Objective: To assess community pharmacists' experiences with the use of alternative therapies by their patients with chronic illnesses.
Design: Mail survey.
Setting: State of Texas.
Participants: 142 community independent and chain pharmacists.
Main outcome measures: Pharmacists' recollections about patients' use of alternative therapies.
Results: Pharmacists estimated that 17% of their patients with chronic illnesses used some form of alternative therapy. A majority (66.9%) indicated that they have patients who used some type of alternative therapy for chronic conditions and that a majority (59.7%) of these patients consulted with them regarding those therapies. However, in only 11.1% of these cases did pharmacists document alternative therapy use in patients' pharmacy records. Pharmacists reported that 25.9% of these patients who use alternative therapies for chronic conditions were not compliant with their prescribed medication regimen. One-third (33.1%) of respondents indicated they knew of no patients who used alternative therapies, and 35.9% had never asked.
Conclusion: Pharmacists need information on patients' use of alternative therapies for chronic illnesses to make valid therapy decisions and to monitor outcomes. Future research should identify actions that pharmacists take to address drug-related problems among alternative therapy users and assess the impact of these actions on drug therapy-related outcomes.