Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (13)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nathan, A.
Right arrow Articles by Rashid, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nathan, A.
Right arrow Articles by Rashid, A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Family Practice Vol. 16, No. 3, 278-282
© Oxford University Press 1999

‘Brown bag’ medication reviews as a means of optimizing patients' use of medication and of identifying potential clinical problems

Alan Nathana, Larry Goodyera, Anne Lovejoyb and Aly Rashidc

a Department of Pharmacy, King's College London, Manresa Road, London SW3 6LX,
b Bexley and Greenwich Health Authority and
c School of Medicine, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

Alan Nathan.

Background. ‘Brown bag’ medication reviews carried out by community pharmacists collaborating with GPs have become established, in the USA and elsewhere, as an effective means of helping primary care patients to derive maximum benefit from their medicines, of identifying medication-related problems and of reducing wastage of medicines.

Objective. We aimed to determine whether ‘brown bag’ medication review could be used successfully in the UK, and particularly whether it represents an efficient and potentially cost-effective means of identifying medication problems.

Method. ‘Brown bag’ medication reviews were carried out on 205 volunteer patients in 23 pharmacies in south-east London. Pharmacists' interventions to improve patients' knowledge and usage of their medicines were analysed. Potential clinical problems identified by pharmacists were analysed in order to identify the drug groups most likely to cause problems.

Results. Interventions were made in 87% of reviews; interventions to improve patients' knowledge of the purpose and correct usage of their drugs were made in 65% of reviews. In 12% of reviews, problems were identified that could potentially result in a hospital admission, and the potential for an improved outcome for the patient if drug therapy was changed was identified in a further 34% of cases. Beta-blockers, NSAIDs and verapamil were identified as being associated with potential problems of the highest clinical significance. Patients taking psychoactive medication were at greatest risk of a medication-related problem from any cause.

Conclusion. Pharmacists could contribute to patients' welfare and reduce health care costs by carrying out ‘brown bag’ medication reviews on behalf of GPs.

Keywords. Drug therapy, elderly patients, family practice, patient compliance, pharmacist.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 The Annals of PharmacotherapyHome page
K. B Farris, J. M Ganther-Urmie, G. Fang, W. R Doucette, J. M Brooks, D. G Klepser, D. J Fries, and C. L Kuhle
Population-Based Medication Reviews: A Descriptive Analysis of the Medication Issues Identified in a Medicare Not-for-Profit Prescription Discount Program
Ann. Pharmacother., November 1, 2004; 38(11): 1823 - 1829.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.