THE ROLE OF THE CLINICAL PHARMACIST IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY

Abstract

Over the last few years, the Hospital Pharmacy has developed in an excellent way in Europe, proposing in many countries the clinical pharmacist as a new professional figure, and adapting its responsibilities to national health systems. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and promote the prescriptive appropriateness through the close collaboration between the pharmacist and the medical team. The aspect of the dispensation of antiretroviral therapy was deepened by providing useful information to the patient on the possible undesired effects and interactions due to the polypharmacy, on the correct way of storing the drugs, and on the importance of the regularity of the polypharmacy intake, in order to improve the compliance, which is closely related to the efficacy of long-term antiretroviral treatment and the reduction of the risk of drug resistance. The analysis of pharmaceutical prescriptions was conducted on 123 patients through the distribution of an anonymous questionnaire. Thanks to the anonymous questionnaire, it was possible to compile a special data collection form composed of two sections. The software InterCheck classified the interactions in progressive order of severity. The presence of clinical pharmacists requires a significant financial commitment on the part of the national health system but the economic investment can be evaluated favorably if we consider the benefit in terms of minor errors in therapy, lower occurrence of ADR, and improvement of the prescriptive appropriateness.