Clinical and cost comparison of ibutilide and direct-current cardioversion for atrial fibrillation and flutter.

The clinical effectiveness and cost to convert recent-onset atrial fibrillation or flutter to sinus after 3 to 4 weeks of anticoagulation with intravenous ibutilide was compared with direct-current cardioversion. The low success rate with ibutilide made direct-current cardioversion the more clinical and cost-effective method to restore sinus rhythm.

Re-engineering: an opportunity to advance clinical practice in a community hospital.

A hospital pharmacy's efforts to advance clinical pharmacy practice and reduce pharmacy costs as part of a hospitalwide re-engineering program are described. In 1995, a 321-bed community hospital in Wisconsin undertook a three-year re-engineering program aimed at reducing operating expenses, primarily labor costs. The pharmacy department focused its efforts within the program on improving the efficiency of product-related functions, mainly through automation, and redeploying staff to value-added clinical functions. This involved installation of a hospitalwide pneumatic-tube system, use of unit-based automated medication dispensing devices, and implementation of a dedicated clinical pharmacy services program. Implementation of this program was to occur incrementally, with the first 12 months to be used primarily in developing a service model, initiating a staff-development program, and hiring additional clinical staff. Services added under the program included i.v. to oral conversion, dosage adjustments for patients with renal impairment, advanced patient counseling, development of care plans, and rounds in all areas of the hospital. After the first full year of implementation of the program, a cost-benefit analysis was undertaken; costs were composed primarily of pharmacists' salaries and benefits, and benefits were composed primarily of drug cost savings. A benefit to cost ratio of 2.61:1 and a net saving of $217,551 were calculated. The introduction of clinical pharmacy services as part of a hospitalwide re-engineering program was associated with a positive benefit to cost ratio and a substantial net cost saving.

Hospital mainframe computer documentation of pharmacist interventions.

The hospital mainframe computer pharmacist intervention documentation system described has successfully facilitated the recording, communication, analysis, and reporting of interventions at our hospital. It has proven to be time efficient, accessible, and user-friendly from the standpoint of both the pharmacist and administrator. The advantages of this system greatly outweigh manual documentation and justify the initial time investment in its design and development. In the future, it is hoped that the system can have even broader impact. Intervention/recommendations documented can be made accessible to medical and nursing staff, and as such further increase interdepartmental communication. As pharmacists embrace the pharmaceutical care mandate, documenting interventions in patient care will continue to grow in importance. Complete documentation is essential if pharmacists are to assume responsibility for patient outcomes. With time being an ever-increasing premium, and with economic and human resources dwindling, an efficient and effective means of recording and tracking pharmacist interventions will become imperative for survival in the fiscally challenged health care arena. Documentation of pharmacist intervention using a hospital mainframe computer at UIH has proven both efficient and effective.