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Completeness of medication reviews provided by community pharmacists
Author(s) -
Kwint H. F.,
Faber A.,
Gussekloo J.,
Bouvy M. L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.622
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2710
pISSN - 0269-4727
DOI - 10.1111/jcpt.12132
Subject(s) - medicine , family medicine , pharmacy , medication therapy management , community pharmacy , clinical pharmacy , pharmaceutical care , medline , pharmacist , political science , law
Summary What is known and objectives Little is known about the ability of community pharmacists who are inexperienced in medication review to identify drug‐related problems ( DRP s). The objective of our study was to investigate the completeness of DRP s in terms of number, type and clinical relevance identified by community pharmacists when performing home medication reviews ( HMR s). Methods This is a cross‐sectional study within the intervention arm of a randomized controlled trial among community‐dwelling patients (≥65 years, ≥5 drugs) in ten Dutch community pharmacies. Community pharmacists, who were inexperienced in medication review, received 2‐day training in medication review. These pharmacists interviewed patients at home about their medicines, identified potential DRP s and made recommendations in combination with medication and clinical records. Expert reviewers completed the number of potential DRP s and recommendations by reviewing all available information, including patient interview reports. Results and discussion In 155 patients, community pharmacists identified a mean of 3·6 ( SD 2·8) potential DRP s per patient and expert reviewers added 6·5 ( SD 3·2) DRP s. Community pharmacists formulated 2·6 ( SD 2·3) recommendations per patient and reviewers added 7·5 ( SD 3·3) recommendations. Community pharmacists identified a higher proportion of clinically relevant DRP s compared with expert reviewers, as assessed by DRP s with high priority [ OR = 1·8 (95% CI 1·4–2·2)], DRP s associated with recommendations for drug change [ OR = 1·9 (95% CI 1·5–2·3)] and implemented recommendations for drug change [ OR = 2·1 (95% CI 1·6–2·7)]. What is new and conclusion This study shows that the completeness of medication reviews by inexperienced community pharmacists with limited training could be improved, although they identified a higher proportion of potentially clinically relevant DRP s compared with expert reviewers. The results suggest that community pharmacists with limited experience in medication review may need more intensive post‐graduate training.