Trends in the use of psychotropic medication in residential aged care facilities prior to and after the advent of an accredited pharmacist conducted medication review service

Aim: To investigate trends in the use of psychotropic medication in residential aged care facilities prior to and after the advent of an accredited pharmacist conducted medication review service (PCMRS). Objectives: 1. To compare the mean number of psychotropic medications in the treatment group and comparison group prior to and after the implementation of a pharmacist conducted medication review service. 2. To compare the distribution of classes of psychotropic drugs between the treatment and comparison groups prior to and after a PCMRS 3. To evaluate the appropriateness of psychotropic medication in terms of dose, dosing intervals, dose administration and dosing regimens of benzodiazepines. Study Design: A comparative design with repeated measures was used with residents in the treatment group exposed to a pharmacist conducted medication review service. For the treatment group data were collected prior to and after the implementation of this service. For the comparison group data were collected over corresponding time periods. Setting: A convenience sample of 14 residential aged care facilities in the Sydney metropolitan area was recruited. The treatment group consisted of 128 residents randomly selected from 12 residential aged care facilities serviced by accredited pharmacists. The comparison sample consisted of all the 121 residents from 2 residential aged care facilities. Results: There was a significant downward trend in psychotropic drug use in the treatment group. While in the comparison group there was an increase in psychotropic drug use between the two time periods (p