RESULTS
From all community pharmacies randomized to
control and study group only 20 community
pharmacies from the study group (35 pharmacists)
and 19 community pharmacies from the control
group (39 pharmacists) included 70 and 123
patients, respectively. Six community pharmacies
(15 pharmacists) from study group and three (10
pharmacists) from control group resigned before the
first meeting with patients. Therefore the first
meeting was carried on for 34 patient and 84 in
study and control group, respectively. Afterward six
patients in study group and 28 in control group
resigned, two were moved (from control group)
away and the others declared lack of time to visit
community pharmacy or lack of interest in further
participation in the program. The analysis of results
was conducted according to Intention of treat (ITT)
and Per Protocol (PP) methods. Data of all patients
who had at least two visits and filled out at the first
and last meeting the knowledge questionnaires
were included to the ITT analysis. In addition,
pharmacists that took care of those patients filled
out one of the questionnaires were evaluated. Data
of patients who had planned number of visits (≥12 in
the study group and 2 in the control group) were
evaluated in PP analysis only if their pharmacists
fulfilled two times the knowledge and satisfaction
questionnaire.
The control and study group differed in terms of
education, age and place of residence. No
difference was detected in the number of dispensed
anti-hypertension medications and other
medications dispensed in cardiovascular diseases
at the time of enrollment into the study. Average
patient covered by pharmaceutical care had around
11.8 (SD=3.5) visits in a community pharmacy
during 359 (SD=81.2) days (ITT analysis). In a
group which finished the program (PP analysis),
12.9 (SD=2.7) visits was recorded during 391
(SD=74.4) days of program duration. In the control
group, the time between the first and the last visit
was around 439 (SD=19.5) days (ITT analysis) or
445 (SD=15.8) days (PP analysis). A detailed
information about characteristic of patients included
to ITT and PP analysis is presented in Table 1.
At the last visit it was observed that patients from
the study group have been taken one
antihypertensive and two cardiovascular diseases
medications more than they declared at the initia