Methods to Assess the Economic Outcomes of Clinical Pharmacy Services

Abstract

Studies that demonstrate the clinical and economic burden of drug misadventures have been published. The economic burden of drug misadventures likely exceeds $100 billion annually in the United States alone. Clinical pharmacy services (CPS) have been shown to reduce negative clinical outcomes and costs of drug therapy. Pharmacy practitioners and pharmacy managers need to demonstrate the impact of CPS at the local level and present the value to financial decision-makers to gain support for implementation, continuation, and/or expansion of those services. The basic model of an economic evaluation includes measurement of both costs and consequences of a service and of an alternative for comparison. Strategies for economic assessments include the generalization from previously published literature, use of modeling techniques, and measurement of actual costs and consequences of an existing service. Guidelines for conducting an economic assessment are widely available. Pharmacy practitioners and managers should use these methods of assessing economic outcomes of CPS and, at the same time, develop relationships and skills to effectively communicate the value of those services so as to ensure long-term success.

Prevention of Medication Errors in the Pediatric Inpatient Setting

“…22 The economic burden for all areas of health care from drug misadventures exceeds $100 billion annually in the United States alone. 23 The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is committed to decreasing medication errors in the treatment of children 24 and to the development of systems designed to identify and learn from errors. 25 Children vary in weight, body surface area, and organ system maturity, which affect their ability to metabolize and excrete medications.…”

Developing a Business‐Practice Model for Pharmacy Services in Ambulatory Settings

“…A detailed review of each of these evaluations is beyond the scope of this paper and has already been described in the literature. 76,77 There have been reviews in the pharmacy literature of the economic benefit of clinical pharmacy services in the ambulatory care setting. 9,78 In general, clinical pharmacists should be able to demonstrate that the overall cost savings to the health care system is greater than the initial and continued cost of the service.…”

Medication Error (ME) in the Pediatrics Service of the University Teaching Hospital (CHU) of Bouaké (Côte d’Ivoire)

“…In France, the economic burden linked to medication errors is estimated to be above 1.5 billion Euros per annum [5]. In the United States, it would exceed $ 100 billion per annum [6]. The knowledge of these medication errors is crucial and allows the implementation of corrective measures and guarantees the quality of care [7].…”