) a follow-up survey to validate findings, refine activity profiles and collaboration settings. Qualitative data was analysed using Kuckartz’s content analysis method with MAXQDA software.Results The survey revealed that clinical pharmacists are present in approximately 33% of hospital sites in NRW, with significant variability in their clinical tasks and the resources available for this purpose. Pharmacists are an integral part of the medication process, substantially contribute to medication safety through therapy reviews, and provide critical support to physicians in optimising treatment regimens. Interviews identified key enablers of collaboration, including mutual trust, respect, and effective communication. The surveys and interviews show that the majority of participating physicians value their collaboration with clinical pharmacists and perceive pharmaceutical support in everyday clinical practice as a necessary complement to ensuring drug therapy safety.Conclusion and Relevance The results highlight the need for wider introduction of clinical pharmacists in hospitals as part of an interprofessional team to optimise the medication process. Removing barriers and leveraging identified success factors can provide strategies for optimising their integration into healthcare teams. These findings provide starting points for promoting the role of clinical pharmacists in Germany and highlight existing potential.References and/or Acknowledgements We thank the participating physicians and clinical pharmacists for participating in our healthcare research project.Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest