Aims: We aimed to investigate the efficacy and effectiveness of pharmacist-led interventions to reduce adverse drug events (ADEs) in older people living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs).

Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and PsycINFO from their inceptions to July 2020. We investigated experimental study designs that employed a control group, or quasi-experimental studies conducted in RACFs.

Results: We screened 3826 records and included 23 studies. We found seven single-component and 16 multicomponent pharmacist-led interventions to reduce ADEs in older people living in RACFs. The most frequent single-component pharmacist-led intervention was medication review. Medication review and education provision to healthcare professionals were the most common components in many pharmacist-led multicomponent interventions. Thirteen studies (56%) showed no effect, whereas ten studies (43%) reported significant reductions in ADEs following pharmacist-led interventions either as a sole intervention or as a part of a multi-component intervention. Many interventions focused on reducing the incidence of falls (39%).

Conclusions: This systematic review suggests that pharmacist-led interventions have the potential to reduce the incidence of ADEs in older people living in RACFs. Medication review and educational programmes, particularly academic detailing, either as a single component or as part of multicomponent interventions were the most common approaches to reducing drug-related harm in older people living in RACFs. The lack of a positive association between interventions and ADE in many studies suggests that targeted and tailored pharmacist-led interventions are required to reduce ADEs in older people in RACFs.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	adverse drug events, effectiveness, pharmacist-led interventions, residential aged care facilities
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences
Research Field:	Clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Evaluation of health and support services
Objective Field:	Evaluation of health outcomes
UTAS Author:	Ali, S (Mr Sheraz Ali)
UTAS Author:	Salahudeen, MS (Dr Mohammed Salahudeen)
UTAS Author:	Bereznicki, LRE (Professor Luke Bereznicki)
UTAS Author:	Curtain, CM (Mr Colin Curtain)
ID Code:	144100
Year Published:	2021
Web of Science® Times Cited:	11
Deposited By:	Pharmacy
Deposited On:	2021-04-21
Last Modified:	2021-06-30
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