Person-centred pharmaceutical care reduces emergency readmissions

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Pharmaceutical Care
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Unplanned hospital readmissions are a key healthcare quality indicator.
• Predicting patient readmission risk is challenging, with existing tools showing limited sensitivity.
• The link between specific medications and emergency readmissions is known but not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if person-centred pharmaceutical care bundles can prevent unplanned hospital readmissions.
• To assess if these bundles improve medication adherence and reduce avoidable medication harm.
• To investigate the impact of individualized medicines information, risk management, and adherence support.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study compared a pharmaceutical care bundle intervention with a standard pharmacy service.
• The intervention involved person-centred care bundles for socially isolated patients and those on high-risk medications.
• Readmission rates were analyzed retrospectively for 12 months pre- and during the 12-month intervention period on one ward versus a control ward.

Main Results:

• Readmission rates were comparable between the intervention and control wards before the study.
• During the intervention, the readmission rate was significantly lower on the intervention ward (17%) compared to the control ward (22%).
• The difference in readmission rates between the wards during the intervention was statistically significant (p<0.05).

Conclusions:

• Person-centred pharmaceutical care bundles demonstrated a significant association with reduced emergency hospital readmission risk.
• The findings suggest a potential model for reducing readmissions in vulnerable patient populations.
• Further research and evaluation of this pharmaceutical care model are recommended.