Abstract
Background
Hospitalized patients who require Infectious Diseases (ID) consultative services and are discharged on antimicrobials (AM) are medically complex and at high risk of readmission. Complications related to AM toxicity, suboptimal regimen completion, or lack of AM access are prevalent. Our ID clinic pharmacist contacted patients affiliated with ID services within 72 hours of discharge to identify and intervene on needs such as AM access and management, toxicity monitoring, AM administration teaching, and to assess discharge care progression. The goal of this intervention was to leverage the subject matter expertise of an ID-trained pharmacist to create a protocolized intervention to improve the inpatient-to-outpatient transition for ID patients.
Methods
During a 12 week time period, 173 patients were identified and enrolled in the ID DOOR intervention. Patients who received consultative care by an ID physician were tracked and automatically referred to ID DOOR; those discharged on antimicrobials were included in the intervention group. Phone-based assessment of discharge AM access, education, and administration was initiated by the ID pharmacist within 72 hours of discharge (Table 1).
Results
Of the 173 patients, 155 (90%) were successfully contacted post-discharge. The majority of needs identified were AM education, access, and coordination of care (Table 2). In addition, discrepancies between discharge orders, summary content, and patient instructions were prevalent. Based on the medication-related assessment performed by the ID-trained pharmacists, they were able to resolve AM-related issues and identify, triage, and link patients to appropriate multidisciplinary providers to coordinate care plans.
Conclusion
The data highlight the prevalence of immediate post-discharge needs related to antimicrobial for patients and the critical role of ID-trained pharmacists in addressing these needs. In a large public academic medical center with uninsured and underinsured patients, additional support for AM access, education, and navigation of care plans is needed. For medically and socially complex ID patients, an ID-trained pharmacist plays a critical role in reducing risk inherent in the transition from inpatient to outpatient care.
Disclosures
All authors: No reported disclosures.
Session: 69. What’s New in Clinical Practice?
Thursday, October 3, 2019: 12:15 PM