Implementation of a clinical pharmacist-driven comprehensive medication management program in an outpatient wound healing center.

Background: The role of the pharmacist in wound healing management among patients with diabetic and nondiabetic foot ulcers (DFU) is unclear. We sought to implement and evaluate an integrated pharmacist-driven comprehensive medication management (CMM) program in a multidisciplinary podiatrist-led wound healing center (WHC).

Objectives: The objectives were to determine the role of the clinical pharmacist in a WHC and evaluate the impact of CMM interventions on prescribing rates and wound healing rates.

Methods: A pharmacist-driven CMM program was implemented in a podiatrist-led WHC, and an evaluation spanning 6 years was conducted.

Results: Overall, 1018 patients were treated over 6 years, and 515 received wound treatment after the CMM period, of which, 309 received CMM services. A total of 441 medication related problems (MRPs) were identified; most were related to medication safety (35.1%) and inappropriate or ineffective therapy (31.3%), and problems with adherence accounted for 22.5% of documented MRPs. An average of 3.41 interventions per patient were documented, and most were related to patient education (40.8%). Only metformin (20.3 vs. 34.2%; P < 0.001) and insulin prescription (57.3 vs. 73.8%; P < 0.001) prevalence increased after CMM implementation. Other prescriptions were not significantly different among patients presenting in the pre- and post-CMM periods, respectively. Wound healing rates among patients with DFU were similar before and after implementation (55 vs. 52%; P = 0.49). Likewise, wound healing rates among those with non-DFUs were similar before- and after implementation (56 vs. 53%; P = 0.56).

Conclusion: The implementation of a novel pharmacist-driven CMM program embedded within a multidisciplinary podiatrist-managed WHC provided the initial evidence of the potential benefits of providing pharmacist-driven CMM services to patients with lower extremity ulcers. Prospective studies of CMM in this patient population are needed.