Effectiveness of Home Visit and Pharmaceutical Care by a Community Pharmacist in Reducing Drug Related Problems and Improving Self-management Behaviors in Patients with Hypertension and/or Dyslipidemia under the Project to Reduce Overcrowding in Hospital: A Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

Objective: To compare the outcomes in reducing drug related problems (DRPs) and improving self-management behaviors (SMBs) of patients with hypertension and/or dyslipidemia participating in the hospital congestion reduction project between groups receiving pharmaceutical care at a pharmacy plus home visits and groups receiving pharmaceutical care only at the pharmacy. Method: This randomized controlled study randomly assigned patients into an experimental group and a control group, 35 patients each. The experimental group received pharmaceutical care at a pharmacy at months 0, 2 and 4, a home visit at month 1 and a follow-up phone call at month 3. The control group received pharmaceutical care only at the pharmacy at months 0, 2 and 4. The study assessed the number of patients without DRPs at baseline and month 4, and the patients’ SMBs and blood pressure levels at baseline and at the end of the study at month 5. Results: More patients in the experimental group had no DRPs compared to the control group (82.9% vs. 57.1%, P=0.02). The experimental group had less regular consumption of carbohydrates, more regular exercise, and more appropriate stress relaxation methods than the control group (P<0.05). The experimental group had more patients with blood pressure within target goal than the control group (57.1 percent compared to 31.4 percent, P=0.03). They were highly satisfied with the home visits and follow-up phone calls. Conclusion: Providing pharmaceutical care in the pharmacy together with home visits and follow-up phone calls was more effective than providing pharmaceutical care in the pharmacy alone in reducing DRPs and promoting better SMBs.