ISRCTN ISRCTN12674490
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN12674490
Secondary identifying numbers IPU1
Submission date
11/11/2016
Registration date
21/11/2016
Last edited
27/10/2022
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Other
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Between 30% and 50% of prescribed medicines are not taken as recommended. This means that a lot of medicines are wasted or are not as effective as they could be. This study is looking at patients who have been prescribed a new medicine by their doctor for a specific condition and trying to understand why they take their new medicine as recommended (treatment adherence). All patients who get medicines from their community pharmacist receive counseling on how to take their medicines when they collect the prescription. The aim of this study is to find out whether additional counseling with a pharmacist about medication use can help improve treatment adherence.

Who can participate?
Adults who have been prescribed a new medicine for asthma, lung conditions, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, anti-clotting medications, medications to lower cholesterol or long-term pain.

What does the study involve?
Participants are randomly allocated to one of two groups. Those in the first group receive a telephone call from the pharmacist after 7-14 days or are asked to come back to the pharmacy and the pharmacist asks some questions about how they are getting on with their new medicine, find out if theyyou are having problems and give information and support as needed. After one month, the pharmacist again make contact, either over the phone or when the participant comes in to collect their next prescription, to ask some further questions about how patients are getting on with their medicine. Those in the second group only receive contact from the pharmacist after one month, either over the phone or when they come in to collect their next prescription.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participants who take part in the counseling program benefit from having extra contact from their community pharmacist which may help them better understand their new medicine. There are no notable risks involved with participating.

Where is the study run from?
The study is run by the Irish Pharmacy Union and takes place in 50 community pharmacies in Ireland (Ireland)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
November 2016 to April 2017

Who is funding the study?
1. Pfizer Healthcare Ireland (Ireland)
2. Irish Pharmacy Union (Ireland)

Who is the main contact?
1. Ms Pamela Logan (public)
pamela.logan@ipu.ie
2. Dr Gerry Molloy (scientific)
gerry.molloy@nuigalway.ie
3. Ms Sinead McCool (scientific)
sineadmccoolmpsi@gmail.com

Contact information

Ms Pamela Logan
Public

Irish Pharmacy Union
Butterfield Avenue
Rathfarnham
Dublin
Dublin 14
Ireland

Phone +353 14936401
Email pamela.logan@ipu.ie
Dr Gerry Molloy
Scientific

1037 Arts Millennium Building Extension (AMBE)
School of Psychology
National University of Ireland
Galway
-
Ireland

Phone +353 91 495123
Email gerry.molloy@nuigalway.ie
Ms Sinead McCool
Scientific

Irish Pharmacy Union
Butterfield Avenue
Rathfarnham
Dublin
Dublin 14
Ireland

Phone +353 87 6380375
Email sineadmccoolmpsi@gmail.com

Study information

Study designSingle-centre randomised controlled trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Other
Study typePrevention
Participant information sheet ISRCTN12674490_PIS_15Nov16_V1.docx
Scientific titleIPU New Medicine Service Pilot: a randomised control pilot to explore the operation of the NMS, the complexity and nature of consultations and determine acceptability to stakeholders
Study objectivesThe aim of this study is to:
1. Explore the operation of the NMS, in particular the complexity and nature of resulting consultations in terms of patient engagement, age range, advice-giving and support
2. Determine acceptability to stakeholders, reasons for success or lack of success and feasibility within the service delivery environment
Ethics approval(s)National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway Research Ethics Committee, 27/01/2017, ref: 16-Dec-17
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedLong-term medication
InterventionPatients presenting with a new prescription for a medicine within one of the identified conditions will be asked if they wish to participate in a pilot service. They will be informed that this will either involve:
1. A telephone or face-to-face consultation within 7-14 days followed by a short survey after one month; or
2. A short survey after one month.
The patient will be asked to sign a consent form. The pharmacist will input the patient details into the Pharmapod platform (a web-based platform that will collate data from pharmacies and anonymise and aggregate) and Pharmapod will randomly allocate the patient to the active (NMS service) or control arm (current practice service). Patient selection would not be dependent on disease area. Adherence will be measured by the collection of the patient’s prescription over 3 months. Patients will have an option to opt out of the study at any time.

Those patients who have been selected for the NMS service will receive a telephone or face-to-face consultation within 7-14 days and will be asked a number of questions to find out if they are having any problems with their medicine. The patients in the control arm will not receive this consultation.

After one month, all patients who consented to participate, and who were allocated either the NMS service or the current practice service, will be asked to complete a survey, either face-to-face or by telephone. The survey will consist of the Morisky Eight Item Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8).

The pharmacist will input all data collected from the consultation and survey into the Pharmapod platform along with data on prescription collection over a 3-month period. A selection of anonymised and aggregated reports will be produced by Pharmapod to evaluate the pilot. Pharmacists will also be required to complete an online survey to determine acceptability of the service, the reasons for success or lack of success and the feasibility within the service delivery environment.
Intervention typeBehavioural
Primary outcome measureAcceptability of the NMS service to pharmacists is measured using a pharmacist survey created for the purpose of this study at the end of the pilot (after 3 months).
Secondary outcome measuresPatient adherence levels are measured by reviewing how often the patient collects their prescription from the pharmacy over a 3-month period.
Overall study start date06/11/2016
Completion date31/08/2018

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
Lower age limit18 Years
SexBoth
Target number of participants500
Key inclusion criteria1. Patients aged 18 years and older
2. Presenting with a new prescription for a medicine within one of the identified conditions/therapy areas
3. Living independently at home
Key exclusion criteria1. Under 18 years of age
2. Living in care home or residential home
3. Using compliance aid or involved in any other adherence programme
4. Under the care of psychiatric services
5. Unable to participate in the study due to language difficulties
Date of first enrolment25/01/2017
Date of final enrolment17/02/2017

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Ireland

Study participating centre

Irish Pharmacy Union
Butterfield Avenue
Rathfarnham
Dublin
14
Ireland

Sponsor information

Irish Pharmacy Union
Other

Butterfield Avenue
Rathfarnham
Dublin
D14E126
Ireland

Phone +353 14936401
Email pamela.logan@ipu.ie
Website www.ipu.ie
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/048q77b60

Funders

Funder type

Industry

Pfizer Healthcare Ireland

No information available

Irish Pharmacy Union

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date30/05/2017
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareYes
IPD sharing plan summaryAvailable on request
Publication and dissemination planPlanned publication of the study results in a report which will be sent to all community pharmacies and Department of Health officials.
IPD sharing planThe datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are/will be available upon request from Ms Pamela Logan (pamela.logan@ipu.ie)

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Participant information sheet version V1 15/11/2016 21/11/2016 No Yes
Funder report results 01/01/2017 27/10/2022 No No

Additional files

ISRCTN12674490_PIS_15Nov16_V1.docx
Uploaded 21/11/2016

Editorial Notes

27/10/2022: The funder report link has been moved from the publication and dissemination plan to trial outputs.
16/08/2019: Added link to final report to publication and dissemination plan.
17/08/2018: The overall trial end date has been changed from 30/04/2017 to 31/08/2018
11/01/2018: Added link to summary of the results to publication and dissemination plan.
30/01/2017: Ethical approval information added.