Development and evaluation of a training program to foster the use of written drug information in community pharmacies:Part 1–Development

Objective: To evaluate two educational interventions to foster the use of standardised written patient information (consumer medicine information, CMI). Methods: A quasi-experimental, repeated measures design was selected to evaluate the impact of the interventions (written protocol only; workshop with follow-up training). Pharmacies were recruited into three groups: control (n 9), protocol (n 9) and workshop (n 6). Pharmacists collected data on CMI provision and use in verbal counselling over a 3-day period at three time points: baseline (prior to commencement of study), post-box (after a box of CMI was provided to protocol and workshop groups) and post-intervention (after delivery of interventions to protocol and workshop groups). Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the mean rates of CMI provision and use. Results: Data were collected for 608 prescription items. There were no significant changes in rates of CMI provision in the three groups. Protocol and workshop groups demonstrated an increase in the mean rates of CMI use in counselling. The workshop group demonstrated significant increases in the mean rates of CMI use with time, compared to protocol