Expectations, concerns, and needs of patients who start drugs for chronic conditions. A prospective observational study among community pharmacies in Serbia.

Background: During the initiation of treatment of a chronic disease, patients may have varying interests, expectations, concerns, and reasons to stop treatment, influencing compliance with prescribed treatment. Thus, healthcare professionals are expected to integrate these needs into medicines management.

Objectives: To determine what information is important to patients; assess predictors of patients' interests, expectations, concerns, reasons to stop therapy; evaluate drug-related problems following initiation of therapy and summarize how pharmacists resolve them during patient-pharmacist counselling.