General medical practitioners and community pharmacists in London views on the pharmacist's role and responsibilities relating to benzodiazepines

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Abstract
Community pharmacists have been encouraged to take on a more interventionist role in response to continued concern about benzodiazepine consumption. A previous study has revealed that pharmacists make assumptions about the wishes of prescribers regarding their role and responsibilities in advising on benzodiazepines and that these assumptions are important determinants of the nature and extent of their involvement. In this study an investigation of the views of prescribers regarding the role of pharmacists was performed and the results contrasted with the main findings of the study of pharmacists. Medical practitioners were found to know very little about the practices of local pharmacists or that benzodiazepine consumption was an issue of interest and concern to pharmacists. Most medical practitioners acknowledged that pharmacists had some role in addressing the problem, though many expressed concern about the form this involvement should take. No respondent reported any discussion with a pharmacist. All prescribers believed that dispensed benzodiazepines should carry a cautionary label warning of possible dependence with prolonged use. The risk of impairing the confidence of the client in the prescriber, though important for prescribers, was more likely to be perceived by pharmacists as a barrier to their advisory role. Pharmacists were more likely to believe that their involvement would be an intrusion into medical practitioner affairs.