Effect of pharmacy students as primary pharmacy members on inpatient interdisciplinary mental health teams

Abstract

Purpose: The effect of pharmacy students as primary pharmacy members on inpatient interdisciplinary mental health teams was investigated.

Methods: This retrospective study used Veterans Affairs data from veterans who were admitted to an inpatient mental health unit from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2012. Eligible veterans had to have been hospitalized for at least five days and treated with at least five scheduled medications during the hospitalization. Information collected by the investigators included patient age, psychiatric diagnoses, accuracy of medication reconciliation on admission and at discharge, and readmission rates within six months and one year. Additional information collected included monitoring parameters for lithium, divalproex, first-generation antipsychotics, and second-generation antipsychotics. The primary outcome was the percentage of accurate medication reconciliations for treatment teams with a fourth-year pharmacy student and without a pharmacy student. Clinical monitoring and readmission rates were also compared.

Results: A total of 526 patients were eligible for study inclusion. Medication reconciliation was performed on admission for all patients followed by a team involving a pharmacy student (experimental group), but only 51% of patients in the control group had documented medication reconciliations in the medical chart. Of the medication reconciliations completed, 82% were performed correctly in the experimental group, compared with 61% when a pharmacy student was not involved (p = 0.006). There were no significant differences between groups in psychotropic monitoring and readmission rates.

Conclusion: The presence of fourth-year pharmacy students on inpatient mental health interdisciplinary teams was associated with more frequent interventions, patient counseling, and medication reconciliation, compared with rates for teams without a pharmacy student. Medication reconciliation was performed more consistently and accurately when the teams had a pharmacy student than when they did not.