Patient participation in medication reviews is desirable but not evidence-based: a systematic literature review

The aim of this systematic literature review is to investigate which types of patient participation in medication reviews have been practiced and what is known about the effects of patient participation within the medication review process.

A systematic literature review was performed in multiple databases using an extensive selection and quality assessment procedure.

In total, 37 articles were included and most were assessed with a weak or moderate quality. In all studies patient participation in medication reviews was limited to the level of information giving by the patient to the professional, mainly on actual drug use. Nine studies showed limited results of effects of patient participation on the identification of drug related problems.

The effects of patient participation are not frequently studied and poorly described in current literature. Nevertheless, involving patients can improve patients' knowledge, satisfaction and the identification of drug related problems. Patient involvement is now limited to information sharing. The profit of higher levels of patient communication and shared decision making is until now, not supported by evidence of its effectiveness.