Enhancing tuberculosis patient safety: The impact of interprofessional collaboration based telecare on drug-related problems in a randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Complex and long-term TB treatment increases the risk of drug-related problems (DRPs). Optimal TB treatment requires a multidisciplinary team, but most hospitals do not see this condition. This study aimed to analyze the impact of telecare-based IPC practices on reducing the incidence of DPRs in patients with TB.

METHODS: A Randomized Control Trial was conducted in a single-masked group with a study population of 300. Randomization was performed using a computer-generated sequence with 1:1 allocation ratio. Blinding was maintained by ensuring that the intervention and control treatments were identical in appearance with 55 participants in each group. The intervention group received telecare-based interprofessional collaboration services, whereas the control group received standard hospital services. The data were collected using an observational sheet. According to Cipolle et al. (2012), the primary outcome measured was the incidence of DRP, including unnecessary drug therapy, need for additional drug therapy, ineffective drug therapy, too high dose, too low dose, adverse drug reactions (ADR), and non-compliance. Next, the difference in the incidence of DRPs in the control and experimental groups after the IPC-based telecare practice was examined. Data were analyzed by an independent statistician blinded to group assignments using intention-to-treat principles.

RESULTS: The research results showed that telecare-based interprofessional collaboration practices can reduce the incidence of DRPs with a significant p-value <0.05, especially in the criteria of adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, and nonadherence in TB patients, thereby increasing patient safety efforts.