Summary
A recent Swedish trial was conducted to assess whether comprehensive medication reviews performed by clinical pharmacists working on hospital wards as part of healthcare multidisciplinary team might reduce drug-related hospital readmission rates for people with dementia or cognitive impairment.
The results were initially disappointing and inconclusive on the whole, although further detailed analysis – achieved by excluding certain categories of patients – indicated some slight grounds for optimism.
“Participation of clinical pharmacists in healthcare team conducting comprehensive medication reviews did not significantly reduce the risk of drug-related readmissions in patients with dementia or cognitive impairment; however, post-hoc and subgroup analyses indicated significant effects favoring the intervention. More research is needed”.
Reference
Gustafsson, M. Sjölander, M. [and] Pfister, B. [et al] (2017). Pharmacist participation in hospital ward teams and hospital readmission rates among people with dementia: a randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. April 8th 2017. [Epub ahead of print].
