PHARMACEUTICAL CARE INTERVENTIONS, THEIR OUTCOMES AND PATIENTS SATISFACTION IN ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUG THERAPY

1. Introduction

In 1987, pharmaceutical care was philosophically defined as a covenantal relationship between a pharmacist and a patient in which the pharmacist performs drug use control functions (with appropriate knowledge and skill) governed by the awareness of and commitment of the patient’s interest (Hepler, 1987).
Implementation of pharmaceutical care involves six (6) basic steps which includes establishment of a professional/therapeutic relationship, collection of patient-specific data, evaluation of data to identify health and drug related problems, development and implementation of pharmaceutical care plan (pharmacist’s intervention which could be patient – focused intervention or drug – focused intervention), evaluation of intervention and follow – up and documentation.
To effectively implement PC, a collaborative working relationship between the pharmacist and the physician must be developed. As such common obstacles such as boundary or turf concerns, communication breakdown, power issues, and lack of trust in another practitioners’ competence should be addressed (MacDonough and Doncette, 2001). Pharmacists must accept a responsibility to educate prescribers, patients, and payers about the extent and value of PC services. Precisely, pharmacists must build the demand for PC services at the same time they create the supply (MacDonough et at, 1998).
Pharmacist’s interventions (also known as pharmaceutical care plans) are means of solving the drug therapy problems identified in pharmaceutical care. Outcomes are the results of pharmacists’ intervention activities. Patients’ satisfaction refers to patients’ feeling of fulfillment, pleasure or happiness with the services they have received. Patient satisfaction with healthcare reflects the quality of services from the patients’ perspective. Its measurement can help evaluate the performance of health service delivery, identify patients who need additional attentions or targeted interventions and predict treatment adherence and outcomes (Goode et al, 2011).