Perceptions of the Value of Clinical Pharmacy Medication Review for Women During Early Pregnancy

BACKGROUND: The benefit of continuing medications to prevent or treat illness is often overlooked, since pregnant women tend to overestimate the teratogenic risk of medications. Pharmacists can serve as a resource to prescribers and pregnant women with their knowledge of the appropriate use and management of medications during pregnancy. Little information exists on the value women place on pharmacists’ medication management during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: To assess pregnant women’s perceptions of an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist (CP) medication review service during early pregnancy that provided education regarding the risks and benefits of medication use during pregnancy. METHODS: This was a qualitative study of pregnant women using semistructured telephone interviews performed between December 12, 2018, and January 18, 2019, and conducted in an integrated health care delivery system. Potential participants were identified from CP encounter records. Consented English-speaking women aged ≥ 18 years participated in an up to 30-minute interview within 1 week of the CP encounter. Interviews were professionally transcribed and coded line by line using the constant comparison method with grounded theory used to gain insight into participants’ perspectives. RESULTS: 62 women were invited to participate in semistructured telephone interviews of whom 24 (39%) completed the interview. Three main themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: satisfaction with the service, comfort with medication use during pregnancy, and connectedness to the health care team. Overall, the CP medication review and education service was perceived positively by the participants. Participants reported satisfaction in the quality, timeliness, and convenience of the service and found it beneficial to have their medications reviewed early during pregnancy to assist in medication use decisions before their first obstetric visit. CONCLUSIONS: CP medication review provided a comforting, valuable service for women during early pregnancy when medication-taking decisions can feel exigent.