Background: Despite widespread recognition of the need for innovative pharmacy practice approaches, the development and implementation of value-based outcomes remains difficult to achieve. Furthermore, gaps in the literature persist because the majority of available literature is retrospective in nature and describes only the clinical impact of pharmacists’ interventions. Objective: Length of stay (LOS) is a clinical outcome metric used to represent efficiency in health care. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of pharmacist-driven interventions on LOS in the acute care setting. Methods: A separate samples pretest-posttest design was utilized to compare the effect of pharmacist interventions across 3 practice areas (medicine, hematology/oncology, and pediatrics). Two time periods were evaluated: preimplementation (PRE) and a pilot period, postimplementation of interventions (POST). Interventions included targeted discharge services, such as discharge prescription writing (with provider cosignature). Participating pharmacists completed semistructured interviews following the pilot. Results: A total of 924 patients (466 PRE and 458 POST) were included in the analysis. The median LOS decreased from 4.95 (interquartile range = 3.24-8.5) to 4.12 (2.21-7.96) days from the PRE versus POST groups, respectively ( P < 0.011). There was no difference in readmission rates between groups (21% vs 19.1%, P = 0.7). Interviews revealed several themes, including positive impact on professional development. Conclusion and Relevance: This pilot study demonstrated the ability of pharmacist interventions to reduce LOS. Pharmacists identified time as the primary barrier and acknowledged the importance of leaders prioritizing pharmacists’ responsibilities. This study is novel in targeting LOS, providing a value-based outcome for clinical pharmacy services.
OBJECTIVE Initial posaconazole dosing regimens in children often do not achieve target concentrations, and data continue to support the need for higher initial dosing regimens. The objective of this study is to contribute to the current data regarding suboptimal posaconazole dosing in pediatric patients by retrospectively observing dosing strategies and subsequent drug concentrations. METHODS This study was conducted at a single institution in 27 patients aged 1 to 21 years. Patients who were initiated on any formulation of posaconazole for prophylaxis or treatment while admitted to the hospital were included. The primary outcome was to determine the percentage of pediatric patients who achieved the targeted trough concentration using their initial posaconazole dosing regimen. Secondary outcomes included percentage of patients who experienced a breakthrough invasive fungal infection (IFI), percentage of patients with elevated liver function tests (LFTs), and discontinuation for any reason. RESULTS There were 15 patients (55.5%) who reached desired trough serum concentration after the initial dosing regimen. The number of dose modifications to achieve the desired trough ranged from 1 to 3. Most patients received delayed-release tablets (n = 17), and the average doses for reaching prophylactic and treatment trough concentrations were 6.1 mg/kg/day and 11 mg/kg/day, respectively. There were 2 patients (7.4%) who experienced breakthrough IFI. Overall, 5 patients developed elevated LFTs and 7 patients discontinued treatment early. CONCLUSIONS The results describe a single population of pediatric patients, of whom 55% were able to achieve target trough concentrations of posaconazole with the initial dosing strategy used.
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