Survey of Pharmaci Survey of Pharmacists

2005 Telephone Interview Protocol

NHSC Pharmacists

Draft

May 9, 2005

Scope of Services
I would like to start by discussing the types of services you provide at the clinic.
1.	What types of services do you provide on a routine basis (at least once a week)? [Check off services mentioned by respondent and probe for the services not mentioned. Make sure to emphasize these are only services they provide at least once a week.]
		Provide on Routine Basis
a.	Do you dispense medications to patients Prepare the prescription orders Transfer medications to patients	___ ___ ___
b.	Do you provide counseling1 to patients? With each new prescription provide Written information about the prescription Oral counseling With each refill Written information about the prescription Oral counseling Disease management for a defined condition Which conditions? ______________________ Individual counseling Group counseling What is the general content of this counseling? _____________________________________	___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
c.	Do you provide drug utilization review services? Check records To ensure patient still needs medication To ensure the dosage is appropriate For adverse drug reactions or interactions For indications that patient is not complying or adhering to the prescription	___ ___ ___ ___ ___
d.	Do you participate in public health initiatives (e.g., smoking cessation programs, health education, and immunizations)? Please briefly describe the initiatives ___________________________________	___
e.	Do you provide consultative and education services to providers? Within the clinic At other sites in your clinic’s network Outside your clinic and clinic network	___ ___ ___
f.	Do you have any pharmacy management responsibilities? Pharmacy director Formulary management Drug utilization review	___ ___ ___
g.	Do you provide any other types of services on a routine basis? [If yes, please describe] __________________________ __________________________	___
2.	Do you have prescribing authority?
3.	Are there any types of services that you wish you could provide, but do not? [If yes] What are they? ___________________________________ [If yes] What prevents you from providing these services? ___________________________________
4.	During a typical week, how many hours do you work at this clinic?
5.	[If the pharmacist dispenses prescriptions on a routine basis] How many prescriptions do you fill during an “average” day? _______
6.	Typically, who transfers prescription medications to patients? Probe for: Registered pharmacist Pharmacy assistant or technician Other clinicians
7.	[If the pharmacist provides disease management services on a routine basis] How many patients do you see during an “average” day?
8.	Do you represent pharmacy services on any type of planning committee? [If yes] Please tell me about this committee. ___________________________________

Contributions to the Site
9.	Has your presence at the clinic resulted in the addition of new services? [If yes] What are those new services? ___________________________________
10.	Has your presence at the clinic resulted in the expansion of preexisting services to clinic users? [If yes] Which services did you expand? ___________________________________
11.	Have you implemented any quality of care initiatives since you started working at this clinic? [If yes] Please describe. ___________________________________
12.	Have you introduced any type of primary care program for clinic patients or the community? [If yes] Please describe. ___________________________________

Process of Care
Next, I would like to talk about how you are integrated into the process of care at this clinic.
13.	Do you ever co-manage patients with other clinical staff (non-pharmacy clinical staff)? [If yes] What types of patients do you co-manage? ___________________________________
14.	[If the pharmacist dispenses prescription medications on a routine basis] Where do most of your prescription orders come from? Clinic staff Other clinics in your network Providers outside of your network
15.	[If the pharmacist provides disease management services on a routine basis] What proportion of your patients come from each of the following sources? Referrals from clinic staff Referrals from other clinics within the same network of clinics Referrals from providers outside of your clinic’s network Self referrals
16.	Do you ever participate in an interdisciplinary care team? [If yes] What is the purpose or goal of the team? ___________________________________ What other types of providers are included in the team [probe for physicians]? ___________________________________ How frequently does the team meet? ___________________________________

Recruitment
I would now like to discuss what motivated you to work in a medically needy area.
17.	How did you learn about the NHSC? ____________________________________
18.	Why did you decide to apply for a NHSC loan repayment award? ____________________________________
19.	Were you already working at the clinic at the time you applied for the NHSC loan repayment award? [If yes] When did you start working at this clinic? ____________________________________
20.	Did you have experience serving medically underserved populations prior to your NHSC obligation? [If yes, probe for when this experience occurred] School Internship Residency rotation Preceptorship
21.	Why did you decide to work at this clinic? ____________________________________ [If pharmacist does not mention the role of the loan repayment award] What role did the NHSC loan repayment award play in your decision to accept the position at this clinic? ____________________________________
22.	Would you have [worked/continued to work] at this clinic if you had not received the loan repayment award from the NHSC? ____________________________________

Retention
Next, I would like to discuss your future plans.
23.	Do you plan to continue to work at this clinic after your NHSC obligation ends? [If yes] How long do you plan to continue working at this clinic? ____________________________________ [If no] Do you expect to continue working in a medically needy area? ____________________________________
24.	Do you think clinics in underserved areas have a hard time retaining pharmacists? [If yes] What factors make it difficult? ____________________________________ [If yes] What kinds of strategies do you think clinics in underserved areas should use to retain pharmacists? ____________________________________
25.	Do you think your presence has helped this clinic retain other clinical staff, such as: Physicians Physician assistants/nurse practitioners Mental health providers Other pharmacy staff Other [If yes to any of the disciplines] Why? ____________________________________

Pharmacist Satisfaction
Now, I’d like discuss your satisfaction with your work environment and the NHSC.
26.	Using any number from 0 to 10 where 0 is the worst working environment possible and 10 is the best work environment possible, what number would you use to rate the working environment at this clinic? [Probe for reasons behind the rating.]
27.	How satisfied are you with your NHSC experience? Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
28.	Is your experience with the NHSC loan repayment program what you expected? [If no] How does your experience differ from your expectations? ____________________________________
29.	Would you recommend the NHSC loan repayment program to other pharmacists? [If yes] Why? ____________________________________

Background Information
To conclude, I need to get a little bit of information about you.
30.	What is your age? ____________________________________
31.	Are you male or female? ____________________________________
32.	Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin or descent?
33.	What is your race? [Mark all that apply] White Black or African-American Asian Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander American Indian or Alaska Native Other
34.	Where did you grow up? Town (or City) name: ______________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___ County name: _________________ State name (or Foreign country): _________________­­­­ Is this a(n): Rural area Small town Inner-city area Suburban area
35.	What type of education/training have you completed? ____________________________________

1 Counseling can include discussing the purpose of the medication and importance of complying or adhering to instructions, side effects and how to manage them, drug interactions, and techniques to improve compliance or adherence with instructions.

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