Protocol of the medygen-2024 study: assessment of antihypertensive medication use by sex in community pharmacies

Abstract

Hypertension is a chronic condition with a high prevalence in the adult population, with differences in response to treatment and the occurrence of adverse effects between men and women. Despite the available evidence, current clinical guidelines do not include specific recommendations differentiated by sex. From the community pharmacy perspective, it is important to explore how a structured pharmaceutical intervention, based on the detection of medication-related problems (MRPs), particularly adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and negative medication outcomes (NMOs) and, can contribute to improving the safety and effectiveness of antihypertensive treatment, considering gender as a clinical criterion. An experimental, multicentre, pre-post study was proposed in community pharmacies in different Spanish autonomous communities that are members of SEFAC. Patients who met the inclusion criteria were offered the opportunity to participate in the study at the time of dispensing. After signing the informed consent form, an initial interview was conducted to collect clinical variables, knowledge of treatment, therapeutic adherence, blood pressure and ADRs. Subsequently, an individualised pharmaceutical intervention was carried out with health recommendations and referral to the primary care physician for dosage adjustments, if necessary and when PRMs and/or ADRs were identified. After three months, the interview was repeated with the same parameters to assess the impact of the intervention. This study is expected to provide evidence on the importance of integrating the sex into the pharmaceutical approach to hypertension and reinforce the role of community pharmacists in cardiovascular health.