Development of pharmaceutical care system for tuberculosis patients in Kosumphisai Hospital, Kosumphisai District, Mahasarakham Province

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to development of pharmaceutical care system for tuberculosis patients  in  Kosumphisai Hospital. The study was an action research. Divided into four stages: planning, implementation, observation, and reflection on the outcomes. Participants in the study included 33 individuals comprising physicians, pharmacists, registered nurses, computer scientists, traditional medicine practitioners, and medical technologists, and a group of 60 tuberculosis patients." The sample was selected using purposive sampling. The research instrument using questionnaires of knowledge on Tuberculosis, Behavioral Practices for Tuberculosis Prevention, Quality of Life, satisfaction, and Focus group discussion. Data was analyzed using statistics such as percentages, mean, standard deviation, and Paired t-test, while qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis.

The results showed that 1)The issue of medication adherence among patients is primarily attributable to patient-related factors, notably the refusal to accept treatment, non-responsiveness to treatment among patients. Regarding healthcare providers, the issue pertains to inappropriate treatment. Regarding support systems, the issue pertains to poor medication quality and inadequate medication management systems. Monitoring and oversight of tuberculosis treatment are currently neither comprehensive nor continuous. 2)The development of a medication management system for patients includes (1)Development of medication usage records and pharmaceutical care for patients (2) Development of patient referral information systems for tuberculosis within the network of primary healthcare hospitals. (3) Development of a pharmaceutical care system manual for patients. (4) Providing education on tuberculosis and the administration of anti-tuberculosis medication to patients. (3) The evaluation results revealed that knowledge regarding tuberculosis, adherence to anti-tuberculosis medication, and behaviors related to the prevention of tuberculosis among the cohort of patient following the development, the average scores were significantly higher than before the development, with statistical significance at (P < .001) and stakeholders involved in the development of the pharmaceutical care system, the level of participation in the development was rated as very high (x̅ = 4.55, SD = 0.14), and satisfaction with the pharmaceutical care process for tuberculosis patients was also rated as very high ( x̅ = 4.53, SD = 0.28).