The effect of the clinical pharmacist in minimizing drug-related problems and related costs in the intensive care unit in Turkey: A non-randomized controlled study

What is known and objective: Drug-related problems (DRPs) are common in hospitalized patients in intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of the study is to reduce DRPs and associated costs with clinical pharmacist's (CP) recommendations.

Methods: The study is a prospective, non-randomized controlled study conducted in the ICU for a total of 6 months (1 January 2021-30 June 2021) in 2-month control, 2-month study, and 2-month control periods. Patients who were hospitalized for more than 24 h and used more than one medication were included in the study. The PCNE V9.1 Classification system was used in the classification of DRPs. During the intervention period, CP recommendations for DRPs were proposed to the healthcare team.

Results and discussion: A total of 146 patients were included in the study. A total of 1061 DRPs from all periods were detected. The most common causes of DRPs were potential drug-drug interactions (31.76%), high dose (12.44%), and dose timing instruction errors (9.24%). For 347 DRPs identified during the study period, 259 interventions (74.63%) were recommended, and 238 (91.89%) were accepted by physicians. Interventions were mostly made as interrupting/discontinuing the drug (28.02%), changing the dose (25.27%), changing the instructions for use (20.32%), and starting a new drug (15.93%). Cost savings were achieved with CP recommendations applied.

What is new and conclusion: The CP's recommendations were highly accepted by the healthcare team. With the CP's participation in routine patient rounds in the healthcare team of the ICU, drug-related costs would also decrease.