Residential aged care pharmacist: an Australian pilot trial exploring the impact on quality use of medicines indicators

Background: This pilot study aimed to assess whether an on-site pharmacist could influence indicators of quality use of medicines in residential aged care.

Methods: A pharmacist was embedded in a residential aged care home for six months. A similar control site received usual care. Polypharmacy, drug burden index, antipsychotic and benzodiazepine use, hospital admission rates and length of stay, and emergency department presentation rates were outcomes used to indicate medication use quality. Data were extracted from participating resident health records.

Results: Fifty-eight residents at the study site and 39 residents at the control site were included in the analysis. There was a reduction in the proportion of residents at the study site who had at least one hospital admission at follow-up (28% to 12%, p < 0.01), but no significant difference in other outcomes.

Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that a residential care pharmacist may positively influence indicators of medication use quality in aged care; however, further research is needed to expand on these findings.