OBJECTIVE To examine the characteristics of studies of pharmacist services registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS ClinicalTrials.gov and MEDLINE databases were searched to identify studies of pharmacist… Click to show full abstract
OBJECTIVE To examine the characteristics of studies of pharmacist services registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS ClinicalTrials.gov and MEDLINE databases were searched to identify studies of pharmacist services. Registration information was obtained from the Aggregate Analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov (AACT) database. Studies were excluded if the ClinicalTrials.gov submission date was after December 31, 2018; there were no U.S. study sites; pharmacist services were not mentioned; or pharmacist involvement was limited to medication dispensing, randomization, or measuring study outcomes. OUTCOME MEASURES Characteristics of registered studies from ClinicalTrials.gov and AACT data, categories of pharmacist services, changes in registration and focus of pharmacist services over time, and relationships between funding source and result availability and between the focus of pharmacist services and types of outcomes and types of pharmacist interventions. RESULTS Overall 401 studies were identified for initial review, with 151 included for detailed review. Pharmacist services were the only intervention in 68 studies (45.0%), a separate intervention in 14 (9.3%), and part of a combined intervention in 40 (26.5%). In 29 studies (19.2%), pharmacist services were not the focus. Registered studies primarily were interventional, randomized, and open-label; included behavioral or "other" interventions; were conducted in the outpatient setting; and were sponsored by "other" sources. The most common health conditions were hypertension and diabetes. Only 29 of the 104 completed studies (27.9%) posted results. Clinical outcomes were the most common primary (80; 53.0%) and secondary outcomes (66; 58.9%). Medication management (69; 45.7%) and patient education or counseling (88; 58.3%) were the most common types of pharmacist interventions. CONCLUSION This analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov identified 151 studies of pharmacist services in the United States registered through the end of 2018. Given the breadth of the pharmacy services literature, there is room for improvement in the registration of these types of studies.
               
Click one of the above tabs to view related content.