(Food-Beverage-News.Com, June 09, 2013 ) Germantown, MD -- Hospitals are continually looking for ways to improve patient satisfaction in order to boost their Medicare reimbursement, and a new Henry Ford Hospital study found that an inpatient pharmacist-directed anticoagulation service, known as PDAS) is coming upon a possible unexpected opportunity.
The survey of just under 700 patients who entered inpatient anticoagulant therapy noted increase satisfaction at significant numbers compared to reviews from patients at previous pharmacy models.
The overall satisfaction with the medical care for such models was up 10.6%, while satisfaction with the information that was communicated from professional to patient rose to over 133% from last year (at 37.2%).
Th satisfaction with the overall quality of information also rose nearly as much, with a 35% increase. Satisfaction with the answers provided to posed questions rose by 29.5%.
The study's findings have been published in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy and will appear in a print version of the journal for June. It is believed to be the first study that shows patient satisfaction for such programs as pharmacies.
"Our findings demonstrate that formal and structured patient care roles for pharmacists can positively impact patient satisfaction overall," says James Kalus, PharmD, senior clinical pharmacy manager at Henry Ford and senior author of the study. "It also provides a compelling example of what pharmacy departments and hospital leadership may consider when redesigning patient care models in an era of hospital value-based purchasing."
Currently, under the PDAS model, there is a team of pharmacists responsible for all processes. This includes dosing, monitoring, and patient education for all the hospitalized patients who are in need of anticoagulants. Such needs include the use of warfarin, which is a common blood thinner. The older version of inpatient anticoagulation model typically involved a primary caregiver, who utilized coordination with ancillary team members.
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