[Article] Pharmacist-provided medication management during transition of care

Medication management during transitions of care (TOC) has become a rather hot topic of late. The August 2016 issue of Annals of Pharmacotherapy has an article that describes the use of a dedicated inpatient TOC pharmacist to tackle the issue.(1) Seems like a no-brainer to me, but you don’t often see this in the wild.

Here’s the abstract:

Background: Medication management during transitions of care (TOC) impacts clinical outcomes. Published literature on TOC implementation is increasing, but data remains limited regarding the optimal role for the inpatient pharmacist, particularly in the community health setting.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a dedicated inpatient TOC pharmacist on re-presentations following discharge.

Methods: This is a prospective study with historical control. All adult patients discharging home from study units were eligible. The TOC pharmacist (1) reviewed medication history and admission reconciliation, (2) met the patient/caregiver to assess barriers, (3) reviewed discharge reconciliation, (4) performed discharge education, and (5) communicated with next level of care. The primary outcome was 30 day re-presentation rate. Secondary outcomes included 60, 90, and 365 day re-presentation rates. IRB approval was obtained.

Results: Three hundred and eighty four patients met inclusion criteria. When compared to 1,221 control patients, the intervention had an 11% absolute and 50.2% relative reduction in 30 day re-presentation rate (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.30-0.61, NNT 9). Reductions in re-presentations at 60, 90 and 365 days remained statistically significant. Utilization avoidance was $786,347. For every $1 invested in pharmacist time, $12 was saved. The TOC pharmacist made a total of 904 interventions (mean 2.4 per patient).

Conclusion: This study provides new information from previous studies and represents the largest study with significant and sustained reductions in re-presentations. Integrating a pharmacist into an interdisciplinary team for medication management during TOC in a community health system is beneficial for patients and financially favorable for the institution.

Pretty impressive results. “The intervention had an 11% absolute and 50.2% relative reduction in 30 day re-presentation rate… For every $1 invested in pharmacist time, $12 was saved.” Seems like a win-win. With that said, it seems like we keep repeating ourselves over and over again. At some point, someone is going to have to quit looking for more data and simply change the way pharmacists practice.

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(1) Ann Pharmacother August 2016 vol. 50 no. 8 649-655