Impact of a clinical pharmacist on provider prescribing patterns in a primary care clinic

Aims: This study aims to describe the prescribing patterns of antihypertensive medications and short term outcomes of these patients, defined as repeat blood pressure measurements by a medical professional within 6 months, in a primary care facility in Puchong, located within the state of Selangor in Malaysia. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, retrospective analysis of patients with essential hypertension, aged 18 and above, with blood pressure recorded at least twice within a 6-month period in an urban primary care clinic in Malaysia. Patients with history of co-morbidities were excluded. The prescribing patterns of antihypertensive medications and proportion of patients who achieved blood pressure control of less than 140/90 mmHg were ascertained. Results: A total of 200 prescriptions were analysed, including 52.5% females taking a mean of 1.7 (0.7) antihypertensive medications with a mean age of 57.9 (12.4) years. Most of the patients were prescribed either a single medication (n=90, 45.0%) or two medications (n=90; 45.0%) to control their blood pressure. Only 20 patients (10.0%) were prescribed three antihypertensive medications. A total of 127 (63.5%) patients met the blood pressure target of less than 140/90 mmHg. All participants exhibited a significant drop in systolic blood pressure, reducing from 143.0 (16.0) mmHg at baseline to 135.3 (14.8) mmHg at the end of 6 months (p<0.001). Diastolic blood pressure also decreased significantly from 83.5 (11.7) mmHg at baseline to 79.0 (10.2) mmHg at the end of 6 months (p<0.001). The choice of antihypertensive medications by the prescribers was compliant with the hypertension guidelines of Malaysia. Conclusion: The most commonly prescribed antihypertensive class was calcium channel blockers. Significant reduction in blood pressure was observed in patients from baseline to the follow-up visit. Further research of larger sample size and longer monitoring period is necessary to provide more robust epidemiology and drug utilisation data.

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Patient Satisfaction with Pharmacist-Provided Health-Related Services in a Primary Care Clinic

Pharmacy ◽

10.3390/pharmacy9040187 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 187

Author(s):

Jacob N. Jordan ◽

Thomas G. Wadsworth ◽

Renee Robinson ◽

Hayli Hruza ◽

Amy Paul ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Patient Satisfaction ◽

Clinical Pharmacist ◽

Primary Care Clinic ◽

Perceived Value ◽

Care Facility ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Related Services ◽

Care Clinic ◽

Health Related

(1) Background: Patient satisfaction plays an important role in the perceived value, sustained utilization, and coverage of healthcare services by payers and clinics. (2) Methods: A 33-question survey was designed to assess patient satisfaction and perceived value for healthcare services provided by a clinical pharmacist in a single primary care facility. It included general items from validated patient satisfaction surveys (i.e., PROMIS®, CAHPS) and pharmacist-specific items identified in selected literature. It was offered to all patients who were presenting for a new, unique visit with the clinical pharmacist at the medical clinic between May 2019 and April 2020. (3) Results: A total of 66 patients agreed to take the survey (RR = 100%), and the responses were overwhelmingly positive. However, men were more likely than women to report higher satisfaction (X2(1, n = 920) = 0.67, p = 0.027), and new patients reported higher satisfaction than existing patients (X2(1, n = 1211) = 1.698, p = 0.037). (4) Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate a high degree of patient satisfaction with pharmacist-provided healthcare services in the primary care setting.

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Original Contribution - Clinical Investigation : Assessment of Physical Decline , Social Health Status and Prescribing Patterns for Elderly Patients Attending Ambulatory Primary Care Clinic ...

Middle East Journal of Age and Ageing ◽

10.5742/mejaa.2011.85092 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 3-6

Author(s):

Yousef Abdullah Al -Turki

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Health Status ◽

Elderly Patients ◽

Clinical Investigation ◽

Primary Care Clinic ◽

Prescribing Patterns ◽

Social Health ◽

Care Clinic ◽

Physical Decline ◽

Original Contribution

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Pharmacist Review to Simplify Medication Regimens in a VAMC Primary Care Clinic

Journal of Pharmacy Technology ◽

10.1177/875512259601200206 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 62-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Paul V Laucka ◽

Will B Webster ◽

Jeffrey Kuch

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Clinical Pharmacist ◽

Primary Care Clinic ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Pharmacist Intervention ◽

Control Group ◽

Care Clinic ◽

Before And After ◽

Clinical Pharmacist Intervention ◽

Clinic Visits

Objective: To assess the effect of a clinical pharmacist's prospective medication review of patients receiving multiple drug therapy, using the pharmaceutical care process, as determined by the number of concurrent medications the patient is receiving before and after clinic visits. Design: Assigned groups. Setting: Outpatient primary care clinic of a tertiary healthcare Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility. Patients: Seven hundred twenty-seven patients who had eight or more active medication orders were selected. Four hundred forty-one patients (aged 67.2 ± 10.4 y) were in the intervention group; 286 others (aged 66.6 ± 11.9 y), whose medical records were not available, were assigned to the control group and received no clinical pharmacist intervention. Intervention: Medication regimens of VA ambulatory patients with eight or more active medications were reviewed by a clinical pharmacist, and a written communication to the prescriber was attached to the medical record. Main Outcome Measures: The number of active concurrent medications before and after clinic visits was measured. Results: There was a decrease in the medications in the intervention group from an average of 12.1 ±4 to 11.5 ± 4.2 (p < 0.05). The medications in the control group rose from an average of 11.8 ± 4.44 to 12.2 ± 4 (p = NS). A decrease of 0.6 prescriptions per patient was highly significant (p < 0.05). During the study, 1,336 recommendations were made to practitioners. From this group, 41% of the recommendations were accepted, and 477 medications were discontinued, the quantity dispensed or dosage was reduced, or an alternative medication was prescribed. Conclusions: These data suggest that clinical pharmacist intervention in an ambulatory care setting can affect practitioner prescribing habits and significantly decrease the number of medications prescribed.

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