Effect of Drug Therapy Monitoring on the Results Associated to the Pharmacotherapy of Patients

Objective: In this study, the effect of the support of community pharmacists to patients is carefully analyzed in terms of results of the pharmacotherapy. Setting: A community pharmacy of Granada (Spain). Method: The Dader program was followed to monitor the pharmacotherapy of patients. The medicines were monitored considering all their requirements (necessity, efficacy, and safety). Patient’s compliance of the pharmacotherapy was continuously controlled, and the concordance between the prescription and compliance with guidelines of drugs was always checked. The instruments that could further confirm the positive effects of the drug therapy monitoring service were the determination of the blood pressure, the body mass index, and the glucose blood levels. Additionally, several health education activities of the patients were developed, e.g., basic aspects on their chronic diseases, correct use of their medicines and, diet and hygiene recommendations. This methodology can be easily generalized outside of the context of Spain, and applied in any community pharmacy and hospital. Main outcome measure: We focussed our attention on the drug related problems of patients that could induce unwanted results associated to medicines and a very significant decline in their quality of life. The drug related problems were classified according to the pharmacotherapy qualities of necessity, efficacy, and security. Results: It was observed that non-compliance with the pharmacotherapy was the problem of highest frequency. Compared to the direct cooperation between the pharmacist and the patients to solve their drug related problems, the interventions done (actions taken) by the pharmacist in collaboration with the physician resulted in significantly better pharmacotherapy results. Conclusion: This study stresses the value of the active involvement of community pharmacists to ensure the best results of the drug therapy in patients, thus leading to an enhanced quality of life.