Adherence in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Particular Focus on the Importance of the Clinical Pharmacist: A Systematic Review

The prevalence of patients being diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing. While several studies have shown that, in general, it is possible to improve patients’ quality of life with the incorporation of a clinical pharmacist, data on the potential benefits of clinical pharmacist in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease is more limited. The aim of the present study was to provide a systematic review of benefits of adherence to treatment of inflammatory bowel disease with focus on the potential role of clinical pharmacist counseling. Three databases (PubMed, Medline, and Embase) were used to identify relevant literature. Keywords generated from the PICO model were used for the search. Seven full text articles were identified. They all indicated that pharmacist involvement in treatment could improve quality of life in patients with IBD. Results showed that patient perception of pharmacist involvement was positive following information about pharmacist services and education. Furthermore, results suggest that pharmacist demand better knowledge of inflammatory bowel disease in order to provide better service for IBD patients. The available literature is scarce but indicates that clinical pharmacist involvement in treatment of IBD had positive outcome, and helped improving the patients’ quality of life and their adherence to medication.