ArticleBMC geriatrics2022
Determine the impact of a structured pharmacist-led medication review - a controlled intervention study to optimise medication safety for residents in long-term care facilities.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Interventions to Address Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing for Older Primary Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- What happens when pharmacist independent prescribers lead on medicine management in older people's care homes: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2023Trial
- [Health status of older people in long-term inpatient care-a narrative review].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026Review
- The Association Between a Risk Assessment-Based Medication Safety Checklist and 90-Day Readmission Among Residents of Long-Term Care Institutions: A Pilot Quasi-Experimental Study.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2026Article
- Pillbox and patient-oriented manual interventions to improve medication knowledge, attitudes, and practices among older adults with multimorbidity in Shanghai, China.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- System-level interventions for fall risk assessment, fall prevention and fall injury prevention in long-term care facilities: a scoping review.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2025Article
- Implementation of medication reviews to optimize the use of medications in Swiss nursing homes: a mixed-methods study.BMC health services research · 2025Observational
- Adoption of clinical pharmacist roles in primary care: longitudinal evidence from English general practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- The Impact of Pharmacist Medication Reviews on Geriatric Patients: A Scoping Review.Korean journal of family medicine · 2024Article
- Extended Pharmacist Assessment of Medication Safety for Nursing Home Residents-A Cross-Sectional and Prospective Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedication reviews contribute to protecting long-term care (LTC) residents from drug related problems (DRPs). However, few controlled studies have examined the impact on patient-relevant outcomes so far.
objectiveWe examined the impact of a one-time, pharmacist-led medication review on medication changes (primary endpoint) including discontinued medication, the number of chronic medications, hospital admissions, falls, and deaths (secondary endpoints).
methodsA prospective, controlled intervention study was performed in three LTC facilities. In the intervention group (IG), after performing a medication review, a pharmacist gave recommendations for resolving DRPs to physicians, nurses and community pharmacists. The control group (CG) received usual care without a medication review. (i) We assessed the number of medication changes and the secondary endpoints in both groups before (t0) and after (t1, t2) the intervention. (ii) Additionally, the medication review was evaluated in the IG with regard to identified DRPs, the healthcare professional's feedback on the forwarded pharmacist recommendations and whether DRPs were finally resolved.
results107 (IG) and 104 (CG) residents were enrolled. (i) More medication changes were identified in the IG than in the CG at t1 (p = 0.001). However, no significant difference was identified at t2 (p = 0.680). Mainly, medication was discontinued in those medication changes. Chronic medications increased in the CG (p = 0.005) at t2 while hospital admissions, falls, and deaths showed no differences. (ii) Overall, 1252 DRPs (median: 10; minimum-maximum: 2-39) were identified. Recommendations for 82% of relevant DRPs were forwarded to healthcare professionals, of which 61% were accepted or clarified. 22% were not accepted, 12% required further review and 6% remained without feedback. 51% of forwarded DRPs were finally resolved.
conclusionsWe found more medication changes in the IG compared to controls. Mostly, medication was discontinued. This suggests that our intervention was successful in discontinuing unnecessary medication. Other clinical outcomes such as falls, hospitalisations, and deaths were not improved due to the one-time intervention. The medication review further identified a high prevalence of DRPs in the IG, half of which were finally resolved.
trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00026120 ( www.drks.de , retrospectively registered 07/09/2021).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.