The role of the pharmacist in improving medication beliefs and adherence in cancer patients

Abstract

Background Multiple factors have been reported to affect adherence to medication, including beliefs about medicines, while specifically tailored pharmaceutical care services for patients may improve adherence. The aim was to assess the impact of counselling by an oncology pharmacist on patients' medication adherence and beliefs. Methods An interventional prospective study was performed in the oncology department at a tertiary hospital in Northern Cyprus from November 2017 to April 2018. The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire was used to evaluate the balance between beliefs about necessity and concerns and medication beliefs before and after an educational intervention. The Morisky Green Levine Test 2018 was used to evaluate adherence. Results In total, 81 patients (65.4% females; mean age: 59.1 ± 11.34 years; 34.6% hypertensive; 19.8% with diabetes) were analysed before and after receiving counselling from an oncology pharmacist. Pharmacist education significantly enhanced the mean patient necessity-concern balance scores by two-fold (MT0(baseline) = −3.1 ± 8.6; MT1(posteducation) =3.0 ± 7.3; p < 0.0001), with patients who received counselling for the first time experiencing the greatest benefit. Multivariate analysis showed that patients who had a negative balance between their beliefs about the necessity of the medication and their concerns were less likely to adhere to the medication (0.138 (0.025–0.772)). Conclusion Counselling by an oncology pharmacist was effective in decreasing patient concerns and increasing their understanding of the necessity of the medication, thus enhancing their adherence and consequently improving the care they received.

Reduced emergency room visits and improved medication adherence of an integrated oncology pharmaceutical care practice in China

“…36 In addition, clinical pharmacy in hospitals has become widespread in a number of health care contexts, such as pharmaceutical instructions, intervention, evaluation and consultation (medication supply). Birand et al 6 demonstrated that counseling by an oncology pharmacist was effective in decreasing patient concerns and increasing their understanding of the necessity of the medication, thus enhancing their adherence and consequently improving the medical care they received.…”

“…They are also the principal investigators of the associated research studies. The economic and humanistic values of oncology pharmacy services have been well described [2][3][4][5][6][7][19][20][21][22] and the diagnostic value of the pharmacists' services in precision medicine with regard to training and implementation initiatives may be better evaluated.…”

“…Obviously, the roles of oncology pharmacists in oncology practice are well established in monitoring anticancer drugs, 1 increasing patient engagement in chemotherapy, 2 optimizing therapy effectiveness and preventing adverse effects, 3 improving the safety of chemotherapy, 4,5 medication beliefs and adherence 6 as well as pharmacovigilance. 7 Furthermore, a limited number of reports have described the vital role of clinical pharmacists in interprofessional precision medicine initiatives in oncology practice in the United States.…”

Illness Perception and Adherence to Medication in Cardiovascular Patients at a Tertiary Hospital in Northern Cyprus

“…Pharmacists should work on assessing and improving patient adherence through patient educations and promote awareness of the consequences of non-adherence in CVD [19,20].…”

Development of a quality measures tool for the utilization of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer: An integrated specialty pharmacy initiative

“…50 Counseling from pharmacists decreases patient concerns and increases knowledge of their oncology regimen. 51 McKee et al noted that 86% of oncology patients found it important to discuss their treatment regimen with a pharmacist and 76% requested time with a pharmacist at future visits. 52 Furthermore, the role of a pharmacist in a multidisciplinary team can improve ADR monitoring and management.…”