Exchange Characteristics in Interprofessional Collaboration Between Clinical Pharmacists and Physicians: A National Survey.

Objectives

Exchange characteristics describe and evaluate the state of collaboration and the collaborative counterpart from the perspectives of both parties. They reflect the interaction tendencies between collaborators and are important factors influencing the effectiveness of interprofessional teamwork. This study aimed to assess the current exchange characteristics between clinical pharmacists and physicians and identify between-group differences. It also explored approaches to enhancing professional respect, trust, and clarity of Role Recognition among physicians and clinical pharmacists. Method: Separate questionnaire versions were developed for clinical pharmacists and physicians, and a nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted among both groups. First, descriptive statistics were used to characterize the current status of exchange characteristics in interprofessional collaboration. Second, paired-samples t-tests were conducted to compare clinical pharmacists and physicians across 774 matched pairs. Finally, subgroup analyses were performed using data from 448 clinical pharmacist questionnaires and 446 physician questionnaires. Kruskal-Wallis tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and chi-square tests were used to examine differences in exchange characteristics across healthcare professionals with different characteristics.

Results

A total of 448 clinical pharmacist and 446 physician questionnaires were analyzed. Compared with clinical pharmacists, physicians reported greater professional respect (p < 0.001), clearer role recognition (p < 0.001), better team communication ability (p < 0.001), and a stronger sense of fairness (p < 0.001) in interprofessional collaboration. In subgroup analyses, clinical pharmacists who graduated from universities and those with higher educational attainment reported greater professional respect. Younger clinical pharmacists reported lower levels of fairness and trust, while physicians in central regions and those in non-permanent employment experienced more severe job burnout.

Conclusions

Exchange characteristics differed significantly across healthcare professionals by training pathway, region, hospital grade, employment status, gender, age, and education. To strengthen interprofessional collaboration, efforts should focus on optimizing training models, enhancing early-career professional education, improving remuneration systems, and clarifying role boundaries.