PHARMACISTS’ BEHAVIOR TOWARDS PATIENT CENTERED CARE AND THE NEED FOR DEPRESCRIBING: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Patient-centered care emphasizes collaboration with patients to ensure that healthcare decisions align with their preferences, goals and clinical needs. Within this framework, deprescribing has emerged as an essential strategy to reduce inappropriate medication use, particularly in the context of polypharmacy and aging populations. Community pharmacists are uniquely positioned to support deprescribing through routine medication review and patient engagement. However, evidence regarding their readiness and practical involvement in deprescribing within low- and middle-income countries remains limited. This study addressed this gap by examining community pharmacists’ orientation toward patient-centered care and deprescribing in Pakistan. Objective: To assess community pharmacists’ attitudes, practices, and readiness toward patient-centered deprescribing and to identify professional factors associated with deprescribing behavior. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among community pharmacists in Punjab, Pakistan, between June and August 2025. A previously validated questionnaire was adapted with permission and administered using an electronic survey link and in-person outreach. Pharmacists aged over 20 years, registered with the Pakistan Pharmacy Council, and working in community pharmacies were eligible. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee of Quaid-e-Azam College of Pharmacy, Sahiwal. Descriptive statistics summarized participant characteristics and practice patterns. Binary logistic regression was used to examine associations between pharmacist-related factors and readiness to engage in deprescribing. Results: A total of 251 pharmacists participated (62.9% male; 37.1% female), with most working in independently owned pharmacies (40.2%). Overall, 75.0% reported receiving training in medication review, and 42.0% considered deprescribing a high priority in routine practice. Pharmacists with medication review training were significantly more likely to engage in deprescribing activities (adjusted OR = 0.249; p < 0.01). Increased exposure to older patients with polypharmacy was also positively associated with deprescribing behavior (adjusted OR = 1.427; p = 0.016). Pharmacist age and gender showed no significant association with deprescribing readiness. Conclusion: Community pharmacists demonstrated positive attitudes toward patient-centered deprescribing, yet practical implementation remained inconsistent. Strengthening structured training, enhancing interprofessional collaboration, and integrating deprescribing into routine pharmacy practice may improve pharmacists’ contribution to safe and patient-centered medication use.