NCT07310199

Pharmacist-Led Transition of Care Program in the Emergency Department (Pharm TOC-ED): A Pilot Trial

Pharmacist-Led Transition of Care Program in the Emergency Department (Pharm TOC-ED): A Pilot Randomized, Parallel-Group, Open-Label Trial With Embedded Process Evaluation

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 82 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Dr. Muhammad Abdul Hadi · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

When patients leave the emergency department, mistakes with their medications are common and can lead to complications or hospital readmissions. Pharmacists are trained to help prevent these problems, but pharmacist-led transition of care services are not routinely provided in emergency departments. This study is a small pilot randomized controlled trial designed to see whether a pharmacist-led transition of care program can be carried out successfully in the emergency department at Al-Wakra Hospital. The study will help determine if a larger trial is feasible in the future. Patients who are being discharged home from the emergency department and meet the study criteria will be invited to participate. Those who agree will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: Usual care, or Usual care plus the pharmacist-led transition of care program The pharmacist-led program includes reviewing the discharge prescription, checking and updating the medication list, providing medication education, arranging follow-up with a pharmacist-run clinic, communicating with outpatient pharmacists, and following up with the patient after discharge. The pilot trial will help determine how many patients are eligible, how many agree to participate, how well the intervention can be delivered in the emergency department, and whether patients and staff find it acceptable. The results will be used to plan a larger study that will test whether this program can reduce healthcare use after discharge.

Conditions

• Transitional Care

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Multi-faceted pharmacist-led transition of care (ToC) program	The pharmacist-led transition of care (ToC) intervention begins once a patient is deemed ready for ED discharge. ED pharmacists conduct a comprehensive discharge medication review, identify and resolve medication therapy problems, and document recommendations in the electronic health record (EHR). They perform discharge medication reconciliation, generate the best possible medication list, and correct any discrepancies. Pharmacists provide structured medication counseling using teach-back and address adherence barriers. Discharge planning includes scheduling post-discharge follow-up in a pharmacist-led medication therapy management clinic and delivering a standardized handover to ambulatory pharmacists. Patients receive two post-discharge follow-up visits within 7 and 14 days, during which pharmacists reassess medications, resolve new or ongoing issues, provide education, and coordinate additional care when needed. All activities follow standardized documentation procedures.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-19
• Primary completion: 2026-08-11
• Completion: 2027-04-10
• First posted: 2025-12-30
• Last updated: 2026-01-21

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Qatar