Beneficial effect of a pharmacist refill evaluation clinic

A study of 32 patients attending a pharmacist-run clinic was performed. This pharmacist refill evaluation clinic (PREC) assesses the continuation of maintenance drug therapy and is an alternative to the physician's clinic. This study evaluated total time spent at the clinic, reasons for refill requests, number of refills requested, number of requested refills approved, and number of physician consults and referrals required. The total clinic visit time at the PREC was 60 +/- 35.9 minutes versus a total time required at physicians clinic of 129 +/- 115.2 minutes. Of the patients treated at the PREC, 90.6% required no physician consult or referral. An estimated $135 savings in drug cost was approximated by the clinic during this small sample (a 30-day study), plus a difference in clinic fee that would amount to $1120 not including the difference in the pharmacist and physician's salaries. Other contributions attributed to this clinic were better patient compliance, accurate documentation of medication records, drug abuse surveillance, and drug therapy efficacy.