Drug related problems identified by European community pharmacists in patients discharged from hospital.
BACKGROUND
Drug related problems (DRPs) are perceived to occur frequently when patients are discharged from the hospital. Community pharmacists' interventions to detect, prevent and solve DRPs in this population are scarcely studied.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the nature and frequency of DRPs in community pharmacies among patients discharged from hospitals in several countries, and to examine several variables related to these drug related problems.


METHODS
The study was performed in 112 community pharmacies in Europe: Austria, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Community pharmacists asked patients with a prescription after discharge from hospital between February and April 2001 to participate in the study. A patient questionnaire was used to identify drug related problems. Pharmacists documented drug related problems, pharmacy interventions, type of prescriber and patient and pharmacy variables.


RESULTS
435 patients were included in the study. Drug related problems were identified in 277 patients (63.7%). Uncertainty or lack of knowledge about the aim or function of the drug (133; 29.5%) and side effects (105; 23.3%) were the most common DRPs. Practical problems were reported 56 times (12.4%) by patients. Pharmacists revealed 108 problems (24.0%) concerning dosage, drug duplication, drug interactions and prescribing errors. Patients with more changes in their drug regimens (drugs being stopped, new drugs started or dosage modifications) and using more drugs were more likely to develop DRPs. Community pharmacists recorded 305 interventions in 205 patients with DRPs. Pharmacists intervened mostly by patient medication counselling (39.0%) and practical instruction to the patient (17.7%). In 26.2% the intervention was directed towards the prescriber. In 28 cases (9.2%) the pharmacists' intervention led to a change of the drug regimen.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that a systematic intervention by community pharmacists in discharged patients, or their proxies, is able to reveal a high number of DRPs that might be relevant for patient health outcomes. There should be more initiatives to insure continuity of care, since DRPs after discharge from hospital seem to be very common.
Paulino
Ema I
EI
SIR Institute for Pharmacy Practice Research, Theda Mansholtstraat 5B, 2331 JE Leiden, The Netherlands.
Bouvy
Marcel L
ML
Gastelurrutia
Miguel A
MA
Guerreiro
Mara
M
Buurma
Henk
H
D000368:Aged; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010361:Patients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations