<p>Patients’ Perspective And Usefulness Of Pictograms In Short-Term Antibiotic Therapy – Multicenter, Randomized Trial</p>

Abstract

PurposeTo evaluate the practical utility of pharmaceutical pictograms in routine practice in community pharmacy. The primary outcome (composite endpoint) consisted of three elements: i) complete use of the whole package of medication, ii) taking the recommended dose twice a day, and iii) subjective assessment of patients’ perspective on medical information about antibiotic therapy obtained during the pharmacy consultation measured by Net Promoter Score in scale from 1 to 10 where 1 is the lowest and 10 the highest possible rating.Patients and methodsA multicenter, randomized controlled study was conducted. Community pharmacies (n = 64) which agreed to participate in the study were assigned to one of two groups: i) study – providing an antibiotic with pictograms placed on the external packaging of the medicinal product containing information about drug regimen (n = 32); or ii) control – providing an antibiotic according to usual pharmacy practice (n = 32). Two semi-structured interviews were performed. Data were collected from 199 patients with a mean age ± SD of 45.5 ± 17.0 years.ResultsIn the control group, 15.7% of participants discontinued therapy before using the whole package compared with 13.4% of participants in the study group. In the control group, 81.3% of patients reported that they always took the medication twice a day as recommended by their healthcare providers compared with 80.4% of patients in the study group. The Net Promoter Score was higher for pharmacy practice with than without pictograms (71.3% vs 51.5%, respectively, p<0.005). The chance that a patient was an advocate of pharmaceutical services (scores 9 and 10) was twice as likely in the case of pharmaceutical practice supported by pictograms (p<0.02). The composite endpoint was achieved more frequently in the population using pictograms, however this difference was not statistically significant (p<0.34).ConclusionThe pharmaceutical pictograms are readily accepted by patients and could prove to be a valuable support for pharmacists in conducting pharmaceutical care. Further representative research is needed to evaluate the true effectiveness of this solution.

Does drug dispensing improve the health outcomes of patients attending community pharmacies? A systematic review

“… The results of this study cannot be generalized to all patients in Dubai; limited numbers of participants; closed-ended questions in the questionnaire may not help to clarify expectations. Merks et al 2019 [ 53 ] Poland Randomized trial 199 patients (102 in control group and 97 in intervention group) Relief of symptoms after antibiotic therapy. A total of 89 patients (91.7 %) in the intervention group (pharmacy practice with pictograms) and 86 patients (84.3 %) in the control group (usual pharmacy practice) reported symptom relief after antibiotic therapy (OR: 2.07, 95 % CI: 0.84–5.08, p = 0.1127).…”

“…The articles reported the following design: cross-sectional ( n = 4) [ 49 , 52 , 55 , 56 ], randomized clinical trials ( n = 4) [ 50 , 51 , 53 , 54 ] and quasi-experimental ( n = 1) [ 57 ]. The study sample was heterogeneous and varied in terms of number of patients (104–210) and community pharmacies (89–97).…”

“… Semi-structured interview based on questionnaires prepared by a member of the research team and tested for face and content validity during the pilot study. Merks et al, 2019 [ 53 ] X Respiratory symptoms. Symptoms, such as cough, breathlessness, and night-time symptoms, were recorded daily in a diary by the biofeedback and demonstration groups.…”

“… Patients’ perspective was measured using the Net Promoter Score Calculation, provided in the form of a single question that aimed to assess how willing a consumer is to recommend a particular product to other users. Merks et al, 2019 [ 53 ] X Quality of life. Quality of life was measured by the St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire.…”

“…The quasi-experimental study met five of the nine evaluated criteria[ 57 ]. Only one randomized clinical trial met six of the thirteen criteria evaluated [ 54 ], and the remaining clinical trials met four or fewer criteria [ 50 , 51 , 53 ].…”