title: [Drug related problems in Belgian community pharmacies].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The identification, the management and if possible the prevention of drug related problems (DRP), are the main responsibilities of pharmacists.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aims of the study were 1/to investigate the frequency and nature of drug related problems detected by community pharmacists, 2/to inventories the frequency and nature of the interventions by community pharmacists on prescribed medicines, and 3/to evaluate whether there is a difference between DRP detection at the moment of dispensing versus in a quiet setting (a posteriori detection).
  
  
  METHODS
  All trainees of the participating universities of Belgian were asked to contribute to a observational study. Participating pharmacists quantified DRP's and their interventions on prescribed medicines for 5 days. Registrations were made by using a web tool based on an adapted version of the classification list of PCNE. The registration took place in two phases, at the time of delivery as well as in an a posteriori verification of the prescriptions with the pharmaceutical record file of the patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study was conducted from November 2012 to April 2013 in 534 community-pharmacies with internship. During this period 9.869 prescriptions (15%) with at least one DRP were detected on a total of 64.962 prescriptions treated by tutor pharmacists. Since there could be more than one problem on a prescription, 15.952 DRP's were registered. 2.597 of the DRP's were detected by a posteriori verification. 75% of all problems had a technical cause and 37% were clinical in nature. Under the technical causes an incomplete prescription was the most common. The most frequently registered clinical causes were a drug interaction, an inopportune time of intake, a too high or too low dose and an unsuitable drug. Participating pharmacists solved almost 3 of the 4 detected DRP's. In more than half of the DRP's, the patient was verbally and/or written informed. In 44% of the a posteriori discovered problems, the pharmacist intervened.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pharmacist detected one or more DRP's with 15% of the prescriptions. Analysis of a prescription prior to dispensing the medicines therefore appears necessary. The active intervention of the pharmacist in 83% of the problems indicates that he contributes to the optimization of drug therapy with a potential increase in the quality of life of the patient and a reduction in the cost of healthcare. The a posteriori discovered DRP's demonstrate the need for pharmacist lead meditation reviews possibly together with the physician and/or patient.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huysmans
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Wulf
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Foulon
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: De Loof
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steurbaut
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boussery
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Vriese
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lacour
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Van Hees
authors.forename: G R Y
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: De Meyer
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors; D008875:Middle Aged; D010595:Pharmacists