Objective To evaluate the impact of health professionals’ intervention on adherence to statins, the influence on total cholesterol levels, and lifestyle patterns in patients with hypercholesterolemia and analyze the differences according to the center of recruitment. Study Setting Forty‐six community pharmacies and 50 primary care centers of Spain. Study Design Randomized controlled trial design (n = 746). Patients were assigned into adherent (ADH) or nonadherent group depending on their initial adherence to statins. Nonadherent patients were randomly assigned to intervention (INT) or nonintervention (NOINT) group. Patients enrolled in the INT group received an intervention depending on the cause of nonadherence. Patients in the ADH and NOINT groups received usual care. Intention‐to‐treat (ITT) analysis was performed with multiple imputation to replace the missing data. Data Collection Adherence, total cholesterol levels, and lifestyle behaviors. Findings The odds of becoming adherent during the 6 months was higher in the INT group compared to the NOINT group (OR = 1,49; 95% CI: 1.30‐1.76; P < 0.001), especially in the community pharmacy group (OR = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.81‐3.03; P < 0.001). Adherent patients showed lower values of total cholesterol compared with nonadherent patients at baseline (ADH: 200.3 mg/dL vs NOADH: 216.7 mg/dL; P < 0.001) and at the endpoint (ADH: 197.3 mg/dL vs NOADH: 212.2 mg/dL; P < 0.001). More patients enrolled in the INT group practices exercise at the end of the study (INT: +26.6 percent; P = 0.002), and a greater number of patients followed a diet to treat hypercholesterolemia (+30.2 percent; P < 0.001). Conclusions The intervention performed by health professionals, especially by community pharmacists, improved adherence to statins by hypercholesterolemic patients, and this improvement in adherence was accompanied by a reduction in total cholesterol levels and a healthier lifestyle.

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Objective To estimate the effectiveness of a Medication Discrepancy Detection Service (MDDS), a collaborative service between the community pharmacy and Primary Care. Design Non-controlled before-and-after study. Setting Bidasoa Integrated Healthcare Organisation, Gipuzkoa, Spain. Participants The service was provided by a multidisciplinary group of community pharmacists (CPs), general practitioners (GPs), and primary care pharmacists, to patients with discrepancies between their active medical charts and medicines that they were actually taking. Outcomes The primary outcomes were the number of medicines, the type of discrepancy, and GPs’ decisions. Secondary outcomes were time spent by CPs, emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admissions, and costs. Results The MDDS was provided to 143 patients, and GPs resolved discrepancies for 126 patients. CPs identified 259 discrepancies, among which the main one was patients not taking medicines listed on their active medical charts (66.7%, n = 152). The main GPs’ decision was to withdraw the treatment (54.8%, n = 125), which meant that the number of medicines per patient was reduced by 0.92 (9.12 ± 3.82 vs. 8.20 ± 3.81; p < .0001). The number of ED visits and hospital admissions per patient were reduced by 0.10 (0.61 ± .13 vs 0.52 ± 0.91; p = .405 and 0.17 (0.33 ± 0.66 vs. 0.16 ± 0.42; p = .007), respectively. The cost per patient was reduced by €444.9 (€1003.3 ± 2165.3 vs. €558.4 ± 1273.0; p = .018). Conclusion The MDDS resulted in a reduction in the number of medicines per patients and number of hospital admissions, and the service was associated with affordable, cost-effective ratios.

Objective: Results of the first program on rational use of antibiotics in Gipuzkoa, until the year 2004, are analyzed. This program was set up in 1999 and almost half of the pharmacies in the province have participated in it in a voluntary way. Method: Data were gathered within the pharmacies during one week every three months, and by writing up all the antibiotics, both demanded and dispensed without corresponding prescription, and also some information related to the activity of the pharmacists in the dispensing process. All data were sent to the Gipuzkoa Professional Association. Results: antibiotics' demand without prescription diminished to reach a 3.6% out of the overall antibiotics demand. On the other hand, antibiotics dispensing without the prescription fell until the 1.6% out of the overall antibiotics dispensed. These figures mean that a few antibiotics keep being dispensed without the corresponding prescription. Conclusions: This program achieved a reduction on both the demand and the dispensing of antibiotics without the corresponding prescription. It's important to keep working on these kind of programs to reinforce the professional role of pharmacists by a more active participation of related organizations, the use of protocols and guidelines, and the possible use of negative incentives.

This study suggests that there is demand for a patient-centred community pharmacy to support older people, in which pharmaceutical care services are required. The 18 Age-friendly Pharmacies together with the Official Pharmacist Association of Gipuzkoa have publicly committed to actively work on social and patient-centred care to meet the needs of the ageing population.