Documentation of drug related problems and their management in community pharmacy: Data evolution over six years

Noelia Amador-Fernández; Tiffany Baechler; Patricia Quintana-Bárcena; Jérôme Berger

doi:10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.07.001

Documentation of drug related problems and their management in community pharmacy: Data evolution over six years

Res Social Adm Pharm. 2023 Nov;19(11):1480-1485. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.07.001. Epub 2023 Jul 4.

Authors

Noelia Amador-Fernández¹, Tiffany Baechler², Patricia Quintana-Bárcena³, Jérôme Berger⁴

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Centre for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Switzerland; Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: noelia.amador-fernandez@unisante.ch.
² Centre for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: tiffany.baechler@unisante.ch.
³ Centre for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Centre for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Switzerland; Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada. Electronic address: quintana.barcena@gmail.com.
⁴ Centre for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Centre for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Switzerland; Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: jerome.berger@unisante.ch.

PMID: 37481352
DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.07.001

Abstract

Background: Documentation of pharmacists' activities, such as drug related problems (DRPs) management, is necessary to estimate fair remuneration but is rarely done in community pharmacies.

Objective: To document and evaluate the evolution of DRPs prevalence and management over six years.

Methods: Observational study carried out since 2016 in a community pharmacy. Documentation was made yearly for 21 days (depending on seasons, holidays and medical internship rotations) using the ClinPhADoc tool. Pharmacists documented: medication, DRP type, intervention, implied partner and time for DRP management. A subanalysis was made depending on the medical rotation.

Results: A total of 171 437 prescriptions were received and 6 844 (4.0%) documented with 1 550 DRPs. Most frequent DRPs were procedural (n = 506, 32.6%), dosage/posology (n = 263, 17.0%) and drug-drug interaction (n = 153, 9.9%). Mean time dedicated to DRP management was 6.9 min, the longest time was for clinical DRPs (11.0 min, SD = 6.6). Most DRPs (n = 726, 44.6%) were managed by the pharmacist alone taking less working time than when involving other stakeholders (p < 0.01). Statistically significant differences were found in DRPs between the beginning and end of medical rotation (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Documentation of DRP management allowed consistent results over the years. Patterns of DRPs can be used to develop inter-professional interventions to prevent DRPs.

Keywords: Community pharmacy services; Documentation; Drug related problem; Medication review; Pharmaceutical intervention.

Publication types

Observational Study

MeSH terms

Documentation
Humans
Pharmacies*
Pharmacists
Prescriptions
Remuneration