68 % of the outcomes reported showed that clinical pharmacy services were associated with better improvement in patients ' outcomes compared with the control group .
The involvement of a pharmacist demonstrated an ability to improve CVD outcomes through providing educational intervention , medicine management intervention , or a combination of both .
These interventions result ed in improved CVD risk factors , improved patient outcomes , and reduced number of drug-related problems with a direct effect on CVD control .
These improvements may lead to an improvement in patient quality of life , better use of health care re sources , and a reduced rate of mortality
BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) is considered to be the main cause of death and one of the most common diseases affecting health care systems worldwide .
Many methods have been used to improve CVD outcomes , one of which is to involve clinical pharmacists in the direct care of patients with CVD .
OBJECTIVE To perform a systematic review assessing the effectiveness of clinical pharmacist interventions within a multidisciplinary team in the secondary prevention of CVD , using studies conducted on patients with heart failure , coronary heart disease , or those with CVD risk factors .
Costs of a Community Pharmacist-Led Medicines Management Service for Patients with Coronary Heart Disease in England
Background Coronary heart disease ( CHD ) is the most common cause of death in the UK . CHD cost the UK National Health Service ( NHS ) £ 3.5 billion in 2003 . The economic impact of community pharmacists providing a medicines management service for patients with CHD has not been rigorously evaluated ; the full economic costs of such interventions are rarely presented in the literature . Objective To examine the incremental costs of a 1-year community pharmacistled medicines management service for patients with CHD in the UK , from a healthcare system and patient perspective . Methods and participants A cost-minimisation analysis was conducted alongside a multicentre r and omised controlled trial . The primary study participants were patients with CHD identified from general practice computer records . Patients ( intervention , n = 980 ; control , n = 500 ) from 38 general practice s in nine geographical areas in the UK were included in the study .Intervention and outcomes measures The intervention consisted of a review of pharmaceuticals and lifestyle advice by pharmacists in their premises , with recommendations communicated to the patient ’s GP . The main outcome measure was the incremental cost per patient in the intervention group compared with the control group . Annual costs ( £ , 2003/4 values ) included the costs of the intervention ( training and delivery costs ) , the usual costs of NHS treatment ( costs of pharmaceuticals , GP and hospital visits ) and costs borne by patients . Data were collected in the 12 months before and 12 months after the intervention . Results The total NHS cost increased between baseline and follow-up in both groups ( from £ 1243 to £ 1286 [ 3 % ] in the control group and from £ 1410 to £ 1433 [ 2 % ] in the intervention group).The greater cost in the intervention group largely reflects the additional cost of the pharmacist training and the time taken to deliver the intervention ; the difference in costs between the intervention and control groups , after controlling for differences in costs at baseline at follow-up , was statistically significant ( p = 0.001 ) . The costs of pharmaceuticals was higher in the intervention group ( £ 769.20 vs £ 742.3 ; p = 0.04).According to the sensitivity analysis , the intervention cost would need to decrease by 35 % to achieve equivalence between costs in each arm of the trial . Difference to costs of patients and their carers at follow-up were not statistically significant . Conclusions The introduction of a 1-year pharmacist-led medicines management service is likely to increase the total cost of CHD treatment and prevention from the healthcare perspective , as the cost of the intervention outweighed the observed reduction in the cost of drugs in the intervention group . No changes in costs from the patient perspective were found
68 % of the outcomes reported showed that clinical pharmacy services were associated with better improvement in patients ' outcomes compared with the control group .
The involvement of a pharmacist demonstrated an ability to improve CVD outcomes through providing educational intervention , medicine management intervention , or a combination of both .
These interventions result ed in improved CVD risk factors , improved patient outcomes , and reduced number of drug-related problems with a direct effect on CVD control .
These improvements may lead to an improvement in patient quality of life , better use of health care re sources , and a reduced rate of mortality
BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) is considered to be the main cause of death and one of the most common diseases affecting health care systems worldwide .
Many methods have been used to improve CVD outcomes , one of which is to involve clinical pharmacists in the direct care of patients with CVD .
OBJECTIVE To perform a systematic review assessing the effectiveness of clinical pharmacist interventions within a multidisciplinary team in the secondary prevention of CVD , using studies conducted on patients with heart failure , coronary heart disease , or those with CVD risk factors .