In the May 11, 2009 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, Swedish researchers report that adding pharmacists to hospital-based health care teams would lead to significant reductions in morbidity and health care costs.

Scientists from Uppsala University and their colleagues recruited 400 hospitalized patients aged 80 and over to investigate the effectiveness of interventions performed by hospital ward-based pharmacists in reducing the use of hospital care among older patients. The hospitalized patients were randomly assigned to receive either pharmacist interventions or standard care without the direct involvement of pharmacists. Effectiveness was determined based upon the frequency of hospital visits, including emergency department visits and hospital readmissions, during 12 months of follow-up.

The scientists found that, among the intervention group, there was a 16% reduction in all visits to the hospital and a 47% reduction in visits to the emergency department. Prescription-drug related readmissions were reduced by 70%. Based on these findings, the scientists estimated that pharmacist interventions reduced per patient cost by $230. This study highlights the importance of pharmacist expertise in the care of older patients, who are more likely to be on multiple medications and more likely to be at risk for medication side effects or drug interactions.

Source:

Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(9):894-900.