| Title: |
Pharmacist-led new medicine service:a real-world cohort study in the Netherlands on drug-related problems, satisfaction, and self-efficacy in cardiovascular patients transitioning to primary care |
| Authors: |
Ensing,Hendrik T.; Kurt,Nelly; Janssen,Ruby A.; Koster,Ellen S.; Heerdink,Eibert R. |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Subject Terms: |
Community pharmacist; Drug-related problems; Medication counselling; Medication initiation; Primary care; Transitional care; Pharmacy; Toxicology; Pharmacology; Pharmaceutical Science; Pharmacology (medical) |
| Description: |
Background: Patients transitioning from hospital to home while starting long-term cardiovascular medicines are likely to experience drug-related problems (DRPs). The New Medicine Service (NMS) may support readmission to primary care. Aim: To evaluate NMS in a real world setting, for patients transitioning from hospital to primary care with newly prescribed cardiovascular medicines on identifying DRPs, patient satisfaction with medication information and patient self-efficacy. Secondary objectives were identifying risk factors for DRPs and assessing first-fill discontinuation. Method: A cohort study in an outpatient pharmacy and 14 community pharmacies in Almere, the Netherlands, involved patients ≥ 18 years receiving new cardiovascular prescriptions. Usual pharmacy care was complemented with a telephone counselling two weeks post-dispensing to identify and address DRPs. Patient satisfaction and self-efficacy were assessed during a follow-up call. First-fill discontinuation was measured using dispensing data, and logistic regression identified risk factors for DRPs. Results: Of 1647 eligible patients, 743 received NMS; 72.5% experienced ≥ 1 DRP. NMS improved patients’ satisfaction with information and self-efficacy (p < 0.001). Outpatient visits (adj. OR 0.64), cardiovascular medicine use (adj. OR 0.65), and use of chronic medicines (adj. OR 1.71) influenced DRPs. First-fill discontinuation remained unchanged post-NMS, but patients with DRPs discontinued more often (14.8% vs. 8.6%, p = 0.030). Conclusion: Implementing the NMS in a real-world transitional care setting allowed pharmacists to identify DRPs and provide counselling tailored to patient needs. Patients reported higher satisfaction with information and increased self-efficacy. Priority should be given to at-risk patients for DRPs, and deploy other pharmacy staff to perform the NMS. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
text/plain |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
2210-7703 |
| Relation: |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/459807 |
| Availability: |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/459807 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.1CD66883 |
| Database: |
BASE |