{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T10:01:37Z","timestamp":1767866497935,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,1]],"date-time":"2022-04-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1648771200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: In this study, pharmacists conducted home visits for individuals of medically underserved populations in Taiwan (i.e., socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, middle-aged or older adults, and individuals living alone, with dementia, or with disabilities) to understand their medication habits. We quantified medication problems among various groups and investigated whether the pharmacist home visits helped to reduce the medication problems. Materials and Methods: From April 2016 to March 2019, pharmacists visited the homes of the aforementioned medically underserved individuals in Taipei to evaluate their drug-related problems and medication problems. Age, living alone, diagnoses of dementia or disabilities, and socioeconomic disadvantages contributed significantly to inadequate disease and medical treatment knowledge and self-care skills as well as lifestyle inappropriateness among patients. The patients who were living alone and socioeconomically disadvantaged stored their drugs in inappropriate environments. Results: After the pharmacists visited the patients\u2019 homes twice, the patients improved considerably in their disease and medical treatment knowledge, self-care skills, and lifestyles (p &lt; 0.001). Problems related to the uninstructed reduction or discontinuation of drug use (p &lt; 0.05) and use of expired drugs (p &lt; 0.001) were also mitigated substantially. Discussion and conclusion: Through the home visits, the pharmacists came to fully understand the medicine (including Chinese medicine) and health food usage behaviors of the patients and their lifestyles, enabling them to provide thorough health education. After the pharmacists\u2019 home visits, the patients\u2019 drug-related problems were mitigated, and their knowledge of diseases, drug compliance, and drug storage methods and environments improved, reducing drug waste. Our findings can help policymakers address the medication problems of various medically underserved groups, thereby improving the utilization of limited medical resources.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19074234","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,1]],"date-time":"2022-04-01T21:22:39Z","timestamp":1648848159000},"page":"4234","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Reducing Medication Problems among Minority Individuals with Low Socioeconomic Status through Pharmacist Home Visits"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Ya-hui","family":"Liang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"},{"name":"Taipei City Hospital Heping Fuyou Branch, Taipei 100058, Taiwan"},{"name":"University of Taipei, Taipei 111036, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1448-534X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kai-Hsun","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"},{"name":"Artificial Intelligence Development Center, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hung-Meng","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei 10341, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2854-8361","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ben-Chang","family":"Shia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"},{"name":"Artificial Intelligence Development Center, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shang-Yih","family":"Chan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Taipei, Taipei 111036, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Health Care Management, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei 10845, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei City Hospital Yangming Branch, Taipei 111024, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chieh-Wen","family":"Ho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Artificial Intelligence Development Center, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chih-Kuang","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"},{"name":"MS Program of Long Term Care, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Urology, Fu-Jen Catholic University Hospital, New Taipei City 24352, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8278-0033","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mingchih","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"},{"name":"Artificial Intelligence Development Center, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"National Development Council (2021, April 26). Estimated Population of the Republic of China, Available online: https:\/\/www.ndc.gov.tw\/Content_List.aspx?n=695E69E28C6AC7F3."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Ministry of Health and Welfare (2021, April 26). Annual Report of National Health Insurance Medical Statistics, Available online: https:\/\/dep.mohw.gov.tw\/nhic\/cp-1660-54272-116.html."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2163","DOI":"10.1111\/bcp.13318","article-title":"Risk factors of adverse health outcomes after hospital discharge modifiable by clinical pharmacist interventions: A review with a systematic approach","volume":"83","author":"Morath","year":"2017","journal-title":"Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"553","DOI":"10.1111\/bcp.13479","article-title":"Drug burden index to define the burden of medicines in older adults with intellectual disabilities: An observational cross-sectional study","volume":"84","author":"Burke","year":"2018","journal-title":"Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S67","DOI":"10.1097\/MLR.0000000000000049","article-title":"The fragmentation of hospital use among a cohort of high utilizers: Implications for emerging care coordination strategies for patients with multiple chronic conditions","volume":"52","author":"Hempstead","year":"2014","journal-title":"Med. Care"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-016-1357-y","article-title":"Overutilization of ambulatory medical care in the elderly German population?\u2014An empirical study based on national insurance claims data and a review of foreign studies","volume":"16","author":"Kaduszkiewicz","year":"2016","journal-title":"BMC Health Serv. Res."