IngentaConnect Mens Health Initiative Risk Assessment Study: Effect of Community...

Abstract:

Objectives: To determine whether community pharmacists using a risk assessment tool could encourage men who were overdue for a physical examination to visit a physician and to calculate the return on investment from the pharmacy perspective for offering a complimentary risk assessment service.

Design: 12-week, prospective cohort study using convenience sampling among men who visited participating pharmacies.

Setting: Cross-section of community pharmacies.

Patients: 382 men aged 25–74 years with potential health risks that were untreated or uncontrolled, or who had not had a physical examination within the past year.

Intervention: Screening for specific health risks with or without telephone follow-up.

Main Outcome Measure: Overall male patient response to pharmacist recommendations for follow-up medical care.

Results: Of 382 men identified by the Men's Health Risk Assessment Tool (MHRAT) as being at risk for 1,194 significant health conditions (mean, 3.1 conditions per patient), 69% had not received a physical examination from a physician for a period ranging from more than 1 year to 22.6 years. Of men who were recommended to make an appointment, 64% were seen by a physician or were waiting on a scheduled appointment at the end of the study. No differences were seen between the telephone intervention group and the control group in rates of obtaining a physician examination.

Conclusion: A positive public health initiative involving community pharmacists was demonstrated in this study. Community pharmacists had a significant impact on motivating men to see a physician for follow-up care once a potential health risk was identified. The MHRAT and the pharmacist recommendation or patient education were the motivating factors and not follow-up telephone interventions by the pharmacist. Given community pharmacists' unique accessibility, an enormous opportunity exists for community pharmacists to raise awareness of men's health care and influence men's health behavior.

Men's Health Initiative Risk Assessment Study: Effect of Community Pharmacy–Based Screening