Development of a novel person-centered question prompt list to talk with your pharmacists in Japanese community pharmacies: focus group and Delphi method.

Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>The concept of shifting from a patient-centered to person-centered approach in pharmacy practice has been proposed. Patient-centered care focuses on the individual patient, whereas person-centered care focuses on a holistic understanding of the individual, taking not only medications but also daily life into account. This shift requires effective communication between patients and pharmacists. Although question prompt lists (QPLs) exist for patients and doctors, the same is not available for pharmacists focused on a person-centered approach. This study aimed to develop a question prompt list to talk with your pharmacists (QPLP) focusing on a person-centered approach to facilitate communication with patients.<h4>Methods</h4>This study aimed to develop the QPLP in three steps. In the first step, six medical pharmaceutical researchers with pharmacist qualifications and two patient researchers prepared an initial draft of the QPLP, referencing existing QPLs used by patients to prepare questions for doctors before consultation. A focus group interview was then conducted with eight patients, and a QPLP drafted. Finally, a modified Delphi method was used to evaluate and collect opinions, and the QPLP was finalized.<h4>Results</h4>A QPLP comprising 16 questions was developed with patient participation in a three-step process. The content was categorized into five sections: "Medicines," "How to Take Medicines," "Daily Life," "Treatment," and "Consumer Health Information." The questions covered concerns regarding medicines, difficulties in using medicines, issues in daily life during treatment, treatment-related problems, authenticity of health information, and community health and exercise information.<h4>Conclusions</h4>In this study, we developed a novel QPLP to enhance communication between patients and pharmacists, focusing on a person-centered approach with active patient involvement. Future studies should investigate the contribution of the developed QPLP in improving patient-pharmacist communication. These questions may encourage both healthy people and patients to seek health advice from pharmacists.