Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Documentation of interventions by pharmacists has become a standard of practice in clinical practice sites. Pharmacists' interventions in pediatric practice settings for short periods of time have been reported in the literature. A single study has described faculty and student interventions in the pediatric setting. The objective of this study was to characterize 4 years of interventions by faculty and students of a school of pharmacy that occurred at various pediatric practice sites throughout a state. METHODS: Pharmacy practice faculty and fourth year student pharmacists are required to document clinical interventions during advanced pharmacy practice experiences. Interventions are documented in a single, commercially available, Web-based system. Reports of interventions with cost avoidance at pediatric inpatient and outpatient practice sites throughout a state from 2011 to 2014 were collected and analyzed. Data were sorted based on year, practice site, type, and number of activities and interventions, and estimated cost avoidance. RESULTS: Two full-time faculty members practiced in pediatrics and, on average, 25 students entered interventions at pediatric sites each year. A total of 12,784 interventions were documented by faculty and students over the 4-year period, with students entering 81.8% of the interventions and 69% occurring in the inpatient setting. Total cost avoidance for all 4 years was $1,684,609. The most frequent interventions were patient medication history, patient counseling, allergy information clarified, drug therapy adjusted, and drug information. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacy faculty and students documented various types of clinical interventions in the inpatient and outpatient pediatric settings and demonstrated a positive impact at pediatric practice sites throughout a state, as well as cost avoidance in the associated healthcare systems.