Study design
This study was a randomized controlled trial without masking. Patients were masked, pharmacists were not. The reason is that pharmacists are employees of the same pharmacy group. However, pharmacists in the control and intervention groups did not exchange information during the trial. The randomized controlled trial (RCT) was implemented at community pharmacies operated by Osaka Pharma Plan. The pharmacies were located in the cities of Osaka and Suita, and as all the pharmacies were in urban areas, there were no regional differences between them. In this study, patients were randomized to the control or intervention group. The two groups were the Intervention group (IG), which was provided with intervention (information) about exercise by pharmacists, and the Usual Care group (UG: control group), which received only routine medication guidance. The 11 pharmacies that participated in this study were randomly assigned to either the IG or the UG after patients meeting the conditions indicated below were enrolled. In addition, patients enrolled in this study were not previously assessed for frailty.