Services Database Community Pharmacy Patient Activation Project

The Community Pharmacy Forward View published in August 2016 mentions the use of Patient Activation in pharmacies to develop personalised care plans. The project is one of the first in England in which community pharmacists will be using the Patient Activation Measures (PAM) & motivational interviewing to improve patient activation and self-management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

The intervention will comprise of:

• an initial consultation: The patient’s baseline PAM will be measured and the pharmacist will support the patient to select a realistic goal to be achieved over the following 3 months;
• interventions: at least four short follow up conversations at two- to three-weekly intervals with the patient in which the pharmacist will ascertain progress and use motivational interviewing to encourage the patient to realise their goal. This may take place in person or over the telephone;
• final consultation: At least three months after initial assessment. The pharmacist will measure the end-point PAM score and overall progress with the goal and collect feedback from the patient via an evaluation form. This will normally take place in person.

Outcomes:

Reduce the risk of long term complications associated with poor control in T2DM through increases in PAM scores leading to improved patient ability to self-care, through individualised patient education and activation, reducing:

• unnecessary appointment costs;
• secondary care costs – potential reduction in condition- associated complications and associated costs; and
• medicine wastage costs.

Training will include:

• training from NHS England about Patient Activation Measures;
• training from Health Promotion Cornwall about motivational interviewing;
• a talk from the Lead Diabetes Nurse and Dietitian on goal settings and the realities of living with type 2 diabetes; and
• a brief overview on the patient pathway and PharmOutcomes data entry.