Effectiveness and cost effectiveness of pharmacist input at the ward level: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists play important role in ensuring timely care delivery at the ward level. The optimal level of pharmacist input, however, is not clearly defined. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the evidence that assessed the outcomes of ward pharmacist input for people admitted with acute or emergent illness. METHODS: The protocol and search strategies were developed with input from clinicians. Medline, EMBASE, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, The Cochrane Library, NHS Economic Evaluations, Health Technology Assessment and Health Economic Evaluations databases were searched. Inclusion criteria specified the population as adults and young people (age >16 years) who are admitted to hospital with suspected or confirmed acute or emergent illness. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published in English were eligible for inclusion in the effectiveness review. Economic studies were limited to full economic evaluations and comparative cost analysis. Included studies were quality-assessed. Data were extracted, summarised. and meta-analysed, where appropriate. RESULTS: Eighteen RCTs and 7 economic studies were included. The RCTs were from USA (n = 3), Sweden (n = 2), Belgium (n = 2), China (n = 2), Australia (n = 2), Denmark (n = 2), Northern Ireland, Norway, Canada, UK and Netherlands. The economic studies were from UK (n = 2), Sweden (n = 2), Belgium and Netherlands. The results showed that regular pharmacist input was most cost effective. It reduced length-of-stay (mean = -1.74 days [95% CI: 2.76, -0.72], and increased patient and/or carer satisfaction (Relative Risk (RR) = 1.49 [1.09, 2.03] at discharge). At £20,000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY)-gained cost-effectiveness threshold, it was either cost-saving or cost-effective (Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) = £632/QALY-gained). No evidence was found for 7-day pharmacist presence. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacist inclusion in the ward multidisciplinary team improves patient safety and satisfaction and is cost-effective when regularly provided throughout the ward stay. Research is needed to determine whether the provision of 7-day service is cost-effective.

Protracted Clonal Trajectory of a JAK2 V617F-Positive Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Developing during Long-Term Remission from Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Although transformation of the myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is well documented, development of an MPN in patients previously treated for, and in remission from, AML is exceedingly rare. A case is described in which a patient was successfully treated for AML and in whom a JAK2 V617F-positive MPN was diagnosed after seven years in remission. Retrospective evaluation of the JAK2 V617F detected a low allele burden at AML diagnosis and following one course of induction chemotherapy. This putative chemoresistant clone subsequently expanded over the intervening seven years, resulting in a hematologically overt MPN. As AML relapse has not occurred, the MPN may have arose in a separate initiating cell from that of the AML. Alternatively, both malignancies possibly evolved from a common precursor defined by a predisposition mutation with divergent evolution into MPN through acquisition of the JAK2 V617F and AML through acquisition of different mutations. This case emphasizes the protracted time frame from acquisition of a disease-driving mutation to overt MPN and further underscores the clonal complexity in MPN evolution.