Some Clinical Pharmacists Lack Knowledge of New Recommendations, Guidelines

According to the results of a recent survey, an inadequate level of knowledge exists among clinical pharmacists and physicians regarding practice-changing recommendations of the recent American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines for dyslipidemia management. The findings of the survey were posted online in the Journal of Pharmacy & BioAllied Sciences. 

“Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide,” said lead study author Mohammad D Zaitoun, PharmD, and colleagues.  

“Management of precipitating factors such as hyperlipidemia can prevent CVD. Therefore, clinical guidelines have been used as a tool to improve patient outcomes and minimize practice variation,” they added.  

Dr Zaitoun and colleagues sought to assess the awareness regarding the ACC/AHA guidelines of dyslipidemia management among both clinical pharmacists and physicians. The research team designed a self-administered questionnaire based on the recommendations of the latest edition of the ACC/AHA guidelines for dyslipidemia management. The questionnaire was distributed to physicians and clinical pharmacists in Al-Ahsa province of Saudi Arabia.  

According to the study authors, 77 participants completed the questionnaire. Based on the survey answers, a majority of respondents (77% of physicians and 48% of clinical pharmacists) were familiar with the release of the ACC/AHA 2013 guidelines for dyslipidemia. However, among both study groups, there was inadequate knowledge of major changes in the new guidelines (the median score for physicians and pharmacists was 4 out of 10 with a range of 1-9, Z = -0.15, P = 0.88).

“This level of knowledge could result in clinical malpractice and worsen management outcomes,” said Dr Zaitoun and colleagues.  

“Thus, efforts should be in place to raise awareness about the evidence-based management of dyslipidemia and monitor compliance to guidelines and their implementation outcomes,” they concluded.  

—Julie Gould  

Reference:

Zaitoun MF, Iflaifel MH, Almulhim LA, Al-Ghamdi MA, Ibrahim YA. Awareness of Physicians and Clinical Pharmacists About ACC/AHA Guidelines for Dyslipidemia Management: A Cross-Sectional Study [published online April 26, 2019]. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2019 Apr-Jun;11(2):181-186. doi: 10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_59_18