Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun 15:14:1115-1125.
doi: 10.2147/TCRM.S146218. eCollection 2018.

Collaborative intervention between pharmacists and physicians on elderly patients: a randomized controlled trial

Yee Wei Shim  1   2 , Siew Siang Chua  1   3 , Hui Chin Wong  4 , Syireen Alwi  1
Affiliations

Collaborative intervention between pharmacists and physicians on elderly patients: a randomized controlled trial

Yee Wei Shim et al. Ther Clin Risk Manag. .

Abstract

Background: The elderly population is the largest consumer of medications as this age group is at high risk for developing chronic diseases. However, medication use among elderly people is complicated by an increased risk of drug-related problems. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of collaborative interventions between pharmacists and physicians on health-related outcomes of elderly patients.

Patients and methods: This was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted on elderly outpatients who sought treatment in the Medical Outpatient Department of a public tertiary hospital in Malaysia and who were taking at least five medications. The participants were randomly allocated to the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received pharmaceutical care from a pharmacist in collaboration with physicians and was followed-up for 6 months, while the control group received usual care in the outpatient pharmacy.

Results: A total of 73 participants in the intervention group and 79 participants in the control group completed the study. Participants in the intervention group had significantly better medication adherence (median =7.0 vs 5.0, U=1224.5, p<0.001, r=0.503) and better Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI) score (median =8.0 vs 20.0, U=749.5, p<0.001, r=0.639).

Conclusion: Collaborative interventions between pharmacists and physicians improved medication adherence and MAI scores of the elderly patients. Therefore, such services should be implemented in all hospitals, especially in countries where pharmacists are still not playing a substantial role in patient care.

Trial registration: NMRR-12-958-13020.

Keywords: MAI; Medication Appropriate Index; geriatric; intervention; medication adherence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Collaboration framework between pharmacists and physicians.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow of participants in the study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Reasons for non-adherence to medications (% of participants, N=160).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Population Reference Bureau [webpage on the Internet] 2010 World Population Data Sheet. 2010. [Accessed March 31, 2012]. Available from: www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2010/2010wpds.aspx.
    1. United Nations [webpage on the Internet] World Population Aging 1950–2050. 2002. [Accessed March 31, 2012]. Available from: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/
    1. United Nations [home page on the Internet] World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision. 2011. [Accessed March 31, 2012]. Available from: http://esa.un.org/
    1. Gallagher P, Barry P, O’Mahony D. Inappropriate prescribing in the elderly. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2007;32(2):113–121. - PubMed
    1. Mafauzy M. The problems and challenges of the aging population of Malaysia. Malays J Med Sci. 2000;7(1):1–3. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources