Optimizing Heart Failure Management: A Review of the Clinical Pharmacist Integration to the Multidisciplinary Health Care Team.

Heart failure (HF) stands as a prevalent chronic ailment, imposing a substantial burden on global healthcare systems due to recurrent hospitalizations, intricate management, persistent symptoms, and polypharmacy challenges. The augmentation of patient safety and treatment efficacy across various care stages, facilitated by a multidisciplinary HF team inclusive of a clinical pharmacist, emerges as paramount. Evidence underscores that the collaborative engagement of a physician and a clinical pharmacist engenders proficient and secure management, forestalling avoidable adversities stemming from drug reactions and prescription inaccuracies. This synergistic approach tailors treatments optimally to individual patients. Post-discharge, the vulnerability of HF patients to re-hospitalization looms large, historically holding sway as the foremost cause of 30-day readmissions. Diverse strategies have been instituted to fortify patient well-being, leading to the formulation of specialized transitional care programs that shepherd patients effectively from hospital to outpatient settings. These initiatives have demonstrably curtailed readmission rates. This review outlines a spectrum of roles assumed by clinical pharmacists within the healthcare cohort, spanning inpatient care, transitional phases, and outpatient services. Moreover, it traverses a compendium of studies spotlighting the affirmative impact instigated by integrating clinical pharmacists into these fields.

Impact of an Electronic Alert in Combination with a Care Bundle on the Outcomes of Acute Kidney Injury.

Early diagnosis is essential for the appropriate management of acute kidney injury (AKI). We evaluated the impact of an electronic AKI alert together with a care bundle on the progression and mortality of AKI. This was a single-center prospective study that included AKI patients aged ≥ 18 years, whereas those in palliative care, nephrology, and transplantation departments were excluded. An AKI alert was issued in electronic medical records and a care bundle was suggested. A series of classes were administered to the multidisciplinary teams by nephrologists, and a clinical pharmacist audited prescriptions. Patients were categorized into pre-alert and post-alert groups. The baseline characteristics were comparable between the pre-alert (n = 1613) and post-alert (n = 1561) groups. The 30-day mortality rate was 33.6% in the entire cohort and was lower in the post-alert group (30.5% vs. 36.7%; p < 0.001). Age, pulmonary disease, malignancy, and ICU admission were associated with an increase in 30-day mortality. The electronic AKI alert together with a care bundle and a multidisciplinary education program was associated with a reduction in 30-day mortality in patients with AKI.

Intervenções farmacêuticas em Unidade de Pronto Atendimento: uma análise farmacoterapêutica e farmacoeconômica / Pharmaceutical interventions in Emergency Care Unit: a pharmacotherapeutic and pharmacoeconomic analysis

Objetivo: Esclarecer o impacto farmacoterapêutico e farmacoeconômico das intervenções farmacêuticas em serviços de urgência e emergência. Métodos: Estudo de intervenção conduzido em uma Unidade de Pronto Atendimento. Os pacientes admitidos na pesquisa receberam acompanhamento farmacoterapêutico por meio de avaliação e intervenção na farmacoterapia. Resultados: Participaram do estudo 197 pacientes majoritariamente feminino, comórbidos, com média de idade de 43 anos ± 13. Foram realizadas intervenções em 130 destes, com aceitação de 83% por parte da equipe de assistência. As intervenções também repercutiram na farmacoeconomia, proporcionando uma redução de custos de 35% em comparação ao semestre anterior. Conclusão: Nossos resultados expressaram que a presença do farmacêutico clínico é essencial para farmacoterapias otimizadas e redução de custos hospitalares.

Objective: To clarify pharmaceutical interventions' pharmacotherapeutic and pharmacoeconomic impact on urgent and emergency services. Methods: Intervention study conducted in an Emergency Care Unit. Patients enrolled in the research received pharmacotherapeutic follow-up through evaluation and intervention in pharmacotherapy. Results: One hundred and ninety seven patients, mostly female, with comorbid conditions, with a mean age of 43 years ± 13, participated in the study. Interventions were performed in 130 of them, with an acceptance of 83% by the care team. The interventions also impacted pharmacoeconomics, providing a cost reduction of 35% compared to the previous semester. Conclusion: Our results expressed that the presence of the clinical pharmacist is essential for optimized pharmacotherapies and hospital cost reduction.

Instruments to assess the role of the clinical pharmacist: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The clinical pharmacist is an essential member of the healthcare team and plays an important role in health care in the primary care and the hospital setting. Knowledge regarding the instruments that evaluate the different activities of the clinical pharmacist, as well as the evaluation of the psychometric properties of these instruments, is necessary. METHODS: A literature search was performed in the PubMed and Scopus electronic databases without time and language restrictions. For the search strategy, the "pharmaceutical services," "validity studies," and "professional performance" domains were used. To assess the quality of the instruments, the five sources of validity evidence of contemporary psychometry were used, and the Joanna Briggs Institute's standardized instrument was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies. After screening 4096 articles, 32 studies were selected. RESULTS: A total of 32 studies were included, and 32 instruments were identified to be used by pharmacists acting in various pharmaceutical practice scenarios. It was found that the available instruments were developed or adapted from others, with variation in the methods, constructs, dimensions, and domains, as well as the psychometric properties. Most of the instruments addressed community pharmacies, and evidence of content validity and internal structure was found most frequently. A standardized and validated instrument that comprehensively assessed the performance of the clinical pharmacist, addressing clinical activities, was not identified for all practice environments. CONCLUSIONS: Without standardized and validated instruments specifics to assess the performance of the clinical pharmacist, it is hard to establish the main clinical activities performed by pharmacists in their pharmaceutical practice environments and to propose training actions to improve professional practice. Despite the large number of instruments available and considered validated by the authors, it is questioned to what extent the validity indicators presented in the different studies really show the validation status. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD 42018099912.

Pharmacists' interventions on 2 years of drug monitoring in an oncology pediatric inpatient ward.

BACKGROUND: In oncology, pharmacists contribute to safety and effectiveness of drug treatment, identifying, preventing and forwarding solutions to drug-related problems (DRPs). However, it is still necessary to elucidate the profile of drug-related problems in pediatric cancer treatment to contribute to guide clinical pharmacy activities. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. Records on Excel® spreadsheets of 2 years of pharmaceutical assistance were analyzed regarding the prescriptions of chemotherapy for hospitalized patients aged 0-19 years. Data on age, sex, cancer diagnosis, protocol and drugs prescribed were collected. Causes and types of DRPs and pharmacists' interventions as their rate of acceptance were measured according to PCNE V 9.0. RESULTS: Drug-related problems were identified for 84 patients, in 5.3% of analyzed prescriptions. Leukemias, patients aged 0-4 years and male sex were associated with higher rates of drug-related problems. The BFM 2009 protocol for acute lymphocytic leukemia treatment had the highest frequency of prescriptions with drug-related problems. Main drug-related problems were related to effectiveness (49.2%) and safety (33.2%), with most of them due to drug selection and dose. Rate of acceptance of interventions was 92.2% and 90.6% of drug-related problems were fully resolved. Mercaptopurine and filgrastim were the drugs most associated with drug-related problems. Oral antineoplastic agents represented 36% of the prescriptions with drug-related problems. CONCLUSION: The high rate of acceptance of pharmacist interventions demonstrates the relevance of the pharmacist participation in the care of hospitalized pediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy. Pharmacists need to take attention to cases of necessity of drug prescription, intervening with other health professionals. Special attention to oral chemotherapy is required.

Treatment of patients with neuropathic pain and provision of drug information by clinical pharmacists

Abstract Patient's satisfaction with healthcare services has an influence on pain management, which can be improved by patient education. Therefore, this study was aimed at identifying primary care health service opportunities in the treatment of neuropathic pain and assessing patients' satisfaction with the provision of drug information by clinical pharmacists. This was a cross- sectional, prospective study conducted at a pain unit during March-May 2017. Patients aged >18 years; diagnosed with neuropathic pain; and who used amitriptyline, gabapentin, pregabalin, or duloxetine were included. They were verbally informed about drug treatment by a clinical pharmacist, and their satisfaction was evaluated after 1 month. In all, 90 patients were included. The median duration for which the patients experienced pain until hospital admission was 3.6 years; furthermore, this duration was longer among women (p < 0.05). However, the median time to seeking advice from doctors was 3 months. The patients (15.6%) were less likely to admit pain unit initially and 46.7% had visited different units before being admitted to a pain unit. More than 95% of the patients indicated that they had received information from a pharmacist at a clinic and were satisfied with the provision of information (median duration, 8.5 min). Thus, the involvement of pharmacists in multidisciplinary pain management may help improve health- related outcomes at hospitals and/or in community care settings

Incident adverse drug reactions and their effect on the length of hospital stay in older inpatients.

Background Acutely ill older persons are more likely to suffer adverse drug reactions, increasing morbidity, and mortality. The incident adverse drug reactions and their consequences on the length of hospital stay (LOS) in older persons have been little explored. Objective To determine the incident adverse drug reactions in acutely ill older inpatients and their effect on the LOS. Setting Internal medicine service in a Chilean teaching hospital. Method A prospective cohort study was conducted in patients aged ≥ 60 years admitted into the internal medicine service of the Hospital from University of Chile. Characteristics, severity, and causality of adverse drug reactions were assessed. Effect of incident adverse drug reactions on the LOS was determined using multiple Cox regression. A secondary analysis was conducted in patients aged ≥ 65 years. Main outcome measure Incident adverse drug reactions (new events occurring in hospital) and their effect on the LOS in older inpatients. Results A total of 229 acutely ill older persons ≥ 60 years were followed-up. Fifty-six of them suffered 77 adverse drug reactions (incident rate 24.5%; 95% CI: 19.0, 30.5), 70.1% type A. Adverse drug reactions were severe in 5.4% of cases. Causality assessment indicated the majority were probable (57.1%) and 3.9% certain. Cardiovascular agents were the therapeutic class more frequently involved. The most frequent adverse drug reaction was hypotension (19.5%). Patients with adverse drug reactions had a significantly prolonged LOS than those without adverse drug reactions (12.4 ± 11.0 versus 7.3 ± 6.4 days; p < 0.0001) (adjusted Hazard Ratio 0.63; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.87; p < 0.01), respectively. The incidence rate of adverse drug reactions in patients ≥ 65 years was 25.1% (95% CI: 19.0; 32.1), and their occurrence was significantly associated with a prolonged LOS (p < 0.05). Conclusion One in four acutely ill older persons hospitalized in the internal medicine service suffered at least one incident adverse drug reaction, which prolonged the LOS by 5 days. There is a potential to optimize the use of hospital beds and medication safety by preventing adverse drug reactions in geriatric patients.

