Description and Outcomes of a Palliative Care Pharmacist-Led Transitions of Care Program.
Connor McCormickMamta BhatnagarRobert M ArnoldMaria Felton LowryPublished in: Journal of palliative medicine (2024)
Background: Patients with palliative care needs are at high risk of medication errors during transitions of care (TOC). Palliative Care Pharmacist Interventions surrounding Medication Prescribing Across Care Transitions (IMPACT) program was developed to improve the TOC process from hospital to community setting for cancer patients followed by palliative care. We describe (1) the program and (2) pilot study feasibility and effectiveness data. Methods: We recorded pharmacist time, medication errors, drug therapy problems (DTPs), and palliative care provider satisfaction and compared 7- and 30-day readmissions and emergency department (ED) visits between IMPACT and usual care patients. Results: Forty-four patients were reached by the pharmacist. The pharmacist spent an average of 65 minutes per patient. An average of 14.9 medication reconciliation discrepancies per patient and a total 76 DTPs were identified. Seven-day readmissions were lower in the IMPACT group versus usual care; there were no differences in 30-day readmission or 7- or 30-day ED visits. Conclusion: Our pilot study demonstrates that integrating a pharmacist in TOC for seriously ill patients is feasible and valuable.
Keyphrases
- palliative care
- healthcare
- emergency department
- advanced cancer
- quality improvement
- end stage renal disease
- adverse drug
- ejection fraction
- chronic kidney disease
- primary care
- stem cells
- prognostic factors
- type diabetes
- randomized controlled trial
- physical activity
- patient safety
- systematic review
- pain management
- metabolic syndrome
- machine learning
- big data
- chronic pain
- deep learning
- weight loss
- insulin resistance