Risk of adverse drug events by patient destination after hospital discharge.

Purpose: The prevalence of risk factors for adverse drug events (ADEs) in patients discharged from the hospital to various care settings was studied.

Methods: Data on patient risk characteristics for ADEs were collected for hospital discharges for 2000. Differences in the prevalence of 10 risk characteristics among home health care (HHC), self-care (SC), and long-term-care (LTC) patients at the point of discharge were determined.

Conforming to HIPAA regulations and compilation of research data.

Purpose: A set of deidentified patient data compliant with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was compiled, the data lost as a function of unique data elements (UDEs) were measured, and the deidentified data were tested for potential for reidentification.

Methods: After approval by the institutional review board of an integrated health system, a limited-data set was created by querying the health system's pharmacy, administrative, and financial files for patients discharged between January 1 and December 31, 2000. Using the HIPAA "safe-harbor" method, this limited-data set was converted into a deidentified-data table for future statistical analysis, and UDEs in both data sets were identified and quantified.

Resolution of drug-related problems in home care patients through a pharmacy referral service.

A referral-based, pharmacist-conducted medication management program designed to identify, categorize, and resolve drug-related problems (DRPs) in a home health care (HHC) population was studied. A clinical pharmacy service model was developed to identify patients at high risk for adverse health events resulting from DRPs. Policies and procedures were developed for this service model, including explicit referral criteria, patient-consent documentation, and physician orders.

Medicaid prescriber compliance with Joint National Committee VI Hypertension Treatment Guidelines.

Background: Since the early 1970s, the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC) has been tasked with the formulation of national guidelines for the management of hypertension. These were significantly changed in 1993 with publication of JNC-5. JNC-6 kept many basic treatment recommendations (i.

Clonidine-induced hypertension in a patient with a spinal lesion.

Objective: To report a case of possible clonidine-induced hypertension (by Naranjo score) in a patient with a C4 spinal lesion.

Background: Clonidine is a medication long used to treat hypertension, and it is still used in the treatment of refractory hypertension. Although effective, clonidine use is hindered by adverse effects and its dual mechanism of action.