Literature Review On Pharmacist-Led Medication Therapy

Literature Review Draft
Patient’s face multiple challenges on a daily basis. Patient’s must avoid harm from medication error and adhere to strict medication regimes to improve their health and quality of life. This can be a challenge to patient’s as they are not always educated properly on how to appropriately take medications, the side effects of medications, or who to go to with questions. These issues can be alleviated through improved communication between health care providers and pharmacists and through pharmacist-led medication therapy. While physicians prescribe medications to treat medical conditions, pharmacists have a vast knowledge of the therapeutic effects, adverse reactions, and are able to advise the patients on the appropriate way to take each medication. The pharmacist also reviews the medication prior to dispensing it to the patient as a final line of defense to prevent medication error. Because of a pharmacist’s role in a community, they

Erku, Ayele, Mekuria, Belachew, Hailemeskel, and Tegen (2017) performed a study to evaluate if pharmacist-led medication therapy management can enhance medication adherence and reduce hospital admission rates for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus when compared to usual care provided. They found that patients in the intervention group that received personalized medication therapy plans and education by a pharmacist had an increase in medication adherence and a decrease in hospital admissions in comparison to the control group (Erku et al, 2017). They also found that it would be beneficial for policies and guidelines to be set in place for clinical pharmacists to engage appropriately with patient care and medication therapy outcomes. Thus, Erku, Ayelle, Mekuria, Belachew, Haliemeskel, and Tegen (2017), demonstrated improved outcomes and quality of life due to pharmacist-led medication