Implementation of a pharmaceutical care program for the detection of hypertension and drug therapy to be followed up in community pharmacies

Implementation of a Pharmaceutical Care Program for the Detection of Hypertension and Drug Therapy to be followed up in Community Pharmacies. This work evaluates the effectiveness of a program of Pharmaceutical Care in Paraguay in a controlled prospective study directed to hypertensive patients in community pharmacies. At the culmination of the study the mean systolic pressure was down from 147 to 128 mm Hg in the target population, while in the control group the mean systolic pressure went up from 148 to 154 mm Hg. The mean diastolic pressure went down from 89 to 83 mm Hg in the intervened group while no change was observed in the mean diastolic pressure of the control group. Of the 45% of the patients classified at stage II hypertension at the beginning of the study, only 9% remained in that stage at the end of it, while the control group either kept or went up to the next classification stage. Ninety three percent of the problems detected that were related to the medicines were solved. These results, statistically evaluated, with p values always below 5% demonstrate the importance of a program of pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies.