There is a paucity of health economic evaluations conducted from the patient's perspective in the literature. For those studies using the patient's perspective, the true patient costs were not fully explored and study reporting quality was not optimal. With the increasing focus on patient-centered outcomes in health policy research, more frequent use of the patient's perspective in economic studies should be advocated.

Pharmacists showed favourable attitude, subjective norm, perceived behaviour control and intention in providing such education. However, their knowledge in this area may be lacking and they are not consistently providing this information to their patients.

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Aims/IntroductionUndetected diabetes distress is a cause of concern. However, the lack of a validated questionnaire is a barrier to screening for diabetes distress. The aim of the present study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Problem Areas in Diabetes scale (SG‐PAID‐C), and its association with sociodemographic and clinical parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes.Materials and MethodsThis cross‐sectional study was carried out in four outpatient healthcare institutions in Singapore. Chinese‐speaking patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, polypharmacy, and multiple comorbidities were administered the SG‐PAID‐C and European Quality of Life‐5 Dimensions questionnaires as quality of life measures. The factorial construct, convergent validity and internal consistency of SG‐PAID‐C were evaluated.ResultsThe exploratory factor analysis resulted in a three‐factor structure of SG‐PAID‐C with subscales on emotional‐ and management‐related problem (11 items), ability to cope with diabetes problem (3 items) and support‐related problem (2 items). The findings also showed good model fit in the confirmatory factor analysis, and provided support for the construct and convergent validity of SG‐PAID‐C. Overall, the internal consistency of SG‐PAID‐C was good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.900). Sex and duration of diabetes were positively associated with the 16‐item SG‐PAID‐C, whereas age and type of antidiabetic agents were inversely associated with the 16‐item SG‐PAID‐C.ConclusionsThe 16‐item SG‐PAID‐C is a valid and reliable instrument for use among patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes in Singapore. Future studies on its clinical utility should be carried out.

Collaborative practice among health professionals is slowly coming of age, given the global focus on efficiency and effectiveness of care to achieve positive patient outcomes and to reduce the economic burden of fragmented care. Collaborative pharmacy practice (CPP) is accordingly evolving within different models including: disease management, medication therapy management, patient centered medical home, and accountable care organizations. Pharmacist roles in these models relate to drug therapy management and include therapy introduction, adjustment, or discontinuation, patient counseling and education, and identification, resolution, and prevention of problems leading to drug interactions and adverse reactions. Most forms of CPP occur with physicians in various settings. Collaborative practice agreements exist in many states in the US and are mentioned in the International Pharmaceutical Federation policy statement. Impetus for CPP comes from health system and economic concerns, as well as from a regulatory push. There are positive examples in community, ambulatory care, and inpatient settings that have well documented protocols, indicators of care, and measurement and reporting of clinical, economic, and patient reported outcomes; however, implementation of the practice is still not widespread. Conceptual and implementation challenges include health professional training, attitudes, confidence and comfort levels, power and communication issues, logistic barriers of time, workload, proximity, resistance to establish and adopt regulations, and importantly, payment models. Some of the attitudinal and perceptual challenges can be mitigated by incorporation of interprofessional concepts and practice in health profession education. Other challenges need to be addressed across health systems, given the inefficiencies and problems that arise from lack of communication and coordination of patient care including medication nonadherence, errors and patient safety, complexity of compounded health problems, and potential liability. The existing evidence needs to be examined to address some challenges and improve infrastructure for CPP.