Outcomes of Urinary Tract Infection Management by Pharmacists

Summary

Pharmacists in some Canadian jurisdictions have recently been granted the ability to prescribe for uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the impact that community pharmacists can have on the management of UTIs.

Pharmacists will identify potential study participants (patients) when they either present with symptoms of a UTI (such as difficulty or painful urination, increased frequency or urgency of urination) without a prescription for an antibiotic from another health care provider, or when they present with a prescription for an antibiotic from another health care provider to treat a UTI. For patients who consent to participate in the study, the pharmacist will screen for eligibility and assess for appropriateness of treatment.

If the patient does not already have a prescription for an antibiotic from another health care provider, the pharmacist will prescribe this for them if they meet certain criteria. If they do already have a prescription from another health care provider, the pharmacist will assess the appropriateness of the prescription and work with the patient to potentially change it to make it more appropriate, if necessary. If the pharmacist identifies any complicating factors that require a physician's assessment, the patient will be referred to their physician. The enrolled patients will also have a 2-week follow-up to assess for resolution of symptoms, unintended effects, and adherence to the treatment regimen. All data will be collected in a web-based registry that will maintain the patient's confidentiality outside of the pharmacy (i.e. patient initials, date of birth, and study identification (ID) number will be the only patient identifiers collected by the researchers). A patient satisfaction survey will also be administered via email.

Conditions

• Urinary Tract Infections

Interventions

OTHER

Advanced care

The pharmacist will assess for symptoms of urinary tract infection and, for patients in Arm 1, prescribe antibacterials when appropriate. For patients in Arm 2, pharmacists will ensure optimal therapy and adapt or perform therapeutic substitution when appropriate (or work with the patient to discontinue therapy or just put the prescription on file in instances where the patient is assessed to have asymptomatic bacteriuria for which treatment is inappropriate).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Horizon Health Network

  collaborator OTHER

• New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Loblaw Companies Ltd.

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Pharmasave Drugs (Atlantic) Ltd.

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Alberta Pharmacists Association

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc.

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of Alberta

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ross T Tsuyuki, BSc(Pharm), PharmD, MSc · Department of Medicine, University of Alberta

• Daniel J Smyth, MD · Division of Infectious Diseases, Horizon Health Network

Eligibility

Min Age

19 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-06-16

Primary Completion

2018-04-27

Completion

2018-04-27

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations