Results of a Pilot Study for a Pharmacy Discharge Review in Neurosurgical Patients: A Quality-Safety Initiative

Objective A multidisciplinary collaboration between the neurosurgical team and the pharmacy was established to conduct a pilot study in which discharged neurosurgical patients from a community hospital would receive medication reconciliation services and counseling by a pharmacy specialist to determine the impact on patient safety, readmission rates, and medication compliance. Methods Pharmacists reviewed discharge medication reconciliations of neurosurgical patients to address any discrepancies with the nurse practitioners or physicians prior to discharge and provided discharge medication counseling to the patient/families at the bedside. The service was provided on weekdays during the eight-hour pharmacist shift in addition to other daily responsibilities. Data were analyzed by type and the total number of pharmacy interventions encountered during the discharge medication reconciliation process, time to complete services, and readmission rates. Lastly, the discharged neurosurgical patients that were not seen by pharmacists during the one-month pilot study were reviewed retrospectively to determine potential interventions. Results A total of 48 neurosurgical patients were discharged during the one-month pilot study; 27 patients received discharge medication reconciliation services and counseling from the pharmacy specialists. Sixty-three pharmacy interventions were accepted with prevention of medication errors/adverse drug reactions (21%, n=21) and addition of missing medication (21%, n=21) being the most common intervention types. The mean time to complete the services was 27 minutes and there was one non-medication-related readmission of the 27 patients seen. Twenty-one neurosurgical patients who were discharged without receiving services were reviewed retrospectively. It was determined that there was a potential for another 64 pharmacy interventions in which clarification of indication (33%, n=21) was the most common intervention type, followed by prevention of medication errors/adverse drug reactions (25%, n=16) and addition of missing medication (22%, n=14). There was a total of one medication-related readmission of the 21 patients not seen by the pharmacist during the pilot study. Conclusion The collaboration of pharmacists in the discharge process benefits neurosurgical patients by reducing the number of discrepancies when transitioning home and provides an additional layer of safety to reduce medication errors and/or prevent adverse events.