Treating hypertension with pharmacist care could save Canadians $15.7 billion

A new study conducted by the Canadian Pharmacists Association found that comprehensive, long-term pharmacist care for Canadians suffering from hypertension could improve outcomes and save more than $15.7 billion.

The study, published in the Canadian Pharmacists Journal, examined alternative methods to typical hypertension care. It found that patient education and prescribing by pharmacists could really benefit patients and cut down costs. About 5.3 million Canadians are currently living with hypertension.

"For the first time there is evidence illustrating the significant amount of health care dollars that can be saved by allowing pharmacists to provide full scope of care to Canadians living with hypertension," said Carlo Marra, the lead author on the study, in a statement. "While there has long been evidence available for the health benefits of pharmacist care in hypertension management, there has been, until now, a lack of research done on the economic value of this type of care, particularly in Canada."

The data shows that rates for cardiovascular disease and kidney failure are lowest when treated under pharmacist care, and are higher under more traditional care regimens.

Other research has shown that systolic blood pressure could be reduced by 18.3 mmHg if a patient were treated under full scope pharmacist care. When that reasoning was applied to this study, research found that over 30 years, for every five people receiving pharmacist care, one adverse cardiac event could be avoided and four years of life would be saved.

"Pharmacists are highly accessible primary health care providers and ideally positioned to address the care gap in hypertension management," said Phil Emberley, director of professional affairs at the Canadian Pharmacists Association, in a statement. "With the infrastructure for these services already in place, we need to ensure pharmacists are able to make use of their full scope of skills across Canada."