Prevalence of preventable medication-related hospitalizations in Australia: an opportunity to reduce harm

To identify the prevalence of potentially preventable medication-related hospitalizations amongst elderly Australian veterans by applying clinical indicators to administrative claims data.

Retrospective cohort study in the Australian veteran population from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2008.

A total of 109 044 veterans with one or more hospitalizations defined by the medication-related clinical indicator set, during the 5-year study period.

The prevalence of potentially preventable medication-related hospitalizations as a proportion of all hospitalizations defined by the clinical indicator set.

During the 5-year study period, there were a total of 1 630 008 hospital admissions of which 216 527 (13.3%) were for conditions defined by the medication-related clinical indicator set for 109 044 veterans. The overall proportion of potentially preventable medication-related hospitalizations was 20.3% (n= 43 963). Of the 109 044 veterans included in the study, 28 044 (25.7%) had at least one potentially preventable medication-related hospitalization and 7245 (6.6%) veterans had two or more potentially preventable admissions. Conditions with both a high prevalence of hospitalization and preventability included asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, depression and thromboembolic cerebrovascular event (23.3, 18.5 and 18.3%, respectively, were potentially preventable). Other hospitalizations that were less common but had a high level of preventability (at least 20%) included hip fracture, impaction, renal failure, acute confusion, bipolar disorder and hyperkalaemia.

The results of this study highlight those conditions where hospitalizations could potentially be avoided through improved medication management. Strategies to increase the awareness, identification and resolution of these medication-related problems contributing to these hospitalizations are required in Australia.