The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7270 p519
11 October 2003

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Concordance summary

British Pharmaceutical Conference: New ways of involving patients

One of the last sessions at the British Pharmaceutical Conference focused on concordance. Olivia Timbs (Editor of The Journal) reports

The session opened with Joanne Shaw, director of the Medicines Partnership, explaining why there was a need for a new approach to prescribing and medicines taking. It is established that as few as a third of patients with arthritis, for example, comply with their drug therapy. In addition, although patients’ beliefs are a strong predictor of whether or not they take medicines, patients’ views are rarely sought during a consultation. Ms Shaw pointed out that if prescribing and medicine-taking are based on a partnership between health professional and patient, then there is a greater likelihood that the patient will comply with the treatment, which is therefore more likely to be effective. Ms Shaw went on to describe some of the initiatives that the Medicines Partnership is supporting.

Professor Theo Raynor, of the department of pharmacy practice, University of Leeds, then spoke about the three steps to concordance: patients having enough knowledge to participate as partners; consultations that involve patients as partners; and, as a result, patients who are supported in taking their medicines. One way to improve patients’ knowledge is to improve the quality of information they receive both about their condition and their medication. The problem with current drug information leaflets is that they are too narrow, too negative and they are often pointless, as they are handed out at the end of the consultation and are likely to confuse patients rather than illuminate them. Involve patients in the compilation of guides and they are likely to be much more useful, Professor Raynor argued.

David Dickinson: Ask About Medicines Week will lay the foundations for lasting change

David Dickinson, of consumer information design consultancy, Consumation, gave an outline of what “Ask About Medicines Week” (12 – 18 October) is about and ways in which pharmacists could be involved. Mr Dickinson pointed out that the week should not be regarded as an end in itself, but rather as laying the foundations for lasting change by encouraging better communication between health professionals and people taking medicine.

The final speaker, Diane Harris, from Amber Valley Primary Care Trust, Derbyshire, described a project involving pharmacists from five different PCTs. Older people who were housebound and who had diffic-ulty in managing their medicines were visited by a pharmacist to assist them in taking their medicines. Interim analysis of the project reveals that four months after a pharmacist’s visit benefits were being seen. Only about 10 per cent of patients were still having problems taking their medicines, three-quarters of patients or their carers were better at remembering to take them (both improvements on previous findings) and there were fewer problems with medicines hoarding. As one pharmacist involved in the project said: “Part of the reward is knowing that you have facilitated concordance by empowering the patients and making sure that you have listened to their beliefs or perspectives about medicines.”