(104) The Effects of a Patient-Centered Communication Training on Identifying Drug Related Problems – A Pre and Post Intervention Study in Pharmacy Practice in Denmark and the Netherlands

Sunday, August 28, 2022

8:00 AM – 1:45 PM CEST

Location: Hall C

Publication Number: 1149

Presenting Author(s)

Ellen van Loon, MSc
– Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Assen, Drenthe, Netherlands

Co-Author(s)

Stijn Crutzen
– post doc, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands
Ulla Hedegaard
– University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Ramune Jacobsen, MSc MPH PhD
– Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Armin Andersen
– University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Marcia Vervloet
– Nivel, Netherlands
Laura Schackmann
– Nivel, Netherlands
Liset van Dijk
– Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Nivel, Netherlands
Susanne Kaae
– University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Katja Taxis, MD, PhD, FISPE
– University of Groningen, Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

Background: Up to 80% of chronically ill patients experience drug related problems (DRPs). These impact patient’s health and increase health care cost. Mentalizing refers to understanding one’s own and others’ feelings and thoughts. Training pharmacy staff in patient-centered communication using the mentalizing concept may establish a trustful relationship with the patient and as a result improve early identification of drug related problems.

Objectives: To explore the effects of an innovative mentalizing training course on the frequency and type of drug related problems identified by pharmacy staff.

Methods: This was a multicentre uncontrolled pre and post intervention study performed in Danish and Dutch community pharmacies. Participating pharmacy staff was extensively trained for four months. The main outcome was the frequency of DRPs. For identifying and classifying DRPS the DOCUMENT classification system was used. Pharmacy staff recorded all DRPs they identified during face-to-face conversations at the pharmacy counter for six hours both prior to and after the course. A mixed multilevel logistic regression model was used to assess the difference in detected DPRs.

Results: A total of 41 pharmacy staff members (25 in Denmark and 16 in the Netherlands) participated in the study. 1667 and 840 conversations were recorded in Denmark and the Netherlands, respectively. The percentage of conversations where drug related problems were identified changed from 17.5% to 19.0% in Denmark and from 17.4% to 28.0% in the Netherlands. The difference between the countries was not significant (p=0.244). In total, a DRP was recognized in 22.1% of the counter conversations after the course, compared to 17.5 before. This increase of 28% was not significant (p=0.086). In first prescriptions, the chance for recognizing a DRP was twice as high as with a repeat prescription (OR 2.12, p= <0.001). In most cases, the information obtained in the conversation with the patient was the trigger. Recognized DRPs were often resolved by providing information. In Denmark, referring to other healthcare providers decreased after the course.

Conclusions: Pharmacy staff identified drug related problems in about 1 in 5 conversations after the training. Although the overall increase of detected DRPs was not significant, the increase in number of the DRPs in the Netherlands and the shift of recognized DRPs in Denmark seem promising effects of the training in mentalizing.