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Vol. 5, Issue 1 (2016)

Outcomes of clinical pharmacist’s interventions in solving drug-related problems in geriatric patients of rural teaching hospital

Author(s):
Maheshkumar VP, Dhanapal CK, Ramakrishna Rao M
Abstract:
This study was performed to assess outcomes of clinical pharmacist’s interventions in solving drug-related problems in geriatric patients in the Medicine ward of Rajah Muthiah Medical College and Hospital, Annamalai University, during one year from January 2013 to January 2014. Demographic analyses of this prospective study revealed that out of 520 patients, 342 (65.76%) were males and 178 (34.23%) were females. The maximum patients were in the age group of 60-64 (38.84%) range lead to a significant increase in the number of medications. The most common diseases associated systems were cardiovascular system 147 (28.26%) patients. 93% of geriatric patients belong to rural area and only 6.34% geriatric patients belong to urban area (town). Most of the geriatric patients (95%) were illiterate. 93.84% of geriatric patients were married and 5.19% were widower. Only 0.38% of geriatric patients were never married. The study reveals that 56.53% of geriatric patients were prescribed 6-8 drugs for their treatment of diseases followed by 9-12 drugs (23.84%), ≤ 5 drugs (11.73%) and >12 drugs (7.88%). PCNE v 6.2 DRP system classification tool was used in this study to find out the Causes of DRP, pharmacist intervention in solving DRP and Outcomes of intervention. The drug selection is the most frequently identified cause for DRPs. Poly pharmacy and the hospital stay are significantly associated with various DRPs. More interventions were provided to the patient level, compare with prescriber level. Patient medication counseling is the most intervention in the study. Interventions proposed by a clinical pharmacist to tackle or avert medication related issues are to a huge degree acknowledged and endorsed by the prescribers. Most of the interventions are of high clinical importance. Outcomes of interventions indicate that almost 87.45% of problems are totally solved, by pharmacist’s interventions in this study; it is expanding proof that support and intercession of clinical pharmacists in geriatric health care have a positive influence on clinical outcomes.
Pages: 99-105  |  2006 Views  161 Downloads


The Pharma Innovation Journal
How to cite this article:
Maheshkumar VP, Dhanapal CK, Ramakrishna Rao M. Outcomes of clinical pharmacist’s interventions in solving drug-related problems in geriatric patients of rural teaching hospital. Pharma Innovation 2016;5(1):99-105.

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