Implementation of a pharmacist-led transitional care clinic

Purpose To describe a pharmacist-led transitional care clinic (TCC) for high-risk patients who were recently hospitalized or seen in the emergency department (ED). Summary The Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) established a pharmacist-led face-to-face and telephone follow-up TCC to improve posthospitalization follow-up care through medication optimization and disease state management, particularly for veterans with high-risk disease states such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF). The clinic’s clinical pharmacy specialists (CPSs) ordered diagnostic and laboratory tests, performed physical assessments, and consulted other providers and specialty services in addition to performing medication reconciliation, compliance assessment, and evaluation of adverse drug events. TCC patients were typically seen within 2 weeks of discharge and subsequently referred back to their primary care provider or a specialty care provider for continued management. A retrospective review of 2016 TCC data found that 7.8% of patients seen in the TCC were readmitted within 30 days of discharge; readmission rates for COPD and HF were reduced to 13% and 10%, respectively, compared to hospital-wide readmission rates of 17% and 24%. A separate observational analysis found that 30-day readmissions for COPD and HF were reduced in TCC patients, with pharmacists documenting an average of 6.2 interventions and 3.3 medication-related problems per patient. To reduce clinic appointment no-shows, the CPSs worked with inpatient providers and schedulers to emphasize to patients the importance of clinic attendance; also, TCC services were expanded to include telehealth appointments to increase access for rural and/or homebound patients. Conclusion A pharmacist-led TCC effectively reduced readmissions and prevented medication-related problems for high-risk patients who were hospitalized or seen in the ED.