The College of Pharmacy discussed the MSc thesis entitled “The Pharmacists’ Role in Reducing Drug-Related Problems in Cardiology Center: A Comparative Study in Baghdad-Iraq” by the student Farah Abdul-Kareem Abdul-Wahaab and her supervisor, Lecturer Dr. Mohammed Y. Jamal, at the Clinical Pharmacy Department. The study aimed to determine the effectiveness of pharmacist interventions in reducing DRPs among cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients. This study compared two different classification systems for DRPs to determine which classification is more sensitive and applicable in detecting DRPs. Additionally, the study evaluated the suitability of the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE 9.1) tool for reducing DRPs in the workplace. This prospective, interventional study conducted in Iraq—Baghdad at Ibn-Al-Bitar Center for Cardiac Surgery involved 342 patients during 5 months; 10 pharmacists participated in this study. The researcher and pharmacists screened patients’ files from the first day of admission and follow-up until discharge to record DRPs, the classification of DRPs using the PCNE by the researcher, and the Electronic Clinical Pharmacist Intervention Sheet (ECPIS) has been implemented in Iraqi hospitals by pharmacists. The results showed significant differences in classification systems in detecting DRPs. Group 1 identified a higher number of DRPs, 893 (3.64 ± 1.602), than Group 2, 175 (1.80 ± 0.825). The most common DRP was identified as adverse drug reactions: 402 in Group 1 vs. 92 in Group 2. The study recommended conducting a multicenter study across specialized cardiology centers. The DRPs often require additional pharmacological interventions, so an economic study is necessary to determine the cost of each problem and estimate the potential economic savings from their prevention, coordination with the Ministry of Health is required to implement the PCNE tool by pharmacists and collect feedback on its applicability.
