A methodological framework for estimating the clinical and economic value of community pharmacists' clinical interventions using expert opinion

What is known and Objective: Studies of the outcomes of clinical interventions (CIs) performed by community pharmacists are limited. The economic models used in most studies of CIs have been simplistic, often failing to fully capture the counterfactual when estimating savings in health resources resulting from CIs. This paper aimed to describe the complexities involved in estimating the clinical and economic outcomes of CIs performed by community pharmacists when using expert opinion and suggest avenues for improvement. Methods: Existing models were reviewed, from which a range of key parameters required to evaluate the outcomes of CIs were identified. The considerations necessary to generate potentially more robust estimates of these parameters were discussed. Results and Discussion: CIs performed by community pharmacists may result in a multitude of effects on numerous health services. By utilizing the approaches described in this paper, researchers working in this field should be able to generate improved estimates of health resource savings and quality of life effects resulting from CIs performed by community pharmacists, when compared to previous efforts. What is new and Conclusion: This article offers recommendations designed to improve the robustness of evaluation when using expert opinion to evaluate CIs performed by community pharmacists. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.