What is a medication review? …show more content…
It not only promotes effective communication between the patient and healthcare provider, it can also improve drug treatment effectiveness and value and increase drug adherence6. Medication reviews have the added benefit of documenting care in a well structured and organized manner, which leads to better developed care plans7. Medication reviews are more commonly used, and strongly recommended, in elderly patients because of their need for multiple drugs and simultaneous presence of chronic diseases8,9. Elderly patients were also found to underuse many of their prescribed medication, further outlining the importance of medication reviews10. Medication reviews can be performed by a number of healthcare professionals; however, the patient usually seeks out a physician or pharmacist. Although physician-led medication reviews are not well defined, there are a number of pharmacist-led medication review programs available across Canada. MedsCheck is a community pharmacist led medication …show more content…
This disconnect seems be caused by difficulties implementing medication review programs in community pharmacies and a lack of communication between pharmacist and physician22. The significant lack of face to face interactions between pharmacists and physicians seems to be one of the barriers as communication can be asynchronous and impersonal22. Additionally, some physicians seem to be unaware of the training and duties of pharmacists23. Improvements in interprofessional relationships between pharmacists and physicians will most likely be seen by cultivating a culture of collaboration. Building mutual trust between pharmacists and physicians is essential and setting clear expectations between the two healthcare professions may help address the lack of communication24. Further improvements can be made by implementing a formal and structured medication review program universal to all healthcare