[Integrated pharmaceutical care programme in patients with chronic diseases]. / Programa de atención farmacéutica integrada en pacientes con enfermedades crónicas.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether an integrated pharmaceutical care programme (IPCP) improves clinical evolution, patient quality of life, and reduces health costs in chronic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A parallel, open, and multi-centre clinical trial of an IPCP in patients with heart failure (HF) and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 8 different health areas in Cataluña. The intervened patient was monitored for pharmacotherapeutic evolution by hospital pharmacists, primary care physicians, and community pharmacists. Controls received normal follow-up. All patients were monitored for 12 months, with quality of life tests administered at the beginning and end of follow-up. RESULTS: We had the participation of 8 different hospitals, 8 primary care centres, and 109 community pharmacies. 238 patients completed the study, with 2.9% of participants lost during the study period. There were no significant differences in terms of readmissions, visits to the doctors, or to emergency services. We detected 50 different medication-related problems (MRP) in 37 patients, with a statistically significant difference in terms of MRP between the control and treatment groups of patients with HF, and almost significant differences in COPD patients. MRP were moderate-severe in 36% of cases. MRP were avoidable in 94% of cases, and the pharmacist resolved the issue in 90% of cases. There were no differences in terms of patient quality of life or health costs between the start and end of the study. CONCLUSIONS: Integrated pharmaceutical care programs facilitate an improvement in the quality of patient care, but electronic registries are necessary to promote communication between sections of the health care network.