Interprofessional approach to personalized medication management and therapy optimization in IBD care

Abstract

A considerable number of patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are required to manage extensive polypharmaceutical regimes, which significantly elevates the risk of drug-drug interactions. Also, the disease's impact often leads to the consumption of additional self-medication by the patients such as naturopathic remedies to alleviate disease-induced suffering and nutritional supplements to compensate for malabsorption syndromes inherent to the condition. There is a well-established consensus that polymedication coupled with unregulated supplementary intake can jeopardize the safety of drug therapy. Despite this, pharmaceutical co-supervision-proven to mitigate adverse drug events and enhance patient adherence to treatment-is generally lacking in routine clinical settings. Furthermore, the assessment of individual therapy adherence, a crucial predictive factor for therapeutic outcomes, is frequently suboptimal. In response to these issues, this study implemented an interdisciplinary approach wherein a team comprising medical and pharmaceutical professionals conducted a comprehensive survey coupled with a medication review for patients attending an IBD outpatient clinic. Employing an IBD-specific questionnaire alongside the patients' documented medication regimens enabled the identification and subsequent discussion of current therapeutic concerns and potential medication-related risks during follow-up consultations. This intervention aimed to bolster individual patient satisfaction and enhance medication safety, ultimately fostering sustained success in IBD management.

Keywords: clinical pharmaceutical care; inflammatory bowel disease; interprofessional collaboration; medication management; patient safety.