Use of an electronic expert support system in a Swedish community pharmacy to identify and resolve drug-related problems

Background The Lund Integrated MedicinesManagement model offers a systematic approach forindividualising and optimising patient drug treatment.Clinical, economical and humanistic outcomes havebeen shown as well as results from the medicationreconciliation process. There is a need also to describethe medication review process.Objective To describe the frequency and types of drug-relatedproblems (DRPs) identified during medicationreviews and to evaluate the actions of the pharmacistsand the physicians regarding the identified DRPs.Method Structured medication reviews were conductedby a multi-professionalteam on top of standard care for719 patients in two internal medicine wards in a SwedishUniversity Hospital. The medication reviews were studiedretrospectively to classify DRPs and actions taken.Results A total of 573 (80%) of patients had at leastone actual DRP; an average of three DRPs per patientand in total 2164. Wrong drug and adverse drug reactionwere the most common types of DRPs. The most frequentmedication groups involved in DRPs were drugs forthe cardiovascular system and the nervous system andthe most frequent substances were warfarin, digoxin,furosemide and paracetamol. The 10 most commonmedications accounted for 27% of the actual DRPs. Ofthe identified DRPs, a total of 1740 (80%) were actedon. The three most common types of adjustments madewere withdrawal of drug therapy, change of drug therapyand initiation of drug therapy. When the pharmacistsuggested an adjustment, the physician implemented88% (1037/1174) of the recommendations.Conclusion DRPs are common among elderly patientswho are admitted to hospital. Systematic identificationof high-riskmedications and common DRP types enablestargeting of prioritised patients for medication reviews..