A Prospective Observational and Interventional Study on the Role of Doctor of Pharmacy/Clinical Pharmacist in Identification, Reporting and Minimization of Drug-Related Problems in Pulmonary and Cardiology Departments of Esi Hospital

Abstract

Objective: The present study aims at implementing the doctor of pharmacy services in the identification and reporting of drug-related problems in the in-patient units of cardiology and pulmonary medicine departments of ESI Hospital, Bangalore.
 Methods: A prospective interventional study was conducted from September 2018 to March 2019. Determination and categorization of drug-related problems (DRPs) were performed by the pharmacist using the PCNE classification scheme for drug-related problems V5.01. The DRPs identified by the pharmacist were reported and interventions made were subsequently recorded.
 Results: 180 drug-related problems were identified in the study, among which the major problems were drug-drug interactions (13.88%), followed by generic substitution (10%). The mean drug-related problem per patient was found to be 1.06. A total of 196 interventions were made by the clinical pharmacists among which, 109 (55.61%), 56 (28.57%), 17 (8.67%) interventions were at the prescriber, drug, patient levels, and 14 (7.14%) cases were the rest of interventions or activities. Distributions based on type and degree of acceptance of interventions showed that among 56 drug regimen change interventions proposed by the pharmacist, only 55.35% were accepted. The results further indicated that out of 68 monitoring required interventions made by the pharmacist, and among 17 cases that required counseling by the pharmacist in verbal, 77.94% and 88.36% of cases were accepted, respectively. Also, regarding the cases that required communication between the pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, 85.36% of a total of 41 samples and all of 14 adverse drug reporting cases made in a formal note form were accepted.
 Conclusion: The clinical pharmacist’s/doctor of pharmacy professional’s timely interventions in the patient’s drug therapy is required to prevent or minimize the occurrence and the risk of DRP. Rational drug therapy and optimal medication safety can be achieved by clinical pharmacy services.