Study Expands Pharmacist’s Role in Care

More people gain control of high blood pressure if their doctors and pharmacists work as a team, a new study finds. The study included 402 people with high blood pressure. They were divided into two groups. One group received the usual treatment. Their doctors wrote prescriptions, and pharmacists filled them. In the other group, pharmacists had a more active role. They were trained to assess people’s blood pressure. They recommended adjustments in the type and dose of drugs based on the results. After 6 months, blood pressure dropped to recommended levels in 64% of the group cared for by doctor-pharmacist teams. About 30% of the people with usual care by doctors achieved recommended levels. The study appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. HealthDay News wrote about it November 23.