Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases Risk Assessment in Community Pharmacies: An Implementation Study

Sarah Rondeaux, Tessa Braeckman, Mieke Beckwé, Natacha Biset, Joris Maesschalck, Nathalie Duquet, Isabelle De Wulf, Dirk Devroey and Carine De Vriese
Additional contact information
Sarah Rondeaux: Department of Pharmacotherapy and Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tessa Braeckman: Department of Family Medicine and Chronic Care, Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), 1090 Brussels, Belgium
Mieke Beckwé: Department of Family Medicine and Chronic Care, Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), 1090 Brussels, Belgium
Natacha Biset: Department of Pharmacotherapy and Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Joris Maesschalck: Association of Pharmacists Belgium, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Nathalie Duquet: Association of Pharmacists Belgium, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Isabelle De Wulf: Association of Pharmacists Belgium, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Dirk Devroey: Department of Family Medicine and Chronic Care, Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), 1090 Brussels, Belgium
Carine De Vriese: Department of Pharmacotherapy and Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1050 Brussels, Belgium

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: The implementation of a new service is often challenging when translating research findings into routine clinical practices. This paper presents the results of the implementation study of a pilot project for a diabetes and cardiovascular diseases risk-assessment service in Belgian community pharmacies. To evaluate the implementation of the service, a mixed method was used that follows the RE-AIM framework. During the testing stage, 37 pharmacies participated, including five that dropped out due to a lack of time or COVID-19-related temporary obligations. Overall, 502 patients participated, of which 376 (74.9%) were eligible for according-to-protocol analysis. Of these, 80 patients (21.3%) were identified as being at high risk for the targeted diseases, and 100 (26.6%) were referred to general practice for further investigation. We presented the limited effectiveness and the key elements influencing optimal implementation. Additional strategies, such as interprofessional workshops, a data-sharing platform, and communication campaigns, should be considered to spread awareness of the new role of pharmacists. Such strategies could also promote collaboration with general practitioners to ensure the follow-up of patients at high risk. Overall, this service was considered easy to perform and feasible in practice but would require financial and external support to ensure its effectiveness, sustainability, and larger-scale implementation.

Keywords: community pharmacy services; implementation; risk assessment; diagnostic screening programmes; diabetes mellitus, type 2/prevention and control; cardiovascular diseases/diagnosis/epidemiology/prevention and control; Belgium (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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