Improving medication adherence and satisfaction with pharmacist-provided services for heart failure patients using a risk management dashboard

ISRCTN ISRCTN13218468
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN13218468
Submission date
02/09/2024
Registration date
03/09/2024
Last edited
30/10/2024
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Ongoing
Condition category
Circulatory System
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data
Record updated in last year

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is a severe health issue, leading to frequent hospital visits and high death rates. Although there are effective treatments available, many patients do not take their medications as prescribed, which worsens their condition. This study aims to see if using an interactive patient-centered dashboard during pharmacist consultations can help patients better understand their condition, stick to their medication schedule, and be more satisfied with the services provided by pharmacists.

Who can participate?
Adults aged 20 years or older diagnosed with HFrEF can participate and receive care at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH), including its pharmacist-led heart failure clinic, cardiology department, or cardiology ward. Participants need to be able to give consent and complete some simple questionnaires.

What does the study involve?
Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either standard care from a pharmacist or standard care with the addition of an interactive dashboard. The dashboard will show personalized risk and survival information to help patients understand their health better. Participants will complete short questionnaires at the start and after 3 and 6 months to measure how well they follow their medication plan and how satisfied they are with the pharmacist's help.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participants may become more actively involved in their treatment process. By better understanding their current health status and medications, they are more likely to improve their medication adherence. This increased engagement and understanding can lead to better health outcomes and greater satisfaction with the pharmacy care they receive. The study may also help develop better tools for managing heart failure.
The risks are very low, but some participants might feel anxious or uncomfortable seeing their health information on the dashboard.

Where is the study run from?
National Taiwan University Hospital (Taiwan)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
April 2024 to October 2025

Who is funding the study?
National Taiwan University (Taiwan)

Who is the main contact?
Dr Wan-Tseng Hsu, wantsenghsu@ntu.edu.tw and wantsenghsu@gmail.com

Contact information

Dr Wan-Tseng Hsu
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator

R201, 2F, No. 33, Linsen S. Rd.
Zhongzheng Dist.
Taipei
100
Taiwan

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0001-6358-999X
Phone +886 (0)2 3366 8195
Email wantsenghsu@ntu.edu.tw

Study information

Study designSingle-center pragmatic two-arm crossover randomized controlled trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised cross over trial
Study setting(s)Hospital
Study typeOther
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a participant information sheet
Scientific titleA pragmatic improvement for medication adherence and patient satisfaction with pharmacist services with an interactive dashboard for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction
Study acronymPRIME PharmD-HFrEF
Study objectivesIntegrating a dashboard within pharmacist-led interventions can improve medication adherence among patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).
Ethics approval(s)

Approved 22/08/2024, National Taiwan University Hospital Research Ethics Committee B (No.7, Chung Shan S. Rd. Zhongshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei, 100, Taiwan; +886 (0)2 2312 3456 ext. 263417; ntuhrec@ntuh.gov.tw), ref: 202001049RINB

Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedHeart failure
InterventionBefore conducting the education sessions, the pharmacists will review the patients’ medical records, including medications and laboratory data, using the portal system. This review is part of their standard routine before patient education into which dashboard interventions will be pragmatically integrated. After the screening, potential participants will first be invited by their attending pharmacist. The researchers will allocate participants to treatment groups using permuted block randomization to ensure a balanced distribution across the groups, with permuted blocks of size 4. Eligible and consenting participants randomly assigned to Group A will receive standard pharmacist-led education (e.g., regular follow-ups and medication education) along with the dashboard intervention, while those in Group B will receive only standard pharmacist-led education, with a crossover occurring after 3 months. The dashboard intervention is pragmatically incorporated into patient education.
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureMedication adherence will be assessed using the Morisky 8-item Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) at baseline (T0), 3 months (T1), and 6 months (T2) after randomization.
Secondary outcome measures1. Patient satisfaction with pharmacist services will be evaluated using the adapted Chinese version of the Patient Satisfaction with Pharmacist Services Questionnaire 2.0 (C-PSPSQ 2.0) at baseline (T0), 3 months (T1), and 6 months (T2) after randomization.
2. Facilitators and barriers to the implementation: To explore potential facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the dashboard, a subgroup of pharmacists and patients will complete the Acceptability of Intervention Measure, Intervention Appropriateness Measure, and Feasibility of Intervention Measure (AIM-IAM-FIM) questionnaire at 6 months (T2) after randomization.
Overall study start date01/04/2024
Completion date31/10/2025

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
SexBoth
Target number of participants70
Key inclusion criteriaPatients with heart failure and a documented left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <40%
Key exclusion criteria1. Patients unable to provide full informed consent
2. Patients unable to comply with study procedures
3. Patients unable to complete the required questionnaires in person on three occasions or return for follow-up visits
4. Patients who cannot understand or respond to the required questionnaires
Date of first enrolment01/02/2025
Date of final enrolment31/03/2025

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Taiwan

Study participating centre

National Taiwan University Hospital
No.7, Chung Shan S. Rd.
Zhongshan S. Rd.
Zhongzheng Dist.
Taipei
100
Taiwan

Sponsor information

National Taiwan University Hospital
Hospital/treatment centre

No.7, Chung Shan S. Rd.
Zhongshan S. Rd.
Zhongzheng Dist.
Taipei
100
Taiwan

Phone +886 (0)2 2312 3456
Email 111361@ntuh.gov.tw
Website http://www.ntuh.gov.tw/en/default_P.aspx
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/03nteze27

Funders

Funder type

University/education

National Taiwan University
Government organisation / Local government
Alternative name(s)
關臺大, NTU
Location
Taiwan

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date31/10/2026
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareYes
IPD sharing plan summaryAvailable on request
Publication and dissemination planUpon completion, the study protocol and trial results will be submitted for publication in international peer-reviewed journals. These publications will ensure that the findings are well-communicated.
IPD sharing planAll de-identified data and dashboard code supporting this study may be provided upon reasonable written request from the corresponding author of the original article. The full protocol, final de-identified dataset, and statistical code will be made available exclusively for scientific purposes after the publication of the study outcomes.

Editorial Notes

30/10/2024: Internal review.
03/09/2024: Study's existence confirmed by National Taiwan University Hospital Research Ethics Committee B.