Impact of Clinical Pharmacy on Asthma in Pregnancy in a Maternal-Fetal Care Clinic: A Pilot Study

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Pharmacy Technology

Abstract

Background: Asthma complicates 4% to 8% of pregnancies. The impact of clinical pharmacists providing asthma management and education to obstetric patients is unknown. Objective: Evaluate the impact of and patient satisfaction with clinical pharmacy services on asthma in pregnancy. Methods: This prospective quasi-experimental study enrolled 30 pregnant patients with asthma and assessed perceived asthma understanding, control, and inhaler technique before and after a clinical pharmacist visit and education. The primary outcome was change in pre- and postsurvey scores. Items were rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale; higher scores represented higher perceived knowledge or satisfaction. Secondary outcomes included inhaler technique scores, asthma control, correlating patient-specific factors with the primary outcome, and level of patient satisfaction with clinical pharmacy services. Results: Perceived knowledge of asthma in pregnancy median score (maximum score 50) significantly increased with clinical pharmacy education (37.5 pre vs 49 post, P =.001). Prior to clinical pharmacy services, patients highly rated their perceived knowledge of asthma in pregnancy with median scores on 7 of 10 items between 4 and 5. Despite this, significant changes were observed on 9 items. The proportion of patients with controlled asthma significantly increased after the pharmacist visit (33.3% vs 90%, P <.001). Satisfaction with clinical pharmacy services was overwhelmingly positive with average scores on all items 4.5 to 5. Inhaler technique scores significantly increased from baseline to follow-up (4 vs 7, P =.001). Conclusions: Pharmacists significantly improved patient perceived knowledge about asthma, asthma control, and inhaler technique. Patients were overwhelmingly satisfied with the care provided by the pharmacist.

First Page

240

Last Page

244

DOI

10.1177/8755122516667127

Publication Date

12-1-2016

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