Evaluation of patient experience with a model of coordinated telematic pharmaceutical care between hospital and rural pharmacies in Spain: a proof of concept

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the usefulness of a coordinated pharmaceutical care model between the specialized hospital setting and the rural community care setting, based on the incorporation of telepharmacy based on Capacity-Motivation-Opportunity (CMO) methodology to improve patient experience with hospital medication prescriptions. Patients and Methods: Prospective cohort study in outpatients receiving telepharmacy based on CMO-based pharmaceutical care in rural areas in Spain between January and November 2021, conducted by the pharmacy department of four hospitals and 29 rural communities’ pharmacy. Each patient was followed for 48 weeks on both face-to-face and telematic visits, scheduled and unscheduled at the patients’ request. Patient experience (IEXPAC questionnaire), and satisfaction (EVASAF) were determined. Secondary variables included pharmaceutical care interventions, care coordination and clinical variables (compliance with pharmacotherapeutic objectives according to the clinical conditions of each patient), additionally measurement of individual holistic results (EQ5D-5L score) was evaluated. Results: A new telepharmacy tool (called Telemaco) was developed for a multidisciplinary healthcare team (available at: https://inteligeniapps.com/telemaco/) that includes seven different functionalities. We evaluated the first 20 patients (50% women) were included. Their median age was 66.0 years (IQR=14). A total of 215 visits were made (adding 150 video calls). A total of 64 visits were unscheduled (29.7%). The patient´s experience showed improvement (7.4 vs 9.5, p<0.005). The results of the EVASAF questionnaire were also higher (44 vs 48, p<0.001). Overall, 573 pharmaceutical interventions were performed. A difference was observed in patients who achieved the intended pharmacotherapeutic objectives: 48.5 vs 88.2 (p< 0.001). The mean EQ-5D-5L score was 74.7 ± 3.3 at baseline and 80.6 ± 3.6 points at the end (p>0.05). Conclusion: Telepharmacy based on the CMO-PC model, using the “Telemaco” tool, has improved the patient experience, satisfaction, and offered other advantages over the traditional model, including more pharmaceutical interventions adapted to the needs of each patient.