Evaluating health outcomes following a pharmacist-provided comprehensive pretravel health clinic in a supermarket pharmacy.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate health outcomes and acceptance of pharmacists' recommendations of travel health including prevalance of immunizations, sunburn, insect-borne diseases, traveler's diarrhea, and altitude sickness, and assess patient satisfaction with the pretravel health clinic.

DESIGN

Retrospective cross-sectional study design.

SETTING

Central Virginia, July 2011 to June 2012.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients 18 years and older who had an appointment with the pharmacist for pretravel health.

INTERVENTION: Interview/survey administered to patients by telephone.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Health outcomes, acceptance rates of pharmacist's travel health recommendations, and patient satisfaction.

RESULTS

Of 356 patients eligible to participate in the study, 103 patients participated, 30 patients declined, and 223 patients could not be reached by telephone (29% response rate). Pharmacists' recommendations for travel immunizations (100% acceptance rate for yellow fever and 82% for Typhoid) and nonpharmacologic preventive measures (prevention of sunburn, traveler's diarrhea, insect bites, and altitude sickness) were well accepted by respondents, and occurrence of these adverse events was low. Patients were satisfied overall with the education and services that the pharmacist delivered in the pretravel health clinic.

CONCLUSION

Pharmacists providing services in pretravel health clinics can have substantial impact on the health of patients traveling internationally.