Recorded presentation

Régis Blais, PhD, GRIS, University of Montreal, PO Box 6128, Station Centre-ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada, (514) 343-5907, regis.blais@umontreal.ca and Claudine Laurier, PhD, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Montreal, PO Box 6128, Station Centre-ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada.

Many studies have shown that pharmacotherapy for asthma is suboptimal. One reason may be that physicians do not have a complete picture of what medications their patients take and pharmacists lack the tools to effectively intervene to correct the situation. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine whether sending physicians and pharmacists their patients’ medication use profiles could improve quality of treatment and (2) to assess physicians' and pharmacists' opinions and use of these profiles. This presentation reports on the second study objective. Physicians prescribing asthma medications and pharmacists dispensing such medications in Quebec (Canada) were invited to participate in the study: 71 physicians and 60 pharmacists responded positively. Half were randomly assigned to the intervention group and half to the control group. Three times over 9 months the intervention group received their patients' medication use profiles with indications as to the conformity of this consumption to treatment guidelines, plus a summary of the guidelines. A self-administered questionnaire collected the intervention group participants' opinions and use of the profiles (response rate= 56% of physicians, 78% of pharmacists). Overall, 50% of physicians and 95% of pharmacists found the profiles rather or very useful; and 50% and 81% of them said they changed patient care. The uses that professionals made of profiles to improve care were documented and will be presented. Profiles were judged more useful when they contain the name of the patient whom the professional can then contact to adjust care.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Discuss physicians' and pharmacists' opinions about getting the profile of their patients' asthma medications.
• Describe how physicians and pharmacists use their patients' asthma medication profiles to improve care.
• Identify what form of medication profile is more useful for improving patient care.

Keywords: Prescription Drug Use Patterns, Quality Improvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation