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Pharmacy Practice (Granada)
On-line version ISSN 1886-3655Print version ISSN 1885-642X
Abstract
DRIESEN, Annelies; SIMOENS, Steven and LAEKEMAN, Gert. Management of drug interactions with beta-blockers: continuing education has a short-term impact. Pharmacy Pract (Granada) [online]. 2006, vol.4, n.3, pp.143-150. ISSN 1886-3655.
There is a lack of clear guidelines regarding the management of drug-drug interactions. Objective: To assess the impact of an educational intervention on the management of drug interactions with beta-blockers. Methods: The study had a controlled before-and-after design. The intervention group (n=10 pharmacies) received a continuing education course and guidelines on the management of drug interactions with beta-blockers. The control group (n=10 pharmacies) received no intervention. Pharmacy students and staff of internship pharmacies participated in this study. Before and after the intervention, students registered interactions with beta-blockers during two weeks. Information was obtained on drug information of the beta-blocker and the interacting drug, patients demographics, and the mode of transaction. Results: A total number of 288 interactions were detected during both study periods. Most beta-blockers causing an interaction were prescribed for hypertension, and interacted with hypoglycemic agents, NSAIDs, or beta2-agonists. Pharmacists intervention rate was low (14% in the pre-test compared to 39% in the post-test), but increased significantly in the post-test in the intervention group. Reasons for overriding the interaction included limited clinical relevance, refill prescriptions, not being aware of the interaction, and communication problems with the prescriber. Conclusion: An interactive continuing education course, during which practice-oriented guidelines were offered, affected pharmacists short-term behavior at the counter in dealing with interactions of beta-blockers. Continuing education plays a role in raising pharmacists awareness and responsibility towards the detection and management of drug interactions in the pharmacy.
Keywords : Drug Interactions; Pharmacy continuing education; Pharmacists; Belgium.
