Evaluation Of Clinical Pharmacy Services in Patients Receiving Antithrombotic Treatment

Patients with cardiovascular disease are at significant risk for adverse drug events and medication errors. Moreover, the rate of use of high-risk drugs such as antithrombotic drugs is higher in these patients. In the literature, antithrombotics have been shown as one of the main causes of adverse drug events and drug-related hospitalizations. Therefore, follow-up of patients treated with antithrombotics is very important. Guideline-based therapy significantly reduces the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) death. Multidisciplinary antithrombotic management can play an important role in increasing prescribing physicians' adherence to guidelines. Effective interventions such as medication review, establishment of treatment protocols, education, and medication reconciliation at hospitalization and discharge can help increase adherence to the guideline. In patients receiving antithrombotic therapy, individual evaluation of drug therapy suitability, formulation of a drug treatment plan, dose adjustment, drug monitoring, detection and prevention of clinically important drug-drug interactions, and antithrombotic transition protocols should be considered. Such interventions must appropriately balance each individual's risk of thromboss and bleeding.

Pharmacists are recognized as leading healthcare professionals in detecting, resolving, and preventing DRPs. Assessments of the quality and value of pharmacist interventions remain crucial for the development of new pharmaceutical care services and for enhancing our understanding of the frequency and variety of DRPs observed in various clinical settings. The literature has demonstrated the impact of Clinical Pharmacy Services on cardiovascular patients. Collaborating with a clinical pharmacist during inpatient treatment has been shown to improve medication adherence, reduce adverse drug reactions, and minimize medication errors post-discharge. The benefits of these pharmacist-led services in reducing hospitalization and healthcare costs were emphasized. Clinical pharmacy services have contributed to an enhancement in healthcare quality without compromising patient well-being. Pharmacists can take on the responsibility of antithrombotic management, ensuring that patients receive the right medication, in the correct dosage, and for the appropriate duration from the initial consultation to outpatient follow-up. Increasing the continuity of pharmaceutical care will enhance patient outcomes and reduce costs.

In this study, two groups were established as control group and intervention group. In the control group, no interventions will be made by the Clinical Pharmacist. Within the intervention group, patient characteristics such as the length of hospital stay, reason for hospitalization, underlying conditions, and the appropriateness of prescribed medications were evaluated for the patients who received antithrombotic treatment and met the inclusion criteria. Through medication reviews, evaluations were made to identify drug-related problems and provide solutions to these problems. The clinical pharmacist provided recommendations to the physicians regarding significant clinically important problems. Additionally, follow-up was performed to determine whether the patients had a re-admission within 3 months.