Pharmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical Costs in Critically and Emergently Ill Pediatrics: PHARM-PEDS Study

To comprehensively classify interventions performed by pediatric critical care clinical pharmacists and quantify cost avoidance (CA) generated through their accepted interventions.

A multicenter, prospective, observational study performed between August 2018 and January 2019.

Academic and community hospitals in the United States with pediatric critical care units.

Pediatric clinical pharmacists.

Pharmacist recommendations were classified into one of 38 total intervention categories associated with CA.

Nineteen pediatric pharmacists at five centers documented 1,458 accepted interventions during 112 shifts on 861 critically ill pediatric patients. This calculated to an associated CA of $450,590. The accepted interventions and associated CA in the six established categories included as follows: adverse drug event prevention (155 interventions, $118,901 CA), resource utilization (267 interventions; $59,020), individualization of patient care (898 interventions, $217,949 CA), prophylaxis (8 interventions, $453 CA), hands-on care (30 interventions, $35,509 CA), and administrative/supportive tasks (108 interventions, $18,758 CA). The average associated CA was $309 per accepted intervention, $523 per patient day, and $4,023.13 per pediatric clinical pharmacist shift. The calculated potential annualized CA of accepted interventions from a pediatric pharmacist was $965,550, resulting in a potential monetary-associated CA-to-pharmacist salary ratio between $1.5:1 and $5.2:1.

There is potential for significant avoidance of healthcare costs when pediatric pharmacists are involved in the care of critically and emergently ill pediatric patients, with a monetary potential CA-to-pediatric pharmacist salary ratio to be between $1.5:1 and $5.2:1.