Prospective Observational Study on Assessing Medication Reconciliation and Health-related Quality of Life for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Emerging Role of Pharmacists

Aim and background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a sustained obstructive airway disease that impedes normal breathing function. The most effective course of action, as deemed by clinical pharmacists, is the implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation, analyzing patient medication charts, efficacy, and safety of medications, improving/enhancing the quality of life, counseling or educating patients, etc. The aim of the present study is to evaluate medication discrepancies and provide counseling to patients to gauge the impact of pulmonary rehabilitation on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Materials and methods: A prospective observational study was conducted for 6 months in the Department of General Medicine and Respiratory at a tertiary care hospital. Patients aged >18 years who admitted having a history of COPD were recruited. Further, the best possible medication history (BPMH) was noted, and patients were counseled to compare the quality of life in COPD patients in the pretest and posttest using the SF-36 HRQoL questionnaire. The statistical method used was the dependent t-test. Results: A total of N = 185 patients were screened in accordance with the study's criteria, and N = 103 were enrolled. We identified that the most significant variations occurred when bronchodilator dosage schedules were prescribed upon discharge, and comparisons were made to measure quality of life. In the follow-up, there was an improvement in all domains of quality of life. The pre- and posttest scores were subjected to comparison, and an enhancement in the quality of life was documented (p-value: 0.0001). Conclusion: This study explains the pharmacist's intervention in poststudy. A significant decrease in discrepancies was found, and counseling patients helped improve the quality of life among COPD patients. Clinical significance: This study signifies the emerging role of clinical pharmacists in reviewing medication charts, identifying and resolving drug related problems, and educating patients to improve their quality of life.