More evidence is emerging that interventions by pharmacists can have a profound beneficial effect on patient outcomes.

The latest example comes from Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, which released the results of a study May 17 showing that more than two-thirds of patients with hepatitis C “achieved sustained virologic response or cure after completing newer ‘triple therapy’ treatment” backed up by a regimen of care and oversight by pharmacists, according to a Drug Store News report from senior editor Michael Johnsen.

Why the pharmacist interventions? They help improve patient compliance with the complicated drug therapy, which involves the administration of two newer protease inhibitors to prevent the HCV virus from reproducing, in combination with peginterferon and ribavirin. According to Johnsen, that powerful medicinal cocktail “significantly increased the cure rate and cut treatment time in half” for the 406 HCV patients in the study who received triple therapy with either telaprevir or boceprevir.