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. 2014 Oct;12(4):451.
doi: 10.4321/s1886-36552014000400002. Epub 2014 Mar 15.

Impact of pharmaceutical counseling in minor health problems in rural Portugal

Raquel B Coelho  1 , Filipa A Costa  2
Affiliations

Impact of pharmaceutical counseling in minor health problems in rural Portugal

Raquel B Coelho et al. Pharm Pract (Granada). 2014 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of self-medication and to evaluate the clinical impact of pharmaceutical counseling.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was used with a prospective component, the latter to evaluate the impact of pharmaceutical counseling. The study was conducted in a rural community pharmacy for 14 consecutive days in December 2012, recruiting all individuals who agreed to participate and met the eligibility criteria. During a face-to-face direct interview demographic and clinical characteristics of patients were registered, followed by a pharmaceutical intervention, which consisted of evaluating the symptoms, selecting the most appropriate non-prescription medicine (NPM) available and advising the patient on pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic measures, all according to established protocols for minor health problems. When appropriate, the patient was referred to a medical appointment. One week later, the clinical outcome of such intervention was measured by asking the patients about the resolution of their minor health problems.

Results: Data from 298 patients were analyzed, the majority being female (60.1%) with an average age of 44.84 years (SD=22.41). Respiratory problems were the most frequent (n=78; 26.2%) and respiratory tract medication was the most frequently indicated (n= 77; 27.8%). The observed prevalence of self-medication was 40.7%. Of the 271 patients' beneficiaries of pharmaceutical counseling, 86.8% had their minor health problems solved after one week (ranging from 77.5% to 88.2% according to a sensibility analysis for drop-outs).

Conclusions: This work is important as it demonstrates the beneficial impact of pharmaceutical counseling, a very relevant area for the pharmacist and where literature is particularly scarce.

Keywords: Community Pharmacy Services; Counseling; Nonprescription Drugs; Pharmacists; Portugal; Professional Practice.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

There are no conflicts of interests to be declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary flowchart of the main results of the study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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