The University of Granada leads an international research study which has found that a pharmacotherapy follow-up of older patients with polypharmacy from pharmacies notably improves quality of life and reduces hospitalization and visits to A&E
178 pharmacies and 1403 patients have participated in the conSIGUE program in the Spanish provinces of Guipúzcoa, Granada, Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife
An international study led by the University of Granada has found that conducting a pharmacotherapy follow-up (PTF) of older patients with polypharmacy from the pharmacies notably improves their quality of life and brings annual savings of €500 (some $600) per patient.
The conSIGUE program has assessed the impact of PTF on older patients receiving polypharmacy in the community pharmacies of four Spanish provinces (Guipúzcoa, Granada, Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife) over a six-month period.
A total of 178 pharmacies and 1403 patients participated in the study, the results of which have been published in Pharmaco Economics. Researchers assigned 688 patients to the intervention group (who received the PTF service) and 715 to the control group (who received the usual pharmacy dispensing service).
In addition to the University of Granada, researchers have participated from Virgen del Rocío University Hospital (Seville), the Andalusian Public Foundation for Health Research Management (FISEVI) (Seville), the University of the Basque Country, the Andalusian School of Public Health, the University of Technology Sydney (Australia), the University of Leeds (UK) and the San Jorge University (Zaragoza).
The project has been supported by the Spanish General Council of Official Colleges of Pharmacists and the local colleges in the participating provinces, and financed by CINFA laboratories.
By comparison with the usual pharmacy dispensing service, PTF conducted by the researchers in the participating pharmacies reduced the mean number of medications (0.28 ± 1.25 versus 0.07 ± 0.95, that is, both groups reduced their medication by 4% and 1% respectively) and the adjusted quality of life at one year improved (QALY) (0.0528 ± 0.20 versus 0.0022 ± 0.24).
Furthermore, patients in the intervention group made less use of health care resources (hospitalizations and visits to A&E) during the six months of the study.
Additionally, the results of the economic assessment were expressed in terms of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, obtaining a mean cost increase of -€250 (-$300) (that is, a mean saving of approximately €500 [$600] per patient per year) and a mean increase in QALY of 0.0156. Hence the results of the analysis suggest the PTF service is a cost-effective intervention.
In the light of these results, the researchers conclude that the PTF service “is an effective intervention to optimize prescribed medication and improve the quality of life of older patients with polypharmacy in community pharmacies”.
References
Cost-Utility Analysis of a Medication Review with Follow-Up Service for Older Adults with Polypharmacy in Community Pharmacies in Spain: The conSIGUE Program
Francisco Jódar-Sánchez, Amaia Malet-Larrea, José J. Martín, Leticia García-Mochón, M. Puerto López del Amo, Fernando Martínez-Martínez, Miguel A. Gastelurrutia-Garralda, Victoria García-Cárdenas, Daniel Sabater-Hernández, Loreto Sáez-Benito. Shalom I. Benrimoj
Pharmaco Economics. DOI 10.1007/s40273-015-0270-2
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Contact:
Francisco Jódar-Sánchez
Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences University of Granada Technological Innovation Group Virgen del Rocío University Hospital.
Phone: +34 955 013 617
E-mail address: francisco.jodar.exts@juntadeandalucia.es
Fernando Martínez-Martínez
Department of Physical Chemistry University of Granada Phone: +34 958 243 827
E-mail address: femartin@ugr.es
José J. Martín
Department of Applied Economics University of Granada
E-mail address: jmartin@ugr.es
