Patient care contributions of clinical pharmacists in four ambulatory care clinics.
This study investigates both cost-avoidance and improvement in the quality of care and patient outcome attributed to pharmacist intervention in four ambulatory care clinics. Four clinical pharmacists reported 199 interventions made in the pharmacotherapeutic management of 87 ambulatory clinic patients in 1 month. The majority of interventions were based on acceptable professional practices as ranked by peer reviewers. Positive impact of the interventions on patient outcome based on objective and subjective data was documented in 49% of the interventions. Forty-two percent of the interventions improved the process of care with no measurable impact on patient outcome. Cost avoidance was calculated according to interventions made at different steps of the drug use process. Net cost avoidance figures projected to 1 year amounted to $221,056.
Hatoum
H T
HT
College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL.
Witte
K W
KW
Hutchinson
R A
RA
D002641:Chicago; D017046:Cost Savings / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016527:Drug Costs; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care