“Initial observations on the introduction of a clinical pharmacy service in a rural hospital in Austria” is an interesting study published in Hospital Pharmacy Europe.
According to the publication, clinical pharmacy services (CPS) are rare in Austria, with only 15.8% of hospitals having a dedicated pharmacy department and even fewer offering CPS. In many countries, hospital pharmacy services have been shown to improve patient safety and provide cost-effectiveness.
The aim of the study presented here was to determine what type of clinical pharmacy interventions are needed in a small rural 360-bed hospital in Austria and to assess the rate of acceptance of pharmacists’ recommendations by physicians.
Data were collected on interventions performed by a clinical pharmacist over a six-month period and rated on a six-point clinical significance scale. A subset of 30 interventions was assessed for clinical significance by four independent consultants to determine inter-rater reliability.
Over the six-month period, 255 clinical pharmacist interventions were conducted. Of the subset of 159 patients, 95 patients met the criteria for medication review, resulting in 140 interventions. Clinical pharmacist interventions were required in 59.8% (98/159) of patients, requiring an average of 1.5 interventions per patient. The rate of acceptance was 59.6% (152/255), with the change considered by the clinician but not immediately followed up in 40.0% (102/255). The mean score for the assessment of clinically relevant intervention was 2.18. The agreement of reliability between the four consultants and between the four consultants and the pharmacist was “good”.
The conclusion of the article is that clinical pharmacist services are needed and accepted in Austrian hospitals. The clinical pharmacist is a missing member of the multidisciplinary departmental team, a key player in reducing adverse events and improving patient safety, allowing treatment to become more holistic and patient-centred.
Read the full version here:
