%0 Journal Article
%T Who Owns the Medication Question That Neither Profession Can Resolve Alone? Professional Jurisdiction, Reciprocal Dependence, and Clinical Follow-Through in Pharmacist–Prescriber Collaboration
%A Carlos Mendoza
%A Aisha Rahman
%A David Thompson
%J Annals of Pharmacy Education, Safety, and Public Health Advocacy
%@ 3108-4850
%D 2023
%V 3
%N 1
%R 10.51847/dQMEm16TBM
%P 146-158
%X Medication problems are often discussed as if they can be allocated by professional role: pharmacists identify medicine-related concerns, prescribers make prescribing decisions, and communication connects the two. That representation becomes inadequate when the problem itself crosses occupational boundaries. A pharmacist may hold medication-specific expertise without controlling diagnosis or prescribing authority; a prescriber may hold formal decision authority without possessing the same medication-use information, patient contact, or implementation knowledge. This article develops Shared-Jurisdiction Theory to explain how such medication questions become jointly owned, how reciprocal dependence shapes their resolution, and why collaboration cannot be judged by communication or recommendation exchange alone. Drawing on contemporary evidence concerning pharmacist–prescriber relationships, scope expansion, professional boundary work, integrated practice, recommendation uptake, and implementation, the theory distinguishes formal scope, claimed jurisdiction, practical authority, reciprocal dependence, and clinical follow-through. Shared jurisdiction is proposed as a conditional state arising when resolution requires consequential contributions from both professions and responsibility cannot yet be legitimately transferred to one actor. Its success depends on whether dependence is recognized, authority and information can be mobilized, and follow-through remains attributable until the medication problem is resolved, transferred, or explicitly left unresolved. The theory therefore predicts that apparently similar collaborative encounters may produce different accountability and resolution states. It offers a problem-centred basis for studying pharmacist–prescriber collaboration without assuming that more contact, clearer roles, or broader scope necessarily produces jointly accountable care.
%U https://smerpub.com/article/who-owns-the-medication-question-that-neither-profession-can-resolve-alone-professional-jurisdictio-fpywzpzbyyfruud