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As many as one in four hospital outpatients have bad reactions to medications, or don’t take them as prescribed.
To address this issue, we designed a telephone-based system that automatically contacts patients three and 17 days after a new drug has been prescribed. The system allows patients to request a follow-up consultation with a pharmacist if they need more information.
In a pilot study that followed 568 patients after they were discharged, the system successfully connected with more than 80 per cent of them. One-third requested personal contact with a pharmacist.
With this approach, we improved patient safety by quickly identifying individuals who were experiencing an adverse drug reaction, or not taking medications as prescribed. We believe that this approach reduced the length of time patients suffered bad reactions to their medications.
Our intervention successfully monitored a majority of patients and identified many medication-related problems. The system led to important treatment changes in a significant proportion of patients, suggesting that it has the potential to positively impact health outcomes. However, more research needs to be done before this approach is adopted as a standard of care.
Alan J. Forster, MD, MSc
Claudine Auger, PhD
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The Ottawa Hospital