Clinical question: Can a multifaceted intervention by a clinical pharmacist reduce the rate of ED visits and readmission over the subsequent 180 days?
Background: The period following an inpatient admission contains many potential risks for patients, among them the risk for adverse drug events. Approximately 45% of readmissions from adverse drug reactions are thought to be avoidable.
Study design: Multicentered, single-blinded, randomized, control trial, from September 2013 to April 2015.
Setting: Four acute inpatient hospitals in Denmark.
Synopsis: 1,467 adult patients being admitted for an acute hospitalization on a minimum of five medications were randomized to receive usual care, a basic intervention (medication review by a clinical pharmacist), or an extended intervention (medication review, three motivational interviews, and follow-up with the primary care physician, pharmacy and, if appropriate, nursing home by a clinical pharmacist). The primary endpoints were readmission within 30 days or 180 days, ED visits within 180 days, and a composite endpoint of readmission or ED visit within 180 days post discharge. For these endpoints, the basic intervention group had no statistically significant difference from the usual-care group. The extended intervention group had significantly lower rates of readmission within 30 days and 180 days, as well as the primary composite endpoint compared to the usual-care group (P less than .05 for all comparisons). For the extended intervention, the number needed to treat for the main composite endpoint was 12.
Bottom line: For patients admitted to the hospital, an extended intervention by a clinical pharmacist resulted in a significant reduction in readmissions.
Citation: Ravn-Nielsen LV et al. Effect of an in-hospital multifaceted clinical pharmacist intervention on the risk of readmission. JAMA Intern Med. 2018;178(3):375-82.
Dr. Biddick is a hospitalist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and instructor in medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston.
