Incorporation of Clinical Pharmacy Into a Geriatric Transitional Care Management Program

Transitional care management (TCM) programs have been shown to decrease hospital readmission rates, health-care costs, and medication-related errors and adverse drug events. Pharmacists have been utilized during the medication reconciliation process, during admission, and after hospital discharge to prevent readmission and identify medication discrepancies. There is a lack of data utilizing clinical pharmacists in the geriatric patient population transitional care process after hospital discharge. Less is known about the depth of professional services a pharmacist can perform in the geriatric setting. We analyzed the scope of pharmacist-assisted implementation of transitional care. A total of 365 patients received the clinical pharmacist comprehensive medication review during a 14-month time period. During these reviews, clinical pharmacists identified more than 600 medication discrepancies and offered more than 1000 recommendations to the primary care physician. Additionally, specific medication classes that have been identified to increase the risk of adverse drug events, specifically in older adults, were identified and used to screen for adverse drug events. Using this list, clinical pharmacists were able to identify 39 adverse drug events. The implementation of clinical pharmacists into the TCM program was successful; however, full salary compensation is unlikely with TCM reimbursement alone.