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Effectiveness of a Pharmacist‐Led Drug Counseling on Enhancing Antihypertensive Adherence and Blood Pressure Control: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Author(s) -
Wong Martin C.S.,
Liu Kirin Q.L.,
Wang Harry H.X.,
Lee Catherine L.S.,
Kwan Mandy W.M.,
Lee Ken W.S.,
Cheung Yu,
Lee Gabrielle K.Y.,
Morisky Donald E.,
Griffiths Sian M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the journal of clinical pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.92
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1552-4604
pISSN - 0091-2700
DOI - 10.1002/jcph.101
Subject(s) - medicine , randomized controlled trial , blood pressure , pharmacist , drug , antihypertensive drug , pharmacology , physical therapy , family medicine , pharmacy
Adherence to antihypertensive medications represents a crucial success factor for optimal blood pressure (BP) control in clinical practice. This study evaluated whether an additional pharmacist‐led medication counseling could achieve better optimal BP control and enhance compliance. In a designated family clinic in a region with similar resident characteristics to Hong Kong, patients taking ≥ one antihypertensive agent with suboptimal compliance were randomly allocated to a brief 3‐minute drug advice (control; n = 161) or pharmacist counseling (intervention; n = 113). The two groups were compared by repeated measure ANOVA at 3‐months and 6‐months with BP control and medication compliance as outcome variables, respectively. The proportions of patients having optimal compliance increased from 0% to 41.1% at 3 months and 61.9% at 6 months ( P < 0.001). The proportion of patients having optimal BP control improved from 64.1% at baseline to 74.0% at 3 months and 74.5% at 6 months ( P = 0.023). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the changes of BP control and compliance levels. This study implied that even a brief 3‐minute drug advice might lead to improved BP levels among patients on antihypertensive medications in general practice, but did not demonstrate additional effects by pharmacist counseling.