Evaluation of Pharmacist Involvement in Emergency Response

Purpose: Emergency response teams are designed to promptly deliver care to hospitalized patients experiencing acute decompensation events. Pharmacists are an integrated part of emergency response teams and their presence at emergency response events has been shown to improve adherence to institutional and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) guidelines. This study assesses the impact of pharmacist involvement at emergency responses and time clinical pharmacists dedicate to emergency response. Methods: A single-center, retrospective chart review assessed inpatient and ambulatory emergency responses for patients 18 and older from August 2021 through January 2022. Emergency response event-specific information was assessed using intervention documentations in the hospital electronic health record (EHR). The amount of time dedicated to emergency response by pharmacists was then converted to full-time equivalents (FTE). Results: Of the 296 emergency response documentations assessed, 242 responses were included in analysis. The primary outcome of time pharmacists dedicate to emergency responses over a six-month period was found to be 9480 minutes (158 hours). The average amount of time spent at each response was 40.7 minutes (SD 27.4 minutes), ranging from 5-210 minutes. Conclusion: The total time spent by clinical pharmacists at emergency responses within a six-month period was equivalent to approximately 26% of an FTE. Due to inability of pharmacists to document all emergency responses, this may be under-represented. More than 70% of emergency responses required 6-10 medications be prepared by pharmacists. Pharmacists made interventions 47% of the time, indicating that pharmacists play an integral role as members of emergency response teams.