Frequency and trends of interventions of prescriptions in Flemish community pharmacies

Objective: To study the role of the community pharmacist in medication management. Method: Participating Flemish pharmacists quantified their interventions during two weeks by use of validated diagrams. The clinical interventions were recorded in detail, while the technical interventions were only registered. Results: 124 pharmacists participated. Intervention was needed in 4.1% of the total number of prescriptions (n = 87.647). On average, 20.2 technical and 8.4 clinical interventions over a period of 2 weeks per pharmacy were needed. The main problem was missing or incorrect data on administering the drug (23%). Missing or incorrect advice (37.8%), dose- related problems (26.1%) and interactions or contra-indications (20.2%) were mentioned as important clinical discrepancies. The pharmacists utilized the patient medication records to solve most of the problems. In one out of five cases, the physician was contacted. Conclusion: Interventions by community pharmacists in medication management have been recorded in this study. The results should be translated into a process of integrated pharmaceutical care.