Effect of a Pharmacist Led Medication Education Group on Hospital Readmissions for Patients With Previous Inpatient Psychiatric Admissions

Abstract

Specific Aims: It has been demonstrated through numerous studies that pharmacists have the ability to significantly impact patient outcomes. It is especially important to measure the effect that pharmacists have on psychiatric patient care as this is a population that is often underserved and can potentially benefit from pharmacist intervention. To date, there has been little research on pharmacist led patient medication education groups for patients with psychiatric diagnoses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a pharmacist led medication education group in reducing adult psychiatric hospital readmission rates due to medication non-adherence. Methods: Patients admitted to an acute adult inpatient psychiatric unit at an academic medical center between September 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012 were included. A random sample of 100 patients that attended the medication education group (intervention group) and 100 patients that did not attend the group were selected (control group). The following data were collected: patient age, gender, ethnicity, insurance benefits, primary diagnosis, substance abuse history, number of medications at first discharge, length of stay on initial admission, time to first readmission, length of stay on first readmission, and reason for readmission (medication non-adherence versus other). A chi square analysis was conducted to determine if admission rates as well as reason for readmission were different between the two groups. An independent t test was conducted to determine if time to first readmission or length of stay on first readmission was different between the two groups. Main Results: There were 28 psychiatric hospital readmissions in the intervention group and 28 readmissions in the control group. Although these numbers were similar, there was a statistically significant difference in the number readmitted due to medication non-adherence, 11 in the intervention group vs. 19 in the control group (p=0.032). There was also a clinically significant difference in the time to readmission between the two groups (an average of 94.43 days in the intervention group vs. 60.70 days in the control group.) Conclusion: The pharmacist-led medication education group did not have an impact on readmission rate. However, the group did reduce the number of readmissions for medication non-adherence. There is a clinically significant increase in the time to readmission in patients that attended the medication education group. The data in this study support the implementation of pharmacist-led medication education groups to improve outcomes in adults admitted to acute inpatient psychiatry units.