The development and evaluation of an extended adherence support programme by community pharmacists for elderly patients at home

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Abstract
Objective To devise, implement and evaluate a medication adherence support service by community pharmacists for elderly patients living at home and at risk of non-adherence. Method Six community pharmacists identified patients who were 65 years of age and older, prescribed four or more regular medicines and living alone. A random sample of patients was visited at home and assessed for adherence-related problems using a structured interview. The pharmacist then drew up an action plan in conjunction with the patient and general practitioner (GP), and returned for a second home visit, where the revised regime was delivered and explained. A self-reported adherence questionnaire was also administered. After two months an independent researcher visited the patients at home to assess progress. Setting Six community pharmacies in the city of Leeds, UK, and patients' homes. Key findings A total of 143 patients were recruited and 441 medicine-related problems were identified. Of these, 241 (55 per cent) required the provision of information and advice, 106 (24 per cent) required consultation with the GP and 86 (20 per cent) required changes in the presentation of the medicines. The median number of regular prescribed medicines fell from six to five (P<0.001). Overall, there was a reduction in the number of patients with one or more problems from 94 per cent to 58 per cent (P<0.001). The proportion of patients who reported non-adherence fell from 38 per cent to 14 per cent (P<0.001). Conclusion This study shows that community pharmacists can target patients at risk of medication non-adherence and, using a structured approach, identify problems and implement solutions. The pharmacy patient medication record is an underutilised tool for identifying patients with adherence problems. The software needs enhancing to enable pharmacists to maximise their use of these records in adherence support. An adherence support programme needs to take more account of intentional non-adherence and should be closely linked with the rest of the primary health care team.