Benefit of Incorporating Clinical Pharmacists in an Adult Intensive Care Unit: A Cost-saving Study.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: A framework to evaluate the impact of clinical pharmacists in intensive care units (ICUs) in Chile has not yet been established. This study evaluates the cost avoidance and cost-benefit ratios of clinical pharmacist interventions in terms of treatment optimization in an adult ICU in southern Chile. METHODS: Clinical pharmacist interventions in a multidisciplinary adult ICU were assessed between January and December 2019. Only interventions suggested by pharmacists and accepted by the healthcare team were included in the analysis. Interventions were classified into six categories, and cost avoidance (in US dollars) was calculated for each category using a systematic validated approach. A cost-benefit ratio for clinical pharmacy services in the adult ICU was also calculated. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Over the 12-month period, 505 interventions were performed in 169 patients, of whom 62% were male. Interventions were classified into the following six categories: adverse drug event prevention (18%), which led to $87 882 in savings; resource utilization (ie change in medication route) (10%), which led to $50 525 in savings; individualization of patient care (ie dose adjustment) (36%), which led to $57 089 in savings; prophylaxis (ie initiation of stress ulcer prophylaxis) (<1%), which led to $167 in savings; hands-on care (ie bedside monitoring) (23%), which led to $57 846 in savings; and administrative and supportive tasks (ie patient own medication evaluation) (13%), which led to $9988 in savings. The total cost savings over the year-long period were $263 500, resulting in a cost-benefit ratio of 1:24.2. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: The participation of a clinical pharmacist in a multidisciplinary ICU team reduces healthcare expenditures through treatment optimization translated into cost avoidance. This study has corroborated prior evidence that clinical pharmacist involvement in ICUs provides economic value and quality assurance in healthcare settings.

Economic impact of the clinical pharmacist interventions in the pediatric intensive care unit

Clinical pharmacists in intensive care units are involved in patient safety, technical guidance and cost saving with rational use of medicines. This study aimed to estimate the cost saving of clinical pharmacist interventions in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). This was a retrospective, observational study. Savings were measured for three months based on (1) Clinical pharmacist interventions from prescription analysis, (2) Individualized doses of four antibiotics, (3) Comparison of drugs dispensing systems before and after the decentralization of pharmacy services. The main outcome is costs saving with strategic planning of medication use based on local reality. A number of 73 clinical pharmacist interventions were made, from which 13 allowed the calculation of economic impact, saving US$ 633.38/year. Cost saving from individualized doses of four antibiotics was US$ 8,754.46/year. The decentralization of pharmacy services saved US$ 28,770.52/year. The evaluated interventions were successful. Clinical pharmacist interventions, individualized antimicrobials doses and decentralization of pharmacy services reduce costs in the hospital.

Drug-Drug Interactions in Hepatitis Patients: Do these Interactions Matter in Clinical Perspectives?

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Hepatitis patients usually present with comorbidities and polypharmacy which increases risk of potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs). We explored frequency, levels, predictors, and clinical relevance of pDDIs in hospitalized hepatitis patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort study was used. Clinical profiles of 413 hepatitis patients were reviewed for pDDIs using Micromedex-DrugReax. Frequency, levels and clinical relevance of pDDIs were reported. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds-ratios for predictors. RESULTS: Of total 413 patients, pDDIs were reported in 55.2%. Major-pDDIs were found in 35% patients. Total 660 pDDIs were identified, of which, 304 (46%) were of major-severity and 299 (45%) of moderateseverity. Patient's profiles of top-10 major-pDDIs were presented with signs/symptoms such as fever, hepatomegaly, anorexia, jaundice, hypertension, tachycardia, bradycardia, & pedal edema; and abnormalities in labs such as electrolytes-level, alanine aminotransferase, blood urea nitrogen, bilirubin-level, & serum creatinine. Significant association was observed for the presence of pDDIs with > 9 prescribed medicines (p < 0.001), hospitalization of > 5 days (p = 0.03), and stroke as comorbidity (p = 0.05). Moreover, odds of exposure to major-pDDIs were significantly higher in patients taking > 9 prescribed medicines (p < 0.001), hospitalization of > 5 days (p = 0.002), and stroke as comorbidity (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: We observed hepatitis patients presented with a considerable number of clinically relevant pDDIs. Attention should be given to widespread major-pDDIs and their potential adverse outcomes. Clinically relevant parameters, such as labs and signs/symptoms should be monitored particularly in high risk patients having polypharmacy, prolong hospitalization, and stroke as comorbidity.