Discrepancies, interventions greater in patients discharged with psychotropic drugs

Thirty-day readmissions are similar between patients who had at least one psychotropic medication upon discharge and those who had none, reports a study. However, the former has a higher number of discrepancies that require significantly more discharge interventions during a pharmacist-driven discharge medication reconciliation (DMR).

“Current literature suggests that patients with psychiatric disorders are at an increased risk for inpatient readmission,” the authors said.

This retrospective review included 151 patients receiving a pharmacist-driven DMR. The authors compared the prevalence of 30-day readmission rates among patients who had a pharmacist DMR, between those who had a least one psychotropic medication upon discharge and those without.

In addition, the number of medication discrepancies and pharmacist interventions prior to discharge were compared, as was the prevalence of medical comorbidities between the two cohorts.

Of the included patients who had a pharmacist DMR, 69 were prescribed at least one psychotropic medication at discharge and 82 were not. The 30-day readmissions rates were comparable between the two groups (p=0.609).

Of note, the mean number of discrepancies (p<0.001) and number of pharmacist interventions (p=0.005) were significantly greater among patients who had at least one psychotropic medication upon discharge compared to those who had none.

An earlier study on medication reconciliation reported that medication assessment and reconciliation by pharmacists 3 to 7 days following discharge could reduce readmissions and provide cost savings. [J Am Pharm Assoc 2013;53:78-84]