The development and validation of a screening tool for the identification of patients experiencing medication-related problems

Objective Medication-related problems can adversely affect patients' health and treatment outcomes. While many authors have investigated the frequency of different types of medication-related problem, no studies have described the development and validation of a screening tool to identify patients who are experiencing medication-related problems. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a screening tool for the identification of patients experiencing medication-related problems. Methods Based on the literature, a screening tool was developed for this purpose. Patients prescribed a cardiovascular medicine, who were aged over 18 years, were recruited from four community pharmacies and five general practice surgeries in South London. Patients were interviewed with the screening tool in the pharmacies and surgeries. Subsequently in-depth interviews in patients' own homes were conducted to validate the findings and assess the effectiveness of the tool. Key findings Ninety-nine patients in the pharmacies and 122 in the surgeries were recruited and interviewed using the screening tool; 74 of these were identified with at least one medication-related problem. Seventy-eight participants (43 identified with at least one problem and 35 with no apparent problems) agreed to be interviewed in their own homes. In 83% of cases the screening tool correctly distinguished between patients with at least one medication-related problem and those identified with none. The screening tool was less likely than the home interview to pick up problems which required the patient to comment on the service of the surgery or pharmacy. Conclusion The screening tool could have a valuable role in identifying patients experiencing medication-related problems. Its focus on patients' perspectives is important in ensuring that service developments are responsive to the needs of consumers.