Impact of medication therapy management in patients with Parkinson’s disease

Background Since the new German Apothekenbetriebsordnung was released, medication therapy management (MTM) has increased in importance. MTM is intended to improve the quality of life of patients. Objectives The aim of this study was to improve the quality of life of patients with Parkinson’s disease through an MTM by a community pharmacist. Setting The patients were recruited in cooperation with the Deutsche Parkinson Vereinigung e.V. (dPV) in Germany. Methods All patients were evaluated at baseline (t0) and after a follow-up of 4 months (t1). During the intervention period, the pharmacists implemented an MTM with standardized pharmaceutical care. Main outcome measure The effects of the interventions were measured by the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). Results In this study, 90 patients with Parkinson’s disease were included. The most common intervention was to find a therapy for untreated comorbidities. The UPDRS or MDS-UPDRS improved significantly after the intervention period by a median change rate of 1 (p < 0.05) or rather 2 (p < 0.05) compared to the baseline. Conclusion The study shows that the quality of life in Parkinson’s disease patients improved significantly through MTM.