Potential drug-related problems detected by routine pharmaceutical interventions: safety and economic contributions made by hospital pharmacists in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Pharmaceutical intervention enables safe and effective pharmacotherapy by avoiding of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and efficacy attenuations. Many prescriptions require optimization, and pharmaceutical interventions are inextricably associated with the prevention of potential drug-related problems (DRPs). Although the analysis and understanding of pharmaceutical interventions can lead to improvement in prescription, the analysis of routine pharmaceutical interventions in Japan in insufficient. Thus, we conducted this study to understand potential DRPs by analyzing routine pharmaceutical interventions made by pharmacists in Japan. METHODS: Pharmacists register the details of pharmaceutical interventions (excluding personal patient information) in a web-based database. We classified data of pharmaceutical interventions into 13 DRP types, 43 DRP subtypes, and 10 intervention categories (e.g., avoidance of serious ADRs and renal dosing recommendations). These data were analyzed with a focus on renal dysfunction and polypharmacy. RESULTS: During the study period, 2376 pharmaceutical interventions were performed. Overall, 68.2% of pharmaceutical interventions were for patients aged over 65 years. The most frequently detected potential DRP was overdosage, followed by omission of prescription, contraindications, and duplication of a drug with similar effect. The main cause of contraindication and overdosage was renal function deterioration, and that of polypharmacy was duplication of a drug with similar effect. Using our original evidence-based approach, we found that 2376 pharmaceutical interventions prevented ADRs for 1678 drugs, with potential cost savings of up to USD 2,657,820. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the analysis of routine pharmaceutical interventions is beneficial for detecting potential DRPs. Our findings also show that, in an aging society, pharmacists have an important role in providing medication safety, with potential cost savings.

Economic and safety benefits of pharmaceutical interventions by community and hospital pharmacists in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Pharmaceutical interventions by community and hospital pharmacists can improve medication safety and result in financial savings. Their effect has not been fully explored in Japan. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the economic and safety contributions of various pharmaceutical interventions by community and hospital pharmacists in Japan. SETTING: Two hospitals and eight community pharmacies in Ehime Prefecture, Japan, in 2014-2015. METHOD: Pharmacists entered data about pharmaceutical interventions via the internet, and the data were divided into 11 types of interventions. The economic impact was estimated based on the rate of avoidance of serious adverse drug reactions and the monetary cost of these reactions in the Japanese compensation system. The cost saving from adjusting prescriptions to take account of unused prescription drugs was calculated using drug prices from the national health insurance scheme. Main OUTCOME MEASURE: The number of pharmaceutical interventions and their economic impact. RESULTS The total cost savings from 500 to 509 pharmaceutical interventions by community and hospital pharmacists were US$207,126.6 and US$592,840, respectively. Community pharmacists mainly intervened to correct prescription errors. They also adjusted 135 prescriptions to take account of unused prescription drugs. This potentially improved patients' adherence and contributed to effective use of medication. Pharmaceutical interventions by hospital pharmacists facilitated avoidance of 10 serious adverse drug reactions, and included 42 transvenous antimicrobial therapy interventions, 88 interventions in cancer chemotherapy, and 47 monitoring recommendations. Hospital pharmacists helped improve patients' quality of life using more aggressive interventions besides correcting prescription errors. Over half of pharmaceutical interventions by community and hospital pharmacists contributed to avoidance of adverse drug reactions. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the importance of pharmaceutical interventions by both community and hospital pharmacists in reducing increasing medical expenses and contributing to safety and effectiveness of medication. They also suggest that community and hospital pharmacists have different roles.