Clinical Outcome of Pharmaceutical Care in Hypertensive Patients at a Primary Care Center

Abstract

Introduction: Pharmaceutical care has the potential to reduce drug-related problems and improve disease management.

Objectives: To study the type and causes of drug-related problems in hypertensive patients and to evaluate the outcome of pharmaceutical care and drug-related problems.

Methods: This action research employed a single-group quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-intervention measurements. The study included hypertensive patients in a primary care setting from March 25 to July 18, 2024. Drug related problems were identified using the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) classification V9.1, and patients were monitored after receiving pharmaceutical care. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-tests.

Results: The study population (n=34) consisted predominantly of female (76.5%) with a mean age of 65.6±8.6 years. Post-intervention analysis revealed a 50% reduction in the number of patients experiencing drug-related problems and a 55.8% decrease in the total number of drug-related problems. Pharmaceutical care led to statistically significant reductions in the number of drug-related problems, patient-related causes, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and medication costs (p-value = 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, 0.012, and 0.043, respectively).

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that pharmaceutical care effectively reduces drug-related problems and improve blood pressure control in hypertensive patients. Continuous pharmaceutical care at primary care settings is recommended to enhance patient outcomes in managing hypertension.