Comparative evaluation of clinical pharmacists and physicians in the management of medication-related telephone calls in family practice offices.

A comparative evaluation of clinical pharmacists and physicians in the management of medication-related telephone calls in family practice offices is described. A peer review panel, composed of two family practice physicians and two clinical pharmacists not involved in the study, evaluated the appropriateness of management in 102 medication-related telephone calls. The effects of the following variables on the management ratings were determined by analysis of variance: (1) provider group (staff physicians, family practice residents, clinical pharmacists); (2) caller (patient, community pharmacist, third party, e.g., family member or friend); (3) type of medication-related telephone call (refill, new medication, drug information, or other); (4) consultation with another provider; and (5) recommendation for follow-up. Among the provider groups, a larger proportion of the calls to clinical pharmacists (72.6%) received the highest management rating of "appropriate, best alternative available" compared with staff physicians (39.7%) and residents (34.6%). Analysis of variance indicated that the management by clinical pharmacists was rated significantly more favorably than management by staff physicians or residents (p less than 0.05).] Statistical analyses also indicated that the differences in the management ratings among the provider groups were not explained by differences in the callers, type of medication-related call, consultation with another provider, or recommendation for a follow-up. These data suggest that clinical pharmacists may contribute substantially to improved patient-care through the management of medication-related telephone calls.