Pharmacist-Led Discharge Counseling and Adherence to Postpartum Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis: A Pre-Post...

BackgroundVenous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, during postpartum period. It may be mitigated through pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. However, adherence to prevention measures and patient education remain critical to optimizing outcomes.MethodsA pre-post observational study. The pre-intervention (PRE) phase was a retrospective review of postnatal women receiving pharmacological prophylaxis without counseling (January-December 2024), in the post-intervention (POST) phase eligible women received standardized pharmacist-led discharge counseling (January-December 2025). Medication adherence, complications, and VTE events were assessed via structured telephone interviews. The primary outcome was adherence to VTE prophylaxis; secondary outcomes included confirmed or suspected VTE, and patient satisfaction in the post-intervention group only.ResultsA total of 459 postnatal women were included. Adherence to VTE prophylaxis was higher in the POST group (91.2% vs. 77.8%; p < 0.001), while reported complications showed a trend of lower incidence (11.5% vs. 18.2%; p = 0.045). The incidence of confirmed or suspected VTE was lower but not statistically significance (1.1% vs. 3%; p = 0.2). No reported difficulties with medication administration in the POST group. Patient satisfaction was high (99.6%). In exploratory analysis, elective cesarean section was the only factor significantly associated with VTE occurrence (p = 0.026).ConclusionStructured pharmacist-led discharge counseling significantly improved adherence to postpartum VTE prophylaxis, reduced treatment-related complications, and was associated with high patient satisfaction. The observed trend in reduction of VTE suggests potential clinical benefit. Pharmacist-led education during postnatal care may be associated with higher self-reported adherence of VTE prevention strategies.