ArticleJournal of pharmaceutical policy and practice2023
Obtaining medication histories via telepharmacy: an observational study.
Article in Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Clinical impact of medication reconciliation on physicians' treatment policies at outpatient clinics: a cross-sectional study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Evaluating the quality, feasibility and patient satisfaction of medication history taking by telephone for patients with scheduled admissions: a pilot study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Correction: Obtaining medication histories via telepharmacy: an observational study.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2023Article
- An Exploration of Access to Tobacco Cessation Services Through Pharmacies in a Medically Underserved Area in California: Accuracy of Telephone Information Regarding Pharmacist-Furnished NRT.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedication reconciliation is an effective strategy to reduce medication errors upon hospital admission. The process involves obtaining a best possible medication history (BPMH), which can be both time-consuming and resource-intensive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, telepharmacy was used to reduce the risk of viral transmission. Telepharmacy is the remote provision of pharmacy-led clinical services, such as obtaining BPMHs, using telecommunications. However, the accuracy of telephone-obtained BPMHs has not yet been evaluated. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to evaluate the proportion of patients who have an accurate BPMH from the telephone-obtained BPMH compared to an in-person obtained BPMH.
methodsThis prospective, observational study took place in a large tertiary hospital. Recruited patients or carers had their BPMH obtained by a pharmacist over the telephone. The same patients or carers then had their BPMH conducted in-person to identify any deviations between the telephone-obtained and in-person obtained BPMH. All telephone-obtained BPMHs were timed with a stopwatch. Any deviations were categorised according to their potential consequence. An accurate BPMH was defined as having no deviations. Descriptive statistics were used to report all quantitative variables. A multivariable logistic regression was conducted to identify risk factors for patients and medications for having medication deviations.
resultsIn total, 116 patients were recruited to receive both a telephone-obtained and in-person obtained BPMH. Of these, 91 patients (78%) had an accurate BPMH with no deviations. Of the 1104 medications documented across all the BPMHs, 1064 (96%) had no deviation. Of the 40 (4%) medication deviations, 38 were deemed low-risk (3%) and 2 high-risk (1%). A patient was more likely to have a deviation if they are taking more medications (aOR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.01-1.22; p < 0.05). A medication was more likely to have a deviation if it was regular non-prescription medication (aOR: 4.82; 95% CI: 2.14-10.82; p < 0.001) or 'when required' non-prescription medication (aOR: 3.12; 95% CI: 1.20-8.11; p = 0.02) or a topical medication (aOR: 12.53; 95% CI: 4.34-42.17; p < 0.001).
conclusionsTelepharmacy represents a reliable and time-efficient alternative to in-person BPMHs.
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