Effect of Pharmaceutical Care on Drug Related Problem in Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the effect of pharmaceutical care (PC) on drug-related problems (DRPs) in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.  Method: This research was an experimental study in 180 hospitalized elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The subjects were randomly allocated into experimental (EG) and control groups (CG) using block of 4 randomizations. The experimental group received PC with usual care from the hospital, whereas the control group received usual care. The researchers followed up both groups since the admission date to the end of study at 3 months later at outpatient department. The outcomes of study included the proportion of patients with DRPs, number of DRPs, type of DRPs and medication compliance. Results: At the end of study, the remaining number of subjects were 164 subjects (83 and 81 in EG and CG, respectively). Proportion of patients with DRPs in EG (86.7%) was less than that in the CG (95.1%) but with non-statistical significance (P=0.056). Average number of DRPs per subject in EG (1.4±0.8) was lower than in CG (2.2±0.9) (P<0.001). DRPs with marked reduction included non-compliance, unnecessary medication use and irrational medication use. The proportion of patients with compliance in EG (26.5%) were significantly higher than that in CG (13.6%) (P=0.039). Scores on compliance behavior in EG (22.0±1.9) were significantly higher that that of the CG (20.4±3.0) (P=0.016). Conclusion: The provision of PC in the elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus was likely to reduce DRPs and increase number of patients with medication compliance.