Description of clinical pharmacists reported interventions to prevent adverse drug events among patients with cardiovascular disease in Qatar

Abstract

Background: Unidentified drug-related problems (DRPs) can cause negative health and economic consequences if not addressed appropriately. The literature revealed that interventions conducted by clinical pharmacists can positively impact patient safety and treatment outcomes. The role of clinical pharmacists has been continually growing while posing significant improvements in the provision of healthcare. Objective: To describe clinical pharmacist interventions in hospitalized patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Qatar.Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of clinical pharmacist interventions documented in an electronic patient medical database. Data were retrieved from three date ranges and comprised demographic information, interventions, medical wards, drug therapy, and medical disorders. Clinical pharmacist interventions were categorized using a standardized intervention reporting sheet from the medical database in the hospital. Results: A total of 845 interventions relating to 262 patients were included in this study. The study population consisted mainly of males (n = 158 [60%]) with an average age of 61 years (SD ± 13.05). The leading documented interventions were the addition of medication (n = 278 [32.9%]), medication discontinuation (n = 196 [23.2%]), and an increase in medication dosage (n = 155 [18.3%]). A similar trend was observed throughout all subcategories investigated in this study, that is, interventions according to age, ward, and gender. An exception to the common trend was demonstrated in the emergency department, where medication discontinuation was the most frequent intervention. The classes of medications with the highest frequency of reported interventions included cardiovascular medications, followed by endocrine and hormonal agents (n = 393 [46.51%] and n = 159 [18.7%], respectively). Conclusion: Interventions conducted by clinical pharmacists have proven to have a positive impact on patient safety in addressing and resolving DRPs. Healthcare systems may benefit from future efforts directed toward studies of a prospective nature while developing a unique indicator of the validity and precision of documented interventions.