Impact of Telepharmacy on Patients' Medication Adherence and Drug-Related Problem Incidents: A Systematic Review
International Pharmacy Acta,
Vol. 8 No. 1 (2025),
6 April 2025
,
Page e8: 1-13
https://doi.org/10.22037/ipa.v8i1.50074
Abstract
Telepharmacy has evolved as a vital part of telehealth, significantly enhanced by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which enables pharmacists to provide remote pharmaceutical care. However, despite the growing interest in and use of telepharmacy's benefits and challenges in recent years, no research has thoroughly investigated the direct impact of telepharmacy on the general public's medication adherence and the incidence rates of drug-related problems before and after pharmacy implementation. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of telepharmacy services across all pharmacy settings worldwide on patient medication adherence and to examine their influence on reducing drug-related problem incidents. A comprehensive systematic search was conducted using four major databases (ProQuest, EBSCOHost, PubMed, and Gale), focusing on studies published between 2019 and 2024. Studies investigating the difference in patient medication adherence and drug-related problem incident rates between pharmacies providing telepharmacy services and traditional pharmacies were included in the study. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 4,385 studies were initially identified. After screening, 56 were eligible for full-text review; only eight met all inclusion criteria and passed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal quality assessment. The eight eligible studies spanned diverse designs and populations across five countries (Thailand, Ghana, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia). Quantitative synthesis revealed that medication adherence improved by approximately 10–35% in patients receiving telepharmacy interventions compared with conventional care, while drug-related problem incidents decreased by 20–40% across most studies. Most studies have demonstrated that providing telepharmacy services has a positive impact on patient outcomes, including improved medication adherence, reduced drug-related problem incidents, lower hospitalization rates, enhanced patient education, convenient consultations, more efficient healthcare delivery, and lower healthcare costs. Overall, the direction of effect consistently favored telepharmacy across the majority of included studies. Telepharmacy significantly improves patients' medication adherence and reduces drug-related incidents across varied healthcare settings. By facilitating remote counseling, education, and monitoring, telepharmacy expands access to pharmaceutical care while enhancing clinical outcomes and patient safety. These findings underscore the potential of telepharmacy to strengthen health systems, especially in resource-constrained environments, and highlight the necessity for future research to address its cost-effectiveness, scalability, and long-term impact.
Methods and Results: Studies that investigated the difference in the patient's medication adherence and drug-related problem incident rates between pharmacies providing telepharmacy services and traditional pharmacies were included. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 4,385 studies were initially identified. After screening, 56 were eligible for full-text review, of which only eight met all inclusion criteria and passed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal quality assessment. Eligible studies covered diverse study designs, including randomized controlled trials, cross-sectional, retrospective, and prospective observational studies. They were conducted in multiple countries, such as Thailand, Ghana, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Participants ranged from patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes to COVID-19 patients under home isolation. Interventions included telepharmacy services delivered through community, hospital, and outpatient pharmacies, compared against traditional pharmacy care. Data were extracted and synthesized using a literature matrix to evaluate medication adherence and drug-related problem incidence endpoints. Most studies included in the review demonstrated that providing telepharmacy services positively impacted patient outcomes, such as improving medication adherence, reducing drug-related problem incidents, minimizing hospitalization rates, increasing patient education, providing convenient consultations, developing efficient healthcare delivery, and reducing healthcare costs. Furthermore, the literature suggests that pharmacies that utilize telepharmacy services significantly improve patients' medication adherence and reduce drug-related problem incidents compared with traditional pharmacies.
Conclusion: In conclusion, telepharmacy significantly improves patients' medication adherence and reduces drug-related problem incidents across varied healthcare settings. By facilitating remote counseling, education, and monitoring, telepharmacy expands access to pharmaceutical care while enhancing clinical outcomes and patient safety. These findings underscore telepharmacy's potential to strengthen health systems, particularly in resource-limited settings, and highlight the need for future research addressing its cost-effectiveness, scalability, and long-term impact.
- Telepharmacy
- Medication Adherence
- Drug-Related Problems
- Drug Therapy
- Medication Error
How to Cite
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