The impact of a community pharmacy service on patients’ medication adherence and ambulatory sensitive hospitalizations

Autor: Aleksandra Milosavljevic, Trudi Aspden, Jeff Harrison
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 16:904-913
ISSN: 1551-7411
DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2019.09.059
Popis: Background In July 2012 a nationwide community pharmacy-based service was launched in New Zealand. The Long Term Conditions (LTC) service was introduced to help patients with chronic medical conditions, who have difficulties adhering to their medication regimens, improve their adherence. As part of the service pharmacists provide a variety of interventions including: patient education, medication reconciliation, medication synchronization, as well as preparing adherence support aids such as blister packs, sending reminders, and providing tailored dispensing frequencies. Seven years after its introduction scant data are available measuring the impact of the service on patients’ health outcomes. Objective To examine the impact of LTC on patients’ medication adherence and ambulatory sensitive hospitalizations. Methods This was a retrospective matched-cohort study using routinely collected health data. The population studied were individuals enrolled in LTC between July 2013 and December 2014 and a control group of propensity score matched individuals who never received the service. Outcomes were assessed during and after completion of the intervention. Sensitivity analysis was also undertaken whereby only those who completed the intervention and their controls were used in the analysis. Results The matched cohort consisted of 51,138 individuals in the intervention and 51,138 in the control. Enrolment in LTC was associated with greater medication adherence, with individuals in the intervention group having 2.99 (95% CI: 2.79–3.20) greater odds of being adherent 12 months after the start of the study period, compared to the control group. These patients also had 1.86 (95% CI: 1.78–1.96) greater odds of having an ambulatory sensitive hospitalization 12 months after the start of the study period, compared to the control group. Conclusion This study found that enrolment in LTC achieved one of the service's primary aims of improved medication adherence. However, enrolment in the service also appears to be associated with greater ambulatory sensitive hospitalizations, which is an unexpected finding. Further research is needed to better understand this.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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