The Impact of Comprehensive Medication Management Services on Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Cardiovascular Diseases at Primary Care Level

University of Zagreb

Status: Completed

Conditions: Cardiovascular Diseases in Old Age

Treatments: Other: Comprehensive Medication Management services

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04778891

380-130/134-20-2

Details and patient eligibility

About

Patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) often have multiple medications that increase the risk of prevalence of drug therapy problems (DTP), subsequently leading to unfavourable clinical and health outcomes. By providing Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) services to patients within a healthcare system, pharmacists assess patients' medication-related needs, identify and prevent DTP, develop individualized care plan for each individual patient and evaluate and monitor outcomes. Thus, the CMM services delivered at the primary care level in collaboration with general practitioners and other healthcare providers could address this problem and by optimizing therapy improve patients' clinical outcomes and quality of life. Studies have shown that patients with chronic diseases have the greatest benefit from the CMM services. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of CMM services on clinical and humanistic outcomes in patients with established CVD. The study will employ prospective, longitudinal, pre- and postintervention study with a 1-year patient follow-up.

Enrollment: 133 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65 to 80 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Hypertension
• Established cardiovascular disease

Exclusion criteria

• Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders
• Mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use
• Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders
• Behavioural syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors
• Disorders of adult personality and behaviour
• Mental retardation
• Disorders of psychological development

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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133 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention group

Experimental group

Description:

In addition to usual care provided by general practitioner (GP) and other health care providers, a pharmacist-practitioner in collaboration with GPs from the study setting provided CMM services to patients in the intervention group. Based on the pre-defined inclusion criteria, GPs were selecting patients and referring them to the pharmacist. The individual consultation with the patient was held at the private counselling area where pharmacist and patient were able to talk face-to-face apart from the other patients. The initial assessment lasted 60-90 minutes and the follow-up evaluations 30-60 minutes. Alternatively, patients were followed-up by telephone. Communication with GPs took place in a written (electronic consultation system Health net. PRO; e-mail) and, if needed by face-to-face conversation. Each patient in the intervention group needed to agree to participate in the study by signing an Informed consent form.

Treatment:

Other: Comprehensive Medication Management services

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Patients in the control group received the usual care which includes GP and other health care provider visits. Data for the patients pertaining to the control group were provided by the 'control' GP and collected parallel with the intervention group. 'Control' GP profile corresponded to the profile of GPs included in the intervention group - the number of years of professional experience in the primary health care less than ten.