EFFECT OF PHARMACIST COUNSELING ON PATIENT MEDICATION COMPLIANCE AND HELICOBACTER PYLORI ERADICATION AMONG JORDANIAN OUTPATIENTS.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To examine the impact of pharmacist counseling and follow-up on patient's medication compliance and Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) eradication and evaluate the efficiency of an eradication regimen consisting of Clarithromycin 500 mg, Amoxicillin 1 g, and Lansoprazole 30 mg, twice daily for 14 days. METHODS: Two hundred patients undergoing endoscopy and positive rapid urease tests were included in the present study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups an intervention group (n=100) and a control group (n=100). The intervention patients obtained their medications from the hospital pharmacist and received sufficient counseling and follow-up. On the other hand, the control patients received their medications from another hospital pharmacist and went through the routine hospital procedure without good counseling and follow-up. RESULTS: The intervention resulted in a statistically significant improvement in outpatient compliance with medication (45.0% vs 27.5%; P<0.05) and eradication of H. pylori (28.5% vs 42.5%; P<0.05) among those patients. CONCLUSION: This study reflects the importance of pharmacist counseling and patient compliance to medication, as the patients who received pharmacist counseling exhibited perfect compliance to medication, which led to the successful eradication of H. pylori.