The impact of an in-department pharmacist on the prevention of drug iatrogenesis in a rheumatology department

Abstract

Introduction/objectives The primary objective was to evaluate the impact of an in-department pharmacist on the prevention of drug iatrogenesis in a rheumatology department. Secondary objectives were to determine (i) if medication history discrepancies were detected more frequently in the elderly or not, and (ii) if the mean number of treatments at admission had an impact on the number of medication history discrepancies. Methods Implementation of a clinical-pharmacy program based on medication reconciliation and medication review of prescription for all patients admitted to a rheumatology department between January and June 2017. The analytical approach was mainly descriptive and data were expressed as mean +/- standard deviation (i.e., number of treatments at admission, number of medication reconciliations) and as proportions (i.e., acceptance rate, impact). Chi-squared tests and Student's test were performed to determine if there was a significant difference in outcomes. Results Three hundred twelve patients were included in the study, 517 medication history discrepancies in 243 (77.8%) patients and 196 pharmaceutical interventions in 133 (42.6%) patients. A significant difference was found in the number of medication history discrepancies and pharmaceutical interventions between the two age groups and in the mean number of treatments at admission between patients with or without medication history discrepancies. 15.4% of study patients had major medication history discrepancies and major pharmaceutical interventions. All patients and practitioners reported the usefulness of an in-department pharmacist. Conclusion This program was found effective in terms of safety and improvement in the continuity of care.