Focal points □ The study determined the extent of post‐operative interventions required for patients admitted for elective hip or knee arthroplasty □ In Phase 1, patients were pre‐assessed by nurses at admission, according to existing practice; in Phase 2, patients received pharmacist‐led pre‐assessment □ There were 131 interventions (2.05 per patient) in Phase 1 compared with 40 (0.68 per patient) in Phase 2, a reduction of approximately 70 per cent □ This study demonstrates that pharmaceutical pre‐assessment substantially reduces the number of interventions made during patients' post‐operative stay.

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