Pharmacists will be approached through the principal accrediting body, the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy (AACP). There are currently more than 1700 accredited pharmacists in Australia , and 200 (~12%) will be utilised for the study. The characteristics of the sample pharmacists will be tested against the remainder of accredited pharmacists to ensure that they are representative. A comprehensive survey of all accredited pharmacists in 2008 is planned by AACP, and access to this information will allow this comparison to be made. Pharmacists will be asked to submit information relating to a maximum of the next five HMRs that they perform in the ensuing three months and will be remunerated at a rate of $30 per review (up to a maximum of 1000 reviews).

Pharmacists will explicitly be asked to not select special cases and simply to provide information on the five cases that are reviewed immediately after the request. By asking the pharmacist to provide information on the five reviews undertaken immediately after the request, selection bias will be minimised. To confirm the immediate next five reviews were chosen, information concerning the number of reviews undertaken per month (from the AACP survey) will be cross- referenced by the accredited pharmacist. Where discrepancies are identified, contact will be made with the accredited pharmacist to clarify the situation. Evidence of biased selection will be grounds for exclusion of the cases.

There will be three items of de-identified information that the pharmacist will be required to submit. These are:

	the HMR referral from the general practitioner,
	the clinical assessment report that is sent to the GP following the review, and
	a completed summary that clarifies the GP's actions regarding the recommendation(s) made in the review (ie the uptake of the recommendations made)

The first two of the above items will be available as part of the normal process of medication reviews undertaken by accredited pharmacists. The follow-up of which of the recommendations were implemented will be provided after the accredited pharmacist contacts the GP to determine the outcomes. This form of follow-up may be routine for many pharmacists, but ensuring it occurs will enable an accurate uptake percentage for different types of DRPs.