title: Opportunities to develop the professional role of community pharmacists in the care of patients with asthma: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: There are many indications in Australia and globally that asthma management is suboptimal. Ideally, patients need to proactively self-manage the condition with the support of health professionals. Community pharmacists are a highly accessible resource for patients but currently provide inconsistent services. General practitioners also face many barriers to the provision of chronic disease management for asthma patients. The aim of this research was to characterise patients with asthma who present to community pharmacy. The objective was to identify opportunities to develop the role of pharmacists in the context of the primary healthcare setting and in view of the needs of the patients they routinely encounter. The results of a comprehensive survey of 248 patients recruited from community pharmacies indicated there was discordance between patient perceptions of asthma control and actual asthma control. Almost half the patients surveyed had poorly controlled asthma, whereas almost three quarters perceived their asthma to be well or completely controlled. Fewer than 20% of patients were utilising written asthma action plans, and issues around quality use of medicines were identified. The significance of the incongruent perceptions regarding asthma control is that patients are unlikely to proactively seek intervention and support from healthcare professionals. Community pharmacists provide a significant opportunity to address these issues by direct intervention. There is scope to investigate pharmacists preparing written asthma action plans for patients, using software to monitor medication adherence and prescribe on-going medication. To maximise the potential of pharmacists, barriers to practice need to be identified and addressed.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Centre for Optimisation of Medicines, Pharmacy, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.affiliation: Community Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bourdin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Applied Statistics, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trevenen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Applied Statistics, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Centre for Optimisation of Medicines, Pharmacy, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Carl R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Centre for Optimisation of Medicines, Pharmacy, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Clifford
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001315:Australia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D010595:Pharmacists; D024382:Professional Role; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents