Can a practice pharmacist improve prescribing safety and reduce costs in polypharmacy patients? A pilot study of an intervention in an Irish general practice setting.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to develop and assess the feasibility and cost impact of an intervention involving a practice pharmacist embedded in general practice to improve prescribing safety, deprescribe where appropriate and reduce costs.

SETTING

Four-doctor suburban general practice.

PARTICIPANTS

Inclusion criteria: patients receiving 10+ repeat drugs per month.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA: deceased, <18 years of age, nursing home resident, no longer attending, late-stage life-limiting condition, unsuitable on clinical/capacity grounds. 137 patients were eligible. 78 were recruited as participants, all of whom completed the study.

INTERVENTION: Pharmacist conducting holistic medication reviews in the study group over a 6-month period.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Anonymised medication changes, cost, biochemical monitoring and clinical measurements data were collected. Cost analysis of having a pharmacist as part of the general practice team was calculated.

RESULTS

In total, 198 potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs), and 163 opportunities for deprescribing were identified; 127 PIPs (64.1%) were actioned; 104 deprescribing opportunities were actioned (63.8%). The pharmacist identified 101 instances in which further investigations were warranted prior to prescription issue, of which 80 were actioned (79.2%). It was calculated that monthly savings of €1252 were made as a result of deprescribing.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has shown that the integration of pharmacists within general practice in Ireland is feasible and is an effective means of improving prescribing safety and implementing deprescribing through medication reviews. The combination of safety and cost concerns support taking a holistic approach to deprescribing with the patient. This study highlights the ease with which a pharmacist could integrate into the general practice setting in Ireland and points to how this could be sustainably funded.