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 .
Effectiveness of visits from community pharmacists for patients with heart failure: HeartMed randomised controlled trial
Objective To test whether a drug review and symptom self management and lifestyle advice intervention by community pharmacists could reduce hospital admissions or mortality in heart failure patients . Design R and omised controlled trial . Setting Home based intervention in heart failure patients . Participants 293 patients diagnosed with heart failure were included ( 149 intervention , 144 control ) after an emergency admission . Intervention Two home visits by one of 17 community pharmacists within two and eight weeks of discharge . Pharmacists review ed drugs and gave symptom self management and lifestyle advice . Controls received usual care . Main outcome measures The primary outcome was total hospital readmissions at six months . Secondary outcomes included mortality and quality of life ( Minnesota living with heart failure question naire and EQ-5D ) . Results Primary outcome data were available for 291 participants ( 99 % ) . 136 ( 91 % ) intervention patients received one or two visits . 134 admissions occurred in the intervention group compared with 112 in the control group ( rate ratio=1.15 , 95 % confidence interval 0.89 to 1.48 ; P=0.28 , Poisson model ) . 30 intervention patients died compared with 24 controls ( hazard ratio=1.18 , 0.69 to 2.03 ; P=0.54 ) . Although EQ-5D scores favoured the intervention group , Minnesota living with heart failure question naire scores favoured controls ; neither difference was statistically significant . Conclusion This community pharmacist intervention did not lead to reductions in hospital admissions in contrast to those found in trials of specialist nurse led interventions in heart failure . Given that heart failure accounts for 5 % of hospital admissions , these results present a problem for policy makers who are faced with a shortage of specialist provision and have hoped that skilled community pharmacists could produce the same benefits . Trial registration number IS RCT N59427925
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 .