Clinical impact of pharmacotherapeutic follow-up and pharmacist interventions in a reference hospital in Mexico City

Abstract

Background: Pharmacotherapeutic monitoring is a professional practice focused on identifying, preventing, and resolving drug-related problems (DRPs). Objective: To assess the clinical impact of pharmacotherapeutic follow-up (PFU) and pharmacist interventions in hospitalised patients at the Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Methods: A retrospective, observational, descriptive study based on the information from two databases between July 2021 and June 2022 was conducted to calculate the risk reduction associated with pharmacist interventions on medical prescriptions. Results: The study involved 3015 patients who received care during the specified timeframe. The pharmacists provided 10130 attentions, including 5593 medication reconciliations, 16027 pharmacotherapeutic profiles, and 18542 assessments of prescription suitability. The pharmacists carried out 3628 interventions, of which 2282 were targeted at medical prescriptions. The results indicated an increase in risk reduction for accepted interventions, achieving a rate of 40.23%. Conclusion: Pharmacist interventions improved prescriptions, identified and prevented DRPs and medication errors, and enhanced medication safety by facilitating informed therapeutic decisions.