THE IMPACT OF PHARMACEUTICAL CARE ON IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH ALLERGIC RHINITIS

Abstract

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic disease with great social and economic impact that is largely undiagnosed and inadequately self-treated. Healthcare professionals such as pharmacists play a key role in recognizing and assessing the severity of AR, dispensing of OTC drugs, counseling of patients and in severe cases, referring them to health care specialists for further treatment.Objective: This study explores the impact of pharmaceutical care and patient counseling on the self-management of seasonal AR. Methods: The participating pharmacists follow the stepwise algorithm of ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) Pharmacist’s Guide. The effectiveness of the specialized pharmaceutical care is assessed by the changes in patients’ quality of life (QOL) before and after the provision of patient counseling and pharmacist monitoring on patient self-management. The quality of life is measured with the help of the generic tool 12v2 SF.Results: As a result of the provided pharmaceutical care, the analysis indicates improvement of all assessed aspects of patients’ QOL. The analysis shows that the better scores of the indicators Physical functioning, Vitality, Physical health and Mental health are not accidental; rather, they are in a statistically significant correlation with the provided pharmaceutical care.Conclusion: The study highlights the need for professional patient counseling and the education of patients to perform adequate disease management and improve their quality of life.