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Department of Social Welfare, Taipei City Government (2021, April 26). Living Allowance for Low-Income Households, Available online: https:\/\/dosw.gov.taipei\/cp.aspx?n=E6D700BD37E78592."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Pharmaceutical Quality Improvement Association (2021, April 26). The Medicine Delivered by the Hospital Seriously Exceeded the Reasonable Limit, and the Quality of the Medicine Used by the Public Is Worrying. Available online: http:\/\/tqipa.org.tw\/news01.php?nid=NID098090900016."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"894","DOI":"10.1001\/archinternmed.2009.71","article-title":"A Comprehensive Pharmacist Intervention to Reduce Morbidity in Patients 80 Years or Older: A Randomized Controlled Trial","volume":"169","author":"Gillespie","year":"2009","journal-title":"Arch. Intern. Med."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1111\/jgs.12037","article-title":"Drug-related readmissions to medical units of older adults discharged from acute geriatric units: Results of the Optimization of Medication in AGEd multicenter randomized controlled trial","volume":"61","author":"Konrat","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Am. Geriatr. Soc."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"628","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sapharm.2017.07.009","article-title":"Drug-related problems in geriatric rehabilitation patients after discharge\u2014A prevalence analysis and clinical case scenario-based pilot study","volume":"14","author":"Freyer","year":"2018","journal-title":"Res. Soc. Adm. Pharm."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1016\/j.healthpol.2019.01.011","article-title":"A community pharmacist home visit project for high utilizers under a universal health system: A preliminary assessment","volume":"123","author":"Huang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Health Policy"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nkansah, N., Mostovetsky, O., Yu, C., Chheng, T., Beney, J., Bond, C.M., and Bero, L. (2010). Effect of outpatient pharmacists\u2019 non-dispensing roles on patient outcomes and prescribing patterns. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev.","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD000336.pub2"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hamano, J., Ozone, S., and Tokuda, Y. (2015). A comparison of estimated drug costs of potentially inappropriate medications between older patients receiving nurse home visit services and patients receiving pharmacist home visit services: A cross-sectional and propensity score analysis. BMC Health Serv. Res., 15.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-015-0732-4"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Abbott, R.A., Moore, D.A., Rogers, M., Bethel, A., Stein, K., and Coon, J.T. (2020). Effectiveness of pharmacist home visits for individuals at risk of medication-related problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMC Health Serv. Res., 20.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-019-4728-3"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"363","DOI":"10.1111\/jep.12495","article-title":"Clinical pharmacist home visits and 30-day readmissions in Medicare Advantage beneficiaries","volume":"22","author":"Shcherbakova","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Eval. Clin. Pract."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"712","DOI":"10.1007\/s11096-018-0639-3","article-title":"Patient-pharmacist communication during a post-discharge pharmacist home visit","volume":"40","author":"Ensing","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int. J. Clin. Pharm."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"178","DOI":"10.7326\/0003-4819-150-3-200902030-00007","article-title":"A Reengineered Hospital Discharge Program to Decrease Rehospitalization","volume":"150","author":"Jack","year":"2009","journal-title":"Ann. Intern. Med."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1016\/S0738-3991(01)00180-X","article-title":"Patient counselling profile in a Finnish pharmacy","volume":"47","author":"Kansanaho","year":"2002","journal-title":"Patient Educ. Couns."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shepperd, S., Lannin, N.A., Clemson, L.M., McCluskey, A., Cameron, I.D., and Barras, S.L. (2013). Discharge planning from hospital to home. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev.","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD000313.pub4"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sapharm.2013.03.001","article-title":"Pharmacist\u2013patient communication in Swedish community pharmacies","volume":"10","author":"Olsson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Res. Soc. Adm. Pharm."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"493","article-title":"Pharmacist Interventions in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials","volume":"22","author":"Pousinho","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Manag. Care Spec. Pharm."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.5455\/msm.2016.28.129-132","article-title":"Medication Adherence in Elderly with Polypharmacy Living at Home: A Systematic Review of Existing Studies","volume":"28","author":"Zelko","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mater. Sociomed."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Ministry of Health and Welfare (2021, July 15). National Health Insurance Medical Statistics, Available online: https:\/\/www.mohw.gov.tw\/dl-70641-33764b1d-b662-4c0c-b01a-e57bd6949084.html."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1016\/j.japh.2015.11.002","article-title":"Pharmacist home visits: A 1-year experience from a community pharmacy","volume":"56","author":"Monte","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. JAPhA"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/19\/7\/4234\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T22:48:39Z","timestamp":1760136519000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/19\/7\/4234"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,1]]},"references-count":25,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,4]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph19074234"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph19074234","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,1]]}}}