The medicines use review in patients with chronic skin diseases: are pharmacists doing them and how confident are they?

Abstract

The aim of the study was to explore the range of dermatology medicines use reviews (MURs) undertaken by pharmacists and their confidence in dealing with the provision of advice to patients with skin problems. A self-completion questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 3500 community pharmacies in England and Wales, UK. A total of 870 pharmacists responded to the survey giving a response rate of 25% (870/3500). Nearly half of respondents (44%, n = 866) had undertaken a dermatology MUR with eczema/dermatitis and psoriasis being the main conditions encountered. The mean confidence score (on a five-point scale) at conducting dermatology MURs was 3.5 (SD 1.0). Many pharmacists currently undertake dermatology MURs and rate themselves as confident in this role. Further work is needed to establish if such reviews lead to improvements in disease specific outcomes.