UK pharmacists intervene

A U.K. study aimed to assess the cost effectiveness of pharmacists giving advice via telephone, to patients receiving a new medicine for a chronic condition. With the required adoption of EMR in the U.S., ahead of the government's 2014 deadline, the opportunity for pharmacists to play a powerful role in patients' health is tantalizing.

Now, what incentives will it take for pharmacists to play their part?


Non-adherence to new medicines for chronic conditions develops rapidly so we developed a study intervention in which a pharmacist telephoned patients two weeks after they had started a new medicine for a chronic condition. Five hundred patients were recruited.

• At 4-week follow-up, non-adherence was significantly lower in the intervention group (9% vs 16%, p = 0.032).
• The number of patients reporting medicine-related problems was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the control, (23% vs 34% p = 0.021).
• Mean total patient costs at 2-month follow-up (median, range) were intervention: £187.7 (40.6, 4.2–2484.3); control: £282.8 (42, 0–3804) (p <>

These findings suggest that pharmacists can meet patients’ needs for information and advice on medicines, soon after starting treatment. While a larger trial is needed to confirm that the effect is real and sustained, these initial findings suggest the study intervention may be effective, at least in the short term, with a reduced overall cost to the health provider.

Full abstract here