Role effectiveness of a pharmacist in the maintenance of patients with hypertension and congestive heart failure.

: This study was designed to measure the role effectiveness of pharmacists in the management of patients with hypertension and congestive heart failure. Based on therapy protocols established by physicians and pharmacists prior to the study, the pharmacist was measured against the standard for providing primary care--i.e., the physician. The study showed that the pharmacist competently elected drug therapy and identified adverse drug reactions. As a group, the 20 study patients, whose therapy was determined by the pharmacist, were better managed than the 20 control patients (p less than 0.05). It is suggested that the pharmacist is effective in the role of managing patients with hypertension and congestive heart failure.