Studying the Impact of a Medication Use Evaluation by the Community Pharmacist

Studying the Impact of a Medication Use Evaluation by the Community Pharmacist

In this intervention study, 75 Belgian community pharmacies each recruit 12 patients for an intermediate medication review. For each patient, the identified drug-related problems and subsequent interventions are registered using the PharmDisc classification. In a subset of Dutch speaking patients, a pretest-posttest single group design is used to measure the impact of this review on patient related outcomes using questionnaires. The primary outcome is the medication related quality of life, measured via the living with medicines questionnaire. Other patient reported outcomes include adherence, self-management, patient satisfaction, fall incidents and use of emergency healthcare services. Medication records are also collected to objectively measure adherence before and after the intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients should be 70 years or older
• Use five or more drugs on a regular basis (prescription or non-prescription drugs)
• Live in the ambulatory setting
• Obtain his medication from this pharmacy on a regular basis

Exclusion Criteria:

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