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Humanistic outcomes and patient acceptance of the pharmacist-led medication review "Polymedication Check" in primary care in Switzerland: a prospective randomized controlled trial
JournalArticle (Originalarbeit in einer wissenschaftlichen Zeitschrift)
ID
4492887
Author(s)
Messerli, Markus; Vriends, Noortje; Hersberger, Kurt E.
Humanistic outcomes and patient acceptance of the pharmacist-led medication review "Polymedication Check" in primary care in Switzerland: a prospective randomized controlled trial
Journal
Patient preference and adherence
Volume
12
Pages / Article-Number
1071-1078
Abstract
Since 2010, Swiss pharmacists have been offering their patients a Polymedication Check (PMC), a new cognitive pharmacy service in the form of a medication review for patients taking ≥4 prescribed medicines for a period >3 months. While a first publication of this project reported on the impact of the PMC on patients' adherence, the present paper focuses on humanistic outcomes.; This randomized controlled trial was conducted in 54 Swiss community pharmacies. After recruitment, the intervention group underwent a PMC in the pharmacy (T-0) and 28 weeks after T-0 (T-28), while the control group did not receive the PMC until 28 weeks after the study started (T-28). A clinical psychologist, blinded to the intervention, interviewed the patients 2 weeks (T-2) and 16 weeks (T-16) after T-0. Interviewer and patient both rated patient's knowledge of own medicines use. Furthermore, patients reported satisfaction with their pharmacy and appraisal of their medicines use. The availability of a written medication plan was assessed at T-16. Acceptance of the service was measured using a patient's self-report questionnaire at T-28.; General linear model analysis for knowledge about medicines revealed a significant effect on the factor "group" (; P; =5.86,; p; =0.016), indicating that the intervention group had higher ratings for knowledge about their medication at T-2 and T-16 compared to controls. The majority (83%) of patients judged the counseling by the pharmacist as being helpful for their daily medication management. Availability of a written medication plan was comparable in both groups (52.5% vs 52.7%,; p; >0.05).; For the first time, the benefits of a complex pharmacist-led intervention were evaluated in Swiss primary care with a randomized controlled trial. The PMC increased patients' subjective knowledge of their medicines compared to no medication review. The effect remained sustainable over time. Recommendations resulting from the pharmacist-led service were highly appreciated by the patients.
