OBJECTIVE  To evaluate a physician-pharmacist collaborative model, based on the knowledge-attitude-practice(KAP) theory, for the management of rheumatic immune disease patients treated with oral glucocorticoids(GCs). Additionally, a pharmacoeconomic evaluation was conducted to promote rational drug use.

METHODS  A 6-month randomized, controlled, prospective study was undertaken in 242 patients with rheumatic diseases treated with glucocorticoids and randomly divided into the KAP mode group(hereinafter referred to as the “intervention group”) and conventional pharmaceutical care group(hereinafter referred to as the “control group”). Pharmacists actively carried out whole-process management of patients in the intervention group by means of outpatient follow-up and telephone follow-up, including disease management, medication regimen management, adverse drug reaction(ADR) management, and compliance management. After 6 months, the KAP scores, erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) negative conversion rate, ADR incidence, and disease control rate were analyzed in the two groups, and pharmacoeconomic evaluation was carried out through cost-effect analysis.

RESULTS The 204 patients finished the study with 96 in the intervention group and 108 in the control group. After 6 months, the KAP’s scores and the negative rate of ESR(75.00% vs 52.78%) in the intervention group were significantly higher than those of the control group(P<0.01). The incidence of ADR(51.04% vs 58.33%) was lower and the disease control rate(64.58% vs 55.56%) was higher in the intervention group compared to control group, but the differences were not statistically significant. Both the cost-effect analyses showed that the physician-pharmacist cooperation model based on KAP theory was economical.

CONCLUSION  The physician-pharmacist cooperation model based on KAP theory for the management of rheumatism and immunity patients with oral GC reflects the value of pharmacists, which is worthy of promotion and reference.