Effect of pharmacist intervention on improving antidepressant medication adherence and depression symptomology: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Depression is a widespread disease with effective pharmacological treatments, but low medication adherence. Pharmacists play a key role in supporting medication adherence in patients with depression given their accessibility to patients.

Purpose

The aim of this review was to systematically evaluate the impact of pharmacist interventions on adherence to antidepressants and clinical symptomology among adult outpatients with depressive disorders.

Methods

A systematic review of controlled trials (both randomized and non-randomized) was conducted. Studies were obtained through a search of PubMed, Academic Search Premier, and Cochrane Library databases. Studies which included a pharmacist intervention to improve medication adherence in outpatients age 17 and above with a depressive disorder diagnosis and antidepressant treatment were included. Twelve publications met inclusion criteria, representing a total of 15,087 subjects: 1379 (9%) intervention and 13,708 (91%) control.

Results

The interventions in each selected publication included some level of in-person counseling and education to promote antidepressant adherence. The pooled odds ratio for medication adherence at 6 months was 2.50 (95% CI 1.62 to 3.86). There were no significant differences noted in subgroup meta-analyses except study location (US, Middle East or Europe) and setting. Only one of the identified studies reported statistically significant impacts of the pharmacist intervention on patient depression symptoms.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that pharmacist interventions can enhance patient adherence to antidepressant medication in adult outpatients. However, this review failed to demonstrate a positive effect of these interventions on clinical symptoms. Additional longitudinal research is recommended to investigate the multidimensional relationships between pharmacist interventions, patient adherence, and clinical outcomes.

Article synopsis

Pharmacists play a key role in supporting medication adherence in patients with depression given their accessibility to patients. The purpose of this review was to systematically evaluate the impact of pharmacist interventions on adherence to antidepressants and clinical symptomology among adult outpatients with depressive disorders. A systematic review of randomized and non-randomized controlled trials was conducted of the twelve studies which met inclusion criteria. The findings suggest that pharmacist interventions can enhance patient adherence to antidepressant medication in adult outpatients. However, this review failed to demonstrate a positive effect of these interventions on clinical symptoms.