The pharmacist as a drug information supplier in hospitals: A view from services marketing

The aim of this study is to gain insight into how the information supply services of the pharmacist and his or her potential competitors are seen by physicians. In the context of the upcoming professionalization trend of the pharmacist we are interested in determining how the hospital pharmacist can position himself as a drug information supplier and what factors are critical for his or her success. A research framework is presented which explains the selection process and use of personal drug information sources by hospital physicians. Data was collected from a sample of 329 Dutch internists. Overall, subspecialized physicians and supporting medical specialists were perceived as the most important sources of information for internists. The hospital pharmacist was perceived as lacking in expertise in the areas of therapy choice and implementation of the therapy and as being competent in the diagnosis-related cases. Regression analyses showed that technical and process dimensions significantly relate to the overall perceived quality with an information supplier. Pharmacists and others who were perceived as less important sources of information can use the results of this study to strengthen their position.