Evaluation of pharmacist-managed nonprescription drug benefit for Canadian military personnel.

<bold>Objectives: </bold>To determine whether (1) desirable health outcomes (e.g., symptom resolution) would be achieved with a new national drug-management program implemented by the Canadian Forces (CF); (2) CF members would be satisfied with the services offered by the civilian pharmacists; and (3) cost implications of the new program would be favorable.<bold>Design: </bold>Open, nonrandomized, longitudinal program evaluation and cost analysis study.<bold>Setting: </bold>Canada.<bold>Participants: </bold>583 CF members who did not have access to a military pharmacy in selected geographic areas of Canada and 65 community pharmacy providers.<bold>Intervention: </bold>A new drug-management program, which allowed members to obtain nonprescription medications from civilian pharmacies without first obtaining a prescription from a physician at no additional cost, was evaluated in a pilot study.<bold>Main Outcome Measures: </bold>A cost-analysis model conducted from the CF Health Services and Department of National Defense perspectives and telephone survey assessing health outcomes and members' satisfaction with the program.<bold>Results: </bold>Based on 563 transactions that occurred during the pilot study period, 96% of the CF members reported being very to somewhat satisfied with the service received under the new drug-management program, and a majority stated that desirable health outcomes were achieved. The one area of concern cited about the new program was the low percentage of members who recalled being instructed by civilian pharmacists to see a physician if their symptoms did not abate. The cost analysis showed the new program was more economical than previous physician-based system.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>The provision of nonprescription medications by civilian pharmacists to members who had no access to a base pharmacy was both cost-efficient and associated with a high level of satisfaction. Future evaluations should include prospective monitoring of drug use patterns as well as assessments of the quality of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]