- Title
- Pharmacist-led medication management services: a qualitative exploration of transition-of-care cardiovascular disease patient experiences
- Creator
- Bennetts, Joshua; White, Jennifer; Croft, Hayley; Cooper, Joyce; McIvor, Dawn; Eadie, Nicholas; Appay, Marcelle; L Sverdlov, Aaron L.; Ngo, Doan
- Relation
- BMJ Open Vol. 14, Issue 5, no. e082228
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082228
- Publisher
- BMJ Group
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2024
- Description
- Objective: Hospitalisation due to medication-related problems is a major health concern, particularly for those with pre-existing, or those at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Postdischarge medication reviews (PDMRs) may form a core component of reducing hospital readmissions due to medication-related problems. This study aimed to explore postdischarge CVD patients’ perspectives of, and experiences with, pharmacist-led medication management services. A secondary aim explored attitudes towards the availability of PDMRs. Design: An interpretative qualitative study involving 16 semistructured interviews. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Setting: Patients with CVD discharged to a community setting from the John Hunter Hospital, an 820-bed tertiary referral hospital based in New South Wales, Australia. Participants: Patients with pre-existing or newly diagnosed CVD who were recently discharged from the hospital. Results: A total of 16 interviews were conducted to reach thematic saturation. Nine participants (56%) were male. The mean age of participants was 57.5 (±13.2) years. Three emergent themes were identified: (1) poor medication understanding impacts transition from the hospital to home; (2) factors influencing medication concordance following discharge and (3) perceived benefits of routine PDMRs. Conclusions: There is a clear need to further improve the quality use of medicines and health literacy of transition-of-care patients with CVD. Our findings indicate that the engagement of transition-of-care patients with CVD with pharmacist-led medication management services is minimal. Pharmacists are suitable to provide essential and tailored medication review services to patients with CVD as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team. The implementation of routine, pharmacist-led PDMRs may be a feasible means of providing patients with access to health education following their transition from hospital back to community, improving their health literacy and reducing rehospitalisations due to medication-related issues.
- Subject
- cardiology; cardiovascular disease; hospital to home transition; medication reconciliation; medication review; pharmacists
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1504839
- Identifier
- uon:55583
- Identifier
- ISSN:2044-6055
- Rights
- x
- Language
- eng
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