Prevention of potentially inappropriate medication in internal medicine patients: A prospective study using the electronic application PIM PIM ‐Check

摘要

Summary What is known Potentially inappropriate medication ( PIM ) is a risk factor for drug‐related problems ( DRP s) and an important inpatient safety issue. PIM ‐Check is a screening tool designed to detect PIM in internal medicine patients. Objective This study aimed to determine whether PIM ‐Check could help to identify and reduce DRP s. Method Prospective interventional study conducted on patients admitted to internal medicine wards in a university hospital between 1 September 2015 and 30 October 2015. Adult patients were included if they were hospitalized for more than 48?hours. Patients received either usual care (period 1?=?control) or usual care plus medication screening by the wards’ chief residents using PIM ‐Check (period 2?=?intervention). An expert panel, composed of a clinical pharmacist, a clinical pharmacologist and two attending physicians in internal medicine, blinded to patient groups, identified DRP s. Results A total of 297 patients were included (intervention: 109). The groups’ demographic parameters were similar. The expert panel identified 909 DRP s (598: control; 311: intervention). The mean number of DRP s per patient was similar in the control (3.2; 95% CI : 2.9‐3.5) and intervention groups (2.9; 95% CI : 2.4‐3.3) ( P? =?.12). PIM ‐Check displayed 33.4% of the 311 DRP s identified in the intervention group. What is new and conclusion In this study, PIM ‐Check had limited value, as the average number of DRP s per person was similar in both groups. Although one‐third of DRP s counted in intervention group had been identified by PIM ‐Check, this did not lead to a reduction in DRP s. This lack of impact of PIM ‐Check on drug prescription may be explained by the number of alerts displayed by the application and hospital physicians’ reluctance to modify the treatments for chronic conditions previously prescribed by general practitioners.