Impact of a Pharmacist-Led Chronic Disease State Management Clinic on Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care

Background: The Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) tool measures patient satisfaction with chronic disease care. Objective: A modified PACIC tool (PACIC-RxFM) was used to assess patient satisfaction in a pharmacist-led chronic disease state management clinic. The secondary outcome compared satisfaction with pharmacist-led and physician-led visits. Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed individuals with ≥ 1 chronic disease who saw a pharmacist (pharmacotherapy) or primary care provider (usual care) in the Texas Tech Physicians Family Medicine Clinic. The PACIC-RxFM survey included 15 items rated on a five-point Likert scale (5 = “always satisfied”). Results: A total of 107 patients with no significant differences in demographics or complexity between groups were surveyed. All mean domain scores indicated a high level of satisfaction in the pharmacotherapy group with statements regarding perceptions of care organization and encouragement to go to group classes yielding statistically significantly higher scores than the usual care group. Conclusion: Patients are satisfied with both providers’ and pharmacists’ involvement in chronic illness care. This involvement leads to significant improvement in patient perception of care organization.