Impact of a Clinical Pharmacist in a Neurology Clinic Treating Patients with Myasthenia Gravis and Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are treated with complex pharmacological agents. Pharmacists play a vital role by optimizing care, providing medication counseling, and assisting with medication access. Currently, there are no published studies assessing the impact of a clinical pharmacist on MG management and limited studies evaluating impact in MS.Aim: The objective is to evaluate the impact of a clinical pharmacist in interdisciplinary MG and MS clinics by identifying pharmacist-led direct and indirect services. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of MG or MS patients who had a clinical pharmacist visit between December 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020 to identify pharmacist interventions. Clinic-based pharmacist reports were used to identify indirect services provided by the pharmacist.Results: A total of 137 encounters were analyzed. For direct patient care, the most common intervention was evaluating monitoring parameters of the medications, which occurred at 129 encounters (94.2%). Within these encounters, an average of 2.79 parameters were evaluated. Other common interventions included evaluating laboratory findings (77.4%), identifying medication discrepancies (77.4%), and providing medication counseling (76.6%). Regarding indirect patient care, a total of 1280 services were identified. The most common service was telephone encounters, with a total of 598 encounters over 9 months.Conclusion: A clinical pharmacist improved the quality of care in the MS and MG management through direct and indirect services when integrated into a neurology clinic. This supports the role of pharmacists in specialty clinics by showing their impact on quality of care and medication management.