Physicians’ opinions on hospital pharmacist prescribing: a Belgian survey

Pharmacist prescribing has been successfully implemented in several countries but remains legally unestablished in Belgium. To explore its potential, it is essential to understand physicians’ opinions on hospital pharmacist prescribing to facilitate its successful implementation and acceptance in Belgium. An existing validated questionnaire was adapted to the Belgian context through translation, terminology refinement, and addition of relevant questions. The final 12-item questionnaire assessed physicians’ views on hospital pharmacist prescribing, including preferred prescribing models, perceived benefits, and potential risks. The questionnaire was distributed via Qualtrics to hospital physicians (in training) through professional associations and three Belgian hospitals and remained available for 4 weeks in February and March 2025. Agreement with statements was measured using a 4-point Likert scale and quantitative data were analysed descriptively. A total of 199 valid responses were analysed. Most physicians (somewhat) agreed with the collaborative prescribing model (67.8%; n = 112). Support declined as the level of pharmacist autonomy increased, with only 7.2% (n = 12) favouring independent prescribing. Physicians supported hospital pharmacist prescribing in specific scenarios, including prescribing an alternative during stock shortages (90.9%; n = 169), changing administration time (89.7%; n = 157), formulary substitutions (85.5%; n = 159) and changing dosage form while maintaining the same administration route (80.1%; n = 149). Most respondents (82.6%; n = 76) viewed closer physician-pharmacist collaboration as a key benefit. The most frequently identified risk was ambiguity regarding responsibilities (90.7%; n = 88). Physicians generally supported collaborative hospital pharmacist prescribing while emphasizing the importance of physician-hospital pharmacist collaboration. These findings highlight opportunities and challenges for future policy development and implementation in Belgium.