Implementation of a Pharmaceutical care Protocol in Elderly Hypertensive Patients in a Community Pharmacy in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

The present study aimed to implement a pharmaceutical care model for monitoring the drug treatment of elderly hypertensive patients in a private commercial pharmacy in Jaraguá do Sul, SC, Brazil. The Dáder method was used for pharmacotherapeutic follow-up of a simple random sample of 15 patients diagnosed with hypertension, females and males between 60 and 81 years. The patients were followed for three months. Questionnaires were applied to obtain information about lifestyle, pharmacotherapeutic history, adherence to the treatment and possibly, identifying the problems related to the medications (PRM) they used. In all meetings, the pressure levels of the patients were checked. Analyses showed reduced blood pressure levels in patients: two from severe and one from moderate to mild. One of the patients with borderline blood pressure managed to reach the level of normality, and only one registered an increase from mild to moderate. The others maintained blood pressure levels. PRM types 1 and 4 were the most detected. Educational interventions were prioritized in this project with a focus on guidance on the correct use of medicines, clarification of doubts, and proposals for non-pharmacological measures - such as prisoner control and reduction of alcohol and salt consumption. These results reinforce the importance of pharmaceutical care to improve hypertensive patients’ quality of life and blood pressure and control possible complications resulting from the disease.