Background and importance The role of clinical pharmacists in delivering services with patient-focused care is growing. Motivational interviewing (MI) is an effective intervention for changing patient behaviour; however, the role of MI in clinical pharmacist interventions has not yet been well established.

Aim and objectives The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the existing evidence on the effect of MI in clinical pharmacist interventions in hospitals, primary care practices and specialised outpatient clinics. The types of MI interventions, their characteristics and outcomes were examined.

Material and methods A systematic literature search using the databases PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library was conducted. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) about MI interventions performed by clinical pharmacists in hospitals, primary care practices and specialised outpatient clinics working in close collaboration with physicians were included. Studies performed in community pharmacies were excluded. No restriction criteria were applied for the population type, delivery mode of the intervention, the comparator, or outcome. A bias assessment was performed by two reviewers according to the Cochrane collaboration risk of bias tool.

Results The literature search yielded eight RCT studies. More than 10 different outcome variables were reported across the studies. Four of eight studies showed a statistically significant effect on primary outcomes like medication adherence, hospital readmissions, and emergency department visits. Five studies reported training of pharmacists in MI, and three studies reported fidelity assessment.

Conclusion and relevance The main limitation of the study was the small number of studies and their heterogeneity. Beneficial effects of MI were found in some clinical pharmacist interventions. These interventions could have a positive impact on medication adherence and other health outcomes; however, more trials are needed to establish the effects of MI and determine MI characteristics and training associated with the success of the intervention.

Conflict of interest No conflict of interest