To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of the pharmacist-led Digital Enablement for Medication Optimisation (DEMO) program for hypertension management compared to standard physician consultations, focusing on both clinical outcomes and patient experience.
Key Findings:
The DEMO program was found to be non-inferior to standard physician consultations in managing hypertension, with specific mean changes in systolic and diastolic BP indicating positive outcomes for the DEMO group.
Usability of the digital platform was measured using the System Usability Scale (SUS), yielding favorable results.
Interpretation:
The pharmacist-led DEMO program demonstrates potential as an effective alternative to traditional physician consultations for hypertension management, particularly in a tertiary care setting.
Limitations:
The study's non-randomized design may introduce self-selection bias, potentially affecting the generalizability of the findings.
The applicability of findings to broader populations may be limited due to the specific setting and participant characteristics.
Conclusion:
The pharmacist-directed DEMO program offers a promising model for hypertension management, leveraging digital tools to enhance patient care and optimize medication management, particularly in the context of increasing chronic disease burdens.
A four-factor staging system stratified response rates from 90.9% to 37.5% in a retrospective cohort study, although the model showed only moderate discrimination (C statistic, 0.68) and requires external validation
