Impact of pharmacist‐led medication therapy management in ambulatory elderly patients with chronic diseases
Analysis of 244 patients undergoing medication review at a pharmacist-led outpatient clinic in China found drug-related problems were common (average 2 per patient), most commonly treatment effectiveness (54%). A drug change was recommended in 49%.
Source:
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
SPS commentary:
In the 171 patients with hypertension, post-intervention data collection showed reduced BP levels (systolic: 134.56 ± 12.38 vs. 149.08 ± 19.75, P<0.001; diastolic: 78.01 ± 9.78 vs. 84.56 ± 11.34, P<0.001). In the 73 patients with hyperlipidaemia, there were reductions in total cholesterol (from 6.17 ±1.34 to 4.51±0.80; p=0.027), LDL-C (3.26±1.08 to 2.54±0.57; p<0.0001) and triglycerides (2.47±0.93 to 1.69±0.90; p<0.0001). This was however a retrospective study with no control group.