Abstract:

Background: Detecting drug-related problems (DRPs) is important in pharmaceutical care in terms of better treatment outcomes. Clinical pharmacists-led comprehensive medication management plays a crucial role in the rational use of drugs by preventing, identifying, and resolving DRPs. Objectives: In this narrative review, it is aimed to determine the effect of interventions performed by the clinical pharmacist in Turkey on patients’ outcomes. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search was performed on the PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Turkish databases (ULAKBIM, Dergipark). The main categories were “clinical pharmacist”, “intervention” and “Turkey”. Two reviewers reviewed each article independently. Two independent reviewers screened all records and extracted data; disagreements were resolved through consensus. Randomized controlled studies, pre to post-intervention comparison studies, and cross-sectional studies which including pharmacists-led interventions were included. Results: This review included 15 articles evaluating clinical pharmacist interventions. Ten studies (66.7%) focused on DRPs and pharmacist interventions to these problems, while the remaining 5 (33.3%) studies focused on patient education and adherence issues. Studies were conducted in oncology (33.3%), geriatrics (20.0%), chest diseases (13.3%), psychiatry (6.7%), cardiology (6.7%) and infectious diseases (6.7%) clinics. When outcomes of studies are reviewed, most of the interventions were made at the prescriber level followed by drug level and patient level. Problems were solved in 54.2%-93.2% of DRPs and adherence, patient knowledge or skills were improved in most of the studies. Conclusions: Most of the included studies carried out within the scope of a postgraduate or doctorate thesis and yet various of positive outcomes such as prevention of side effects, increase in quality of life and decrease in length of hospital stay were observed with the high acceptance rates of interventions which indicate that other healthcare workers are ready to collaborate with the clinical pharmacists in Turkey.

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