Pharmacy intervention improves adherence to cardiovascular medication

Patients had significantly better adherence scores following community pharmacy intervention measures.

Researchers found that the 32 patients assigned to the intervention had significantly better adherence scores at both three months and six months than the 39 patients assigned to the control group. In the image, an elderly man talking over the phone

Use of preventive medication following a coronary event lowers the risk of mortality, but long-term adherence to secondary prevention therapies is poor.

Researchers, led by the UCL school of pharmacy in London, conducted a community pharmacy intervention trial for patients who had acute treatment for a coronary event. The intervention involved a 15–20 minute motivational interview in the pharmacy, or by telephone, around two weeks after discharge.

Reporting in the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (online, 2 February 2016)[1]
, the researchers found that the 32 patients assigned to the intervention had significantly better adherence scores at both three months and six months than the 39 patients assigned to the control group (mean 7.7 vs 7.0; P=0.026 and 7.5 vs 6.1; P=0.004, respectively).

The authors conclude that larger trials should confirm whether such interventions lead to improved clinical outcomes.

References

[1] Jalal Z, Smith F, Taylor D et al. Impact of pharmacy care upon adherence to cardiovascular medicines: a feasibility pilot controlled trial. Eur J Hosp Pharm 2016. doi:10.1136/ejhpharm-2015-000790

Last updated
Citation
Clinical Pharmacist, CP, March 2016, Vol 8, No 3;8(3):DOI:10.1211/PJ.2016.20200659

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