Community Pharmacists' Intervention: How a 6-episode of one-on-one intervention changed patients' attitudes towards their medication and disease self-management

Adherence to medication is reported to be <33%. Most people who suffer chronic conditions require pharmacological intervention; they collect prescription repeats every month creating an opportunity for further regular intervention by the community pharmacist. to investigate if pharmacist intervention in Chronic Disease Management in rural Australia could improve patients’ outcomes through better monitoring of disease markers, self-management skills and medication adherence. This project was a pilot before and after, pragmatic study, which was designed as a foundation to support future definitive studies. The data was analysed in ASReml-R™ using linear mixed models or generalised linear mixed models. Using modified Health Education Impact Questionnaires™, there was 29.65% improvement in patients’ total score from pre and post clinical intervention. Patient education and ongoing interaction between patients and pharmacists enforced the importance of monitoring improving patients’ knowledge and self-management commitment. The use of prescription repeat collections as an opportunity to reinforce disease management messages deserves further investigation.