Quantitative and economic analysis of clinical pharmacist interventions during rounds in an acute care psychiatric hospital

Introduction: Clinical pharmacists have become an integral part of multidisciplinary medical teams, including in the area of psychiatry. Previous studies have shown that having pharmacists in multidisciplinary medical teams has led to improved medication use, reduction of adverse drug events, and improved patient outcomes. The purpose of this study is to conduct a quantitative and economic analysis of the impact of clinical pharmacist interventions during hospital rounds in an acute care psychiatric hospital setting. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 200 clinical pharmacist interventions documented between September 2013 and September 2014. Clinical pharmacist interventions were classified into several categories and types. Only clinical pharmacist interventions made during multidisciplinary team rounds were included in the study. Descriptive statistics were used for the quantitative analysis of clinical pharmacist interventions. The acceptance rate was calculated. Only the accepted clinical interventions were included in the economic analysis. Economic outcome involved an assessment of cost saving and cost avoidance. Results: The most frequent types of clinical pharmacist interventions were discontinuation of medications (38.5%), laboratory monitoring (26%), and medication order modification (13.5%). The most common reason for drug discontinuation was polypharmacy. Clinical pharmacist interventions were associated with a 92.5% acceptance rate. Two hundred clinical pharmacist interventions were associated with $6760.19 medication cost saving and $62 806.67 cost avoidance. Discussion: Clinical pharmacist interventions during rounds in an acute care psychiatric hospital setting mostly involve medication order modification and laboratory monitoring. They are also associated with significant cost saving and cost avoidance.