[Pharmaceutical consultation for liver transplant patients: a contribution to therapeutic education]

The pharmaceutical consultation offered to liver transplant patients is one of the components of therapeutic education. The content of this consultation has been designed on the basis of research results led in the field of health communication. This research has highlighted the need to clarify to the patient the aims and format of the consultation, to obtain patient approval, and to elicit patient participation in the elaboration of the treatment plan. Studying and taking into account patient representations of transplantation, of transplant treatment and rejection is indispensable to the design of an efficient communication plan. Setting up this consultation requires initial training or continuing vocational training of the pharmacist - this training will address issues in psychology, cognitive science and health communication. No such training is currently available in universities and needs to be set up. It should be followed by practice and training during internships in hospitals and community pharmacies.