1. Pharmacist care plans and documentation of follow-up before the Iowa Pharmaceutical Case Management program.
- Author
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Becker C, Bjornson DC, and Kuhle JW
- Subjects
- Cross-Sectional Studies, Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Iowa, Male, Middle Aged, Case Management standards, Documentation, Drug Therapy standards, Pharmacy standards
- Abstract
Objectives: To document drug therapy problems and their causes and assess pharmacist follow-up of patients with identified drug therapy problems., Design: Cross-sectional analysis., Setting: Iowa., Participants: 160 pharmacists who submitted 754 pharmaceutical care plans in an effort to qualify for participation in the Iowa Pharmaceutical Case Management program., Interventions and Main Outcome Measures: Care plans were assessed for drug therapy problems and causes and for documentation of pharmacist follow-up (actual, none, or intent to follow up)., Results: Pharmacists documented a wide variety of drug therapy problems and causes, including adverse drug reactions (20.1% of care plans), need for additional drug therapy (18.9%), lack of patient adherence to therapy (16.3%), incorrect medication being prescribed (14.1%), and drug dose too high (10.0%). Pharmacist follow-up with patients was not optimal, with 31% of care plans providing documentation of actual follow-up. Another 42.2% of plans indicated that the pharmacist intended to contact the patient for follow-up but either did not do so or did not record the intervention. No actual follow-up or intent to follow up was recorded in 26.8% of care plans. Pharmacists practicing in independent pharmacies followed up with patients more frequently than those in other settings (36.4% of care plans, compared with 22.7%, 23.2%, and 28.4% for chain, clinic, and franchise pharmacies). Pharmacists were more likely to follow up when the identified problem involved drug safety rather than effectiveness (36.2% versus 28.3% of care plans)., Conclusion: Documentation of pharmacist follow-up with patients was less than optimal. In addition to identifying drug therapy problems and causes, pharmacists must complete the care continuum through documentation of patient monitoring and follow-up to transform the philosophy and vision of the pharmaceutical care concept into a practice of pharmacy recognized and rewarded by patients and payers.
- Published
- 2004
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