Ganesh Sritheran Paneerselvam, Ru Wei Lee, Muhammad Junaid Farrukh, Yousef Mohammed A. Alhamda, Sulaiman Mohammed Alsultan, Pakhrur Razi, Khang Wen Goh, Long Chiau Ming
Background: The collaboration between pharmacists and veterinarians plays a crucial role in ensuring optimal animal healthcare. Understanding the willingness of veterinarians to collaborate with pharmacists and analyzing the prescribing trends by veterinarians are essential factors in improving the quality of veterinary care. By analyzing these aspects, valuable insights can be gained to enhance interprofessional collaboration and optimize medication management in veterinary practice. Objectives: To examine the willingness of veterinarians towards interprofessional collaboration with community pharmacist. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 40 veterinary clinics in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data was collected via online using Google Forms from registered veterinarians working in private veterinary clinics in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Descriptive statistics and statistical analysis were performed using SPSS version 27. Results: The overall willingness of veterinarians to collaborate with community pharmacists was measured with a median score of 51 out of 75. The results indicated that 55 % of veterinarians demonstrated high willingness to collaborate. Specifically, 52.5 % of veterinarians had a positive attitude towards collaboration, 55 % recognized the roles of pharmacists positively, and 57.5 % identified barriers to collaboration. These findings highlight a generally positive inclination towards interprofessional collaboration among veterinarians. Conclusion: More veterinarians demonstrated a positive willingness to collaborate with pharmacists for optimal patient care. However, several constraints were identified, including a lack of face-to-face communication, concerns about pharmacists' knowledge or skills in veterinary medicine, and financial interests. Addressing these issues could further enhance collaboration between veterinarians and pharmacist. © 2024 The Authors
School of Pharmacy, Digital Health and Innovations Impact Lab, Taylors University, Selangor, Subang Jaya, 47500, Malaysia; Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Qassim University Medical City, Saudi Arabia; Center of Disaster Monitoring and Earth Observation, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia; Faculty of Data Science and Information Technology, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia; School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Sunway City, Malaysia
