The impact of community pharmacist involvement on transitions of care: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of community pharmacist involvement on transitions of care, specifically on 30-day hospital readmissions.

Data sources: We searched the following databases from inception to August 2018: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, ProQuest Health and Medical Collection, ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Database, and Web of Science. We also searched clinical trials registries and personal files to identify additional studies.

Study selection: Studies were eligible if the intervention included community pharmacists and patients were being discharged from the hospital to home. We included reports of randomized controlled trials, nonrandomized controlled trials, controlled before-and-after studies, and interrupted time series published in English.

Data extraction: We extracted intervention characteristics from each study and 30-day readmissions when present.

Results: From 744 abstracts that met our inclusion criteria, we included 39 articles describing 36 unique studies, 10 which contributed to the primary outcome of 30-day readmissions. Overall, community pharmacist involvement in transitions of care was associated with a non-statistically significant 28% reduction in 30-day readmissions (relative risk [RR], 0.72; 95% CI 0.50-1.02; I² = 82%). When using per protocol data, community pharmacist involvement in transitions of care was associated with a statistically significant 40% reduction in 30-day readmissions (RR, 0.60; 95% CI 0.41-0.88; I² = 77%). Studies with more active involvement of community pharmacists had a greater effect on 30-day readmissions (RR, 0.55; 95% CI 0.32-0.95; I² = 88%) than those with less active involvement did (RR, 1.02; 95% CI 0.80-1.31; I² = 0%).

Conclusion: Our review shows that community pharmacists can have a beneficial effect on patients' transitions of care; however, the body of evidence is limited by the heterogeneity and imprecision. Future studies should test interventions in which community pharmacists play an integral part and ensure that interventions are completed with fidelity.