The aim of this project was to evaluate the impact of counselling of cardiology patients by a pharmacist prior to discharge through their satisfaction as well as knowledge about their medicines. Ethical approval was not required as this project was considered as service evaluation. To obtain accurate results, a ‘before and after’ study was designed, where a control period was initially completed where patients were counselled by nurses as per current practice, followed by the intervention period where patients were counselled by a pharmacist prior to discharge. One pharmacist was responsible for counselling

the patients in the intervention group. A questionnaire was used to obtain check details results. The first part of the questionnaire includes the validated Satisfaction with Information about Medicines Scale (SIMS) with the use of five-point Likert scale.3 Examples of the questions include ‘what is your medicine(s) called?’, and ‘what is your medicine(s) for?’ The second

part had questions to determine patients’ knowledge and their views about the service. A total of 94 patients were recruited; 48 patients in the control period, and 46 patients in the intervention group. The table below shows the satisfaction score for the information provided to patients about AZD6244 their medication. Mann–Whitney (U) test was used to determine whether there was any significant difference in opinion regarding the information provided in the two groups. There was a statistically significant difference between the responses of both groups (p < 0.05) for all the questions, indicating a significant increase in patients' knowledge about their medicines the intervention group. Table 1 The satisfaction scores for the information received about medicines, and standard deviation (SD)   Control group Intervention group Mean score Standard deviation (SD) Mean score Standard deviation (SD) The majority of the patients (73%) were aware

of the changes made to their medicine: Quinapyramine 61% of the control group, and 85% of the intervention group. The awareness of the patients in the intervention group of the changes in their medication was significantly more than the control group, U = 867.5, z = −2.313, and p = 0.021. Pharmacists can have a significant input into the discharge process through improving patients’ knowledge about medication. Better understanding about medicines will help improve adherence too. However, with the available resources it is not possible to provide patient counselling to all patients being discharged from hospital; therefore, prioritising patients who are at high risk to be counselled by the pharmacy team is important. It is also vital to ensure that nurses receive the appropriate training to provide an equal and acceptable amount of information about medication to all patients prior to discharge. 1. Picton, C.