**6. Self-care**

### **6.1 Introduction**

#### *6.1.1 What is self-care?*

The WHO has defined self-care as 'the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider' [91].

The practice of self-care empowers people to take charge of their health and well-being, giving them the incentive to live a healthier and happier life. It is key to preventing certain conditions and improving recovery times when total prevention fails. In every stage of life, it is an essential part of well-being [92].

Self-care involved: [92].


#### *6.1.2 Importance of self-care*

The importance of self-care lies in the empowerment of people to take control of their health and well-being and to improve their quality of life for the better [92]. Self-care can help certain conditions and improve recovery times when total prevention does not work. In all stages of life, it is an integral part of well-being. As people's life expectancy continues to rise globally, there has been a proportional increase in the number of individuals living with chronic conditions [93]. This circumstance has prompted individuals to autonomously manage and seamlessly incorporate their health conditions into their daily routine [94]. To be able to manage this situation well, healthy individuals or those living with chronic conditions need to know how to conduct it. The achievement of effective self-care necessitates a proactive collaboration between consumers and healthcare providers (HCPs), including pharmacists, and is contingent upon well informed consumers and HCPs equipped with proficient communication abilities [95].

Upon discharge from the hospital, patients encounter a multitude of challenges. This transitional phase places patients at risk of unnecessary harm due to insufficient *Delivery of Pharmaceutical Care at Tertiary Level: From Admission to Home Care DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112503*

preparation before their discharge, thereby potentially giving rise to errors and compromising their well-being [96]. It is during the discharge phase that proper medication reconciliation and comprehensive education sessions between pharmacists and patients, and their caregivers should take place to prepare patients for self-care while at home.

There is the potential for substantial healthcare cost savings from enhancing the self-care options that are available to consumers. It was estimated that 10–25% of GP consultations in different European countries could be substituted by self-care, which varies from country to country, depending on the current level of self-care uptake. Further substitution of GP visits by responsible self-care could release 17.6 billion euros per year for society [97].

### **7. Conclusions**

Collaboration between healthcare providers, including pharmacists and well informed consumers is essential when it comes to managing medical conditions at the tertiary level. This is important to ensure that patients get the best possible care starting from admission to discharge. The practice of self-care can bring significant advantages to individuals and society by relieving the burden on medical resources. Pharmacists have a crucial role to play in ensuring proper medication management and continuity of care encompassing activities such as home medicines review (HMR) and discharge planning. Maintaining a seamless continuum of quality medicine use from hospitals to the community is paramount in guaranteeing patients receive the appropriate level of care.
