title: A Pharmacist's Impact on 30-Day Readmission Rates When Compared to the Current Standard of Care Within a Patient-Centered Medical Home: A Pilot Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect transition of care follow-up and counseling performed by a pharmacist, within a physician's practice, can have on 30-day hospital readmissions among Medicare patients when compared to the current standard of care
  
  
  METHODS
  A pharmacist telephonically contacted patients ≥65 years with Medicare insurance following hospital discharge to perform medication reconciliation, review discharge instructions, and schedule a follow-up appointment (n = 34). At this follow-up appointment, the pharmacist reviewed the patient's electronic medical record (EMR) and communicated recommendations to the physician. The current standard of care, which does not involve a pharmacist, at a similar local physician practice was used as a comparative group (n = 45) RESULTS: The difference in 30-day readmission rates did not reach statistical significance (P = .27); however, there was a trending decrease in the percentage of patients readmitted between the control and the intervention groups (26.7% vs 14.7%). Additionally, there was nearly a statistically significant decrease in readmission rates for those patients who interacted with the pharmacist face to face versus only telephonically (P = .05) CONCLUSIONS: These results impact the decision to continue and expand the pilot program and demonstrate that pharmacists in the ambulatory setting based within a patient-centered medical home have a potential role in decreasing 30-day hospital readmissions.
authors: Mylan School of Pharmacy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA garytedesco@gmail.com.
authors: Gary W
authors: GW
authors: Tedesco
authors: Mylan School of Pharmacy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors: Jamie L
authors: JL
authors: McConaha
authors: Mylan School of Pharmacy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors: Monica L
authors: ML
authors: Skomo
authors: Mylan School of Pharmacy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors: Suzanne K
authors: SK
authors: Higginbotham
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D059065:Medication Reconciliation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000639:trends*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000592:standards; D010865:Pilot Projects; D024382:Professional Role; D059039:Standard of Care / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: clinical pharmacists; hospital readmissions; medication reconciliation; patient-centered medical home; transition of care