Public perception of pharmacists: Film and television portrayals from 1970 to 2013.

Objectives: To determine the percentage of pharmacists portrayed in a positive, negative, or neutral light in films and television shows available in the United States from January 1970 to July 2013. Secondary objectives were to evaluate pharmacist characters as heroes, villains, or victims; assess pharmacist characters' demographics; and determine the presence of pharmacist characters in medical-themed television shows.

Design: Retrospective, observational, descriptive study.

Setting: A review of available U.S. film and television from January 1970 to July 2013 at an academic institution.

Participants: 214 television episodes or films that contained at least one pharmacist portrayal.

Intervention: Electronic inquiries requesting submissions of known pharmacist portrayals were distributed to pharmacy professionals in national and state-affiliated pharmacy organizations and to faculty, staff, and students at the University of South Carolina. Electronic databases and search engines (Internet Movie Database [IMDb], Bing, and Google) were consulted and used to further research possible pharmacist portrayals. The study investigators developed an algorithm incorporating social norms, common pharmacist practices, and viewer perceptions to determine positive, negative, or neutral status for each pharmacist portrayal.

Main Outcome Measures: Year and genre of media, demographics of identified pharmacist characters, portrayal status of identified pharmacist characters, and number of pharmacist characters and appearances per each television show reviewed.

Results: In the films and television shows reviewed, there were 231 pharmacist portrayals, with 160 unique pharmacist characters. Of the 231 portrayals, 145 (63%) were negative, 30 (13%) were positive, and 56 (24%) were neutral. Of the 160 unique characters, 121 (76%) were male, 120 (75%) were Caucasian, and 86 (54%) were younger than 50 years old. The name of the character was provided for 70 (44%) of the pharmacists portrayed.

Conclusion: The portrayal of pharmacists in U.S. film and television is primarily negative. Pharmacists and pharmacy organizations are encouraged to be vocal proponents of the profession and educate trainees on the importance of an enhanced public perception.