NCT07018232

Enhancing Timely Access to Medication Changes: The Role of Pharmacists in Overcoming Transitions of Care Challenges

Enhancing Timely Access to Medication Changes: The Role of Ambulatory Care Pharmacists in Overcoming Transitions of Care Challenges

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 104 (actual)
• Sponsor: The Guthrie Clinic · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Objective: Among patients discharged from the hospital with changes in maintenance prescription medication, how does experiencing a medication access gap compared to a no medication access gap impact the time to first unplanned healthcare encounter? This is a retrospective, cohort study conducted at two hospital sites in rural Pennsylvania and New York State using encounter data from the electronic health record to analyze any patient discharged with medication changes from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024.

Detailed description

Background: Transitions of care are high-risk periods marked by frequent medication-related problems with up to 80% of discharged patients and 98% of older adults experiencing discrepancies in their medication regimens. These gaps, often due to delayed prescription refills or poor care coordination, contribute to unplanned healthcare encounters, increased costs, and strain on providers. Pharmacists can mitigate these risks by improving medication access and continuity. Objective: Among patients discharged from the hospital with changes in maintenance prescription medication, how does experiencing a medication access gap compared to a no medication access gap impact the time to first unplanned healthcare encounter? This is a retrospective, cohort study conducted at two hospital sites in rural Pennsylvania and New York State using encounter data from the electronic health record to analyze any patient discharged with medication changes from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024.

Conditions

• Transitional Care

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Unplanned healthcare encounter	Patient needing to connect with healthcare to fill a medication gap

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-11-27
• Primary completion: 2025-05-15
• Completion: 2025-05-15
• First posted: 2025-06-12
• Last updated: 2025-06-15

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States