The benefits of physician-pharmacist collaboration
This collaborative care model can improve the management of patients with chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes. But implementation has its challenges.
PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS
› Consider physician-pharmacist collaboration as a way by which to improve the management of your patients with hypertension and diabetes. A
Strength of recommendation (SOR)
A Good-quality patient-oriented evidence
B Inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence
C Consensus, usual practice, opinion, disease-oriented evidence, case series
PPCM impacts chronic diseases
The current literature is rife with studies investigating the impact of PPCM on chronic diseases in the primary care setting.1-12 Although no specific guidelines on implementing PPCM exist, these studies utilized similar interventions that provided pharmacists with the ability to manage medication therapy under the supervision of a physician. A number of these studies incorporated collaborative practice plans to delineate the specific duties performed by physicians and pharmacists.2,6,8,10,11 Responsibilities for pharmacists often included assessing vital signs, reviewing laboratory parameters and ordering appropriate tests, providing patient education, screening for drug interactions, identifying barriers to medication adherence, and adjusting medication regimens. The TABLE1-12 provides a summary of studies investigating the impact of PPCM in the primary care setting.
