AB1628-HPR PATIENT SATISFACTION WITH RHEUMATOLOGY PHARMACY TEAM LED MEDICATION COUNSELLING CLINICS
Authors: L. Sargeant, R. Heaton, J. Nasralla, E. Henderson
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2024)

<h3>Background:</h3> The rheumatology medication counselling clinics at Stepping Hill are run by the rheumatology pharmacy team. The counselling is delivered by a team of three pharmacists and one senior pharmacy technician. Patients who are due to start a new rheumatology medication are referred for a 30-40 minute appointment which may be face to face or via telephone. Medication checklists are utilised to facilitate counselling. There will always be challenges around retention of information given verbally in a relatively short amount of time as well as challenges in the NHS around use of staff time and resources. We are developing a library of medication counselling audio recordings for commonly prescribed rheumatology medications which are provided to patients prior to their appointments. We hope that this will better support patients giving them more time to formulate questions prior to their medication counselling appointment and allowing them to listen again in future. <h3>Objectives:</h3> To assess level of patient satisfaction with our pharmacy counselling medication appointments and to determine areas for improvement. <h3>Methods:</h3> Patients who had a medication counselling appointment between 18/12/23 and 12/01/24 were invited to complete an anonymous questionnaire. A link to the Microsoft Forms questionnaire was emailed to patients. Those patients without access to email also had the option to receive a call back by an administrator to complete the form on their behalf. Data was collated and analysed using Microsoft Excel. <h3>Results:</h3> Questionnaires were completed by 40 patients, 39 of which had their appointment on the telephone. <i>Knowledge</i> -Prior to the medication counselling appointment 5% of patients felt they knew "everything" they needed to know about their medication. This increased to 60% after the medication counselling appointment with a further 38% of patients stating they knew "nearly" everything they needed to know. -Level of confidence in knowledge of specific counselling details varied (see Figure 1). Following the counselling appointment, higher levels of confidence were reported in patient understanding of blood test requirements (92%), who to contact with any concerns (90%) and potential side effects (90%). <b>Figure 1.</b> Levels of confidence with specific knowledge areas reported following the counselling appointment. <i>Length of appointment</i> -98% of patients felt the appointment was an appropriate length of time <i>Healthcare professional of choice</i> -100% of patients were happy with speaking to a rheumatology pharmacist or pharmacy technician and did not prefer to speak to an alternative healthcare professional <i>Satisfaction</i> -95% of patients were "very satisfied" with the medication counselling appointment <h3>Conclusion:</h3> The overall level of patient satisfaction with the pharmacy led rheumatology medication counselling clinic appointments is very high. In addition, the level of patient satisfaction with both the length of appointment and with access to pharmacy healthcare professionals was also very high. There is scope for improvement in our medication counselling appointments to increase the number of patients reporting they now know "everything" they need to know about their medication. The questionnaire has identified some areas we can focus on including providing clearer information around managing infections and education around potential risks. However more work is needed to determine further details around how we can support patients to increase their knowledge around their medications. <h3>REFERENCES:</h3> <b>NIL.</b> <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> Stepping Hill Rheumatology Department. <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> <b>None declared.</b>