25347723
OBJECTIVE	To determine whether a pharmacist-led medications review in primary care reduces the number of drugs and the number of drug-related problems .
METHODS	Prospective randomized controlled trial .
METHODS	Liljeholmen Primary Care Centre , Stockholm , Sweden .
METHODS	209 patients aged 65 years with five or more different medications .
METHODS	Intervention .
METHODS	Patients answered a questionnaire regarding medications .
METHODS	The pharmacist reviewed all medications ( prescription , non-prescription , and herbal ) regarding recommendations and renal impairment , giving advice to patients and GPs .
METHODS	Each patient met the pharmacist before seeing their GP .
METHODS	Control patients received their usual care .
METHODS	Drug-related problems and number of drugs .
METHODS	Secondary outcomes included health care utilization and self-rated health during 12 months of follow-up .
RESULTS	No significant difference was seen when comparing change in drug-related problems between the groups .
RESULTS	However , a significant decrease in drug-related problems was observed in the intervention group ( from 1.73 per patient at baseline to 1.31 at follow-up , p < 0.05 ) .
RESULTS	The change in number of drugs was more pronounced in the intervention group ( p < 0.046 ) .
RESULTS	Intervention group patients were not admitted to hospital on fewer occasions or for fewer days , and there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding utilization of primary care during follow-up .
RESULTS	Self-rated health remained unchanged in the intervention group , whereas a drop ( p < 0.02 ) was reported in the control group .
RESULTS	This resulted in a significant difference in change in self-rated health between the groups ( p < 0.047 ) .
CONCLUSIONS	The addition of a skilled pharmacist to the primary care team may contribute to reductions in numbers of drugs and maintenance of self-rated health in elderly patients with polypharmacy .

