Building A Sustainable Future For Asthma Health Services In Community Pharmacy Practice - An Implementation Science Approach.

Abstract

Innovative ways to engage patients in their asthma care are warranted to alleviate the burden of disease, as approximately 50% of people with asthma remain poorly controlled within the community. There is opportunity for pharmacists to add value to the care of asthma patients offered by general practitioners (GPs) and help mitigate current and future predicted asthma risk. Building on lessons learnt from evidence-based community pharmacy asthma management models, a streamlined and technology supported Pharmacy Asthma Service was developed to promote the integration of the service into routine practice, which up until now has not been achieved in Australia. Grounded in implementation science theory, this body of research used The Conceptual Model of Implementation Research to guide an exploration of the design, implementation and evaluation of the pharmacist-led novel health service in Australian community pharmacy practice. The investigation used both quantitative and qualitative research methods to discuss the efficacy and suitability of the service and discusses challenges and facilitators to the routine implementation of the service in community pharmacy practice.