Trial Confirms Benefits of Pharmacist

A national trial (in Australia) has confirmed the benefits for patients when pharmacists intervene to ensure they are taking their medications appropriately.

The six month trial involving 132 pharmacies found a significant improvement in patients’ compliance with the recommendations of their medication prescriber, following intervention by pharmacists.

Over 700 patients on long term medication were recruited to take part in the trial. They had a mean MedsIndex score of 65.5 (a score out of 100 calculated by the number of missed doses in a given time period). As a result of the interventions, patient compliance significantly improved to 77.2 at three-months, and 81.3 at six-months. A MedsIndex score over 80 is defined as being compliant.

Results also showed significant improvements in patients’ reported confidence in using the agreed strategies to improve compliance, and beliefs about the importance of taking their medication as prescribed.

The trial was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, in collaboration with the University of Sydney, as part of the Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement research and development program. The program was funded by the Department of Health and Ageing, and administered by the Pharmacy Guild.

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