2025 Southeastern Residency Conference

Title: Evaluation of the Clinical Pharmacist’s Role on Interdisciplinary Rounds within an Acute Collaborative Care Unit
Authors: Ebony Crawford, Pam Ku, Maegan Whitworth, Alexandra Cooper
Background: Clinical pharmacists are well established as essential members of interdisciplinary healthcare teams, particularly during bedside academic roun ds. Specifically, clinical pharmacists integrated into interdisciplinary rounds have been shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce adverse drug events and healthcare costs. However, the role and impact of pharmacists in non-academic settings, where there is less emphasis on education and more on interdisciplinary communication, efficiency, and patient through-put, remains underexplored. In April 2024, Wellstar MCG Health piloted structured non-academic interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs) led by hospital medicine providers on Acute Collaborative Care Units (ACCUs).  These rounds aim to improve communication and standardize the discharge process, ultimately to optimize patient outcomes and through-put. The purpose of this study is to quantify and characterize the clinical and financial contributions of acute care medicine pharmacists participating in hospital medicine IDRs within an ACCU and to determine the optimal allocation of clinical pharmacist resources. 
Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective, observational study that included patients ≥ 18 years old who were admitted to an ACCU and received at least one documented clinical pharmacy intervention  between August 1st – September 30th, 2024. Data were obtained through a Cerner Report and Theradoc. The primary objective was to determine the number of daily interventions made by acute care medicine pharmacists participating in ACCU IDRs. Secondary outcomes include characterization of clinical pharmacy interventions made and daily pharmacist workload. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis.
Results: A total of 80 patients were included with a median age of 62 years (IQR 50–70), and 52.5% were male. The majority identified as white (48.8%) or Black/African American (36.3%), with a median hospital length of stay of 6 days (IQR 4–16.1). The total number of clinical pharmacist interventions documented was 174, with a median of 1.5 interventions per patient daily (IQR 1–3). The most common intervention types were dose optimization (n = 47), transitions of care at admission (n = 28), and pharmacokinetic consults (n = 27). Most interventions were accepted by prescribers (77%), while 6% were modified and 17% had an unknown/pending response. When comparing patients admitted on ≤10 vs. >10 medications at admission, there was no statistically significant difference in length of stay (6.8 vs. 5.1 days; p = 0.234). One pharmacist managed a mean of 44 patients daily, with 14 patients on ACCUs and 25 on unit-based services. Daily time allocation averaged 153.7 minutes, including preparation (56.7 min), rounding (48.3 min), and follow-up (48.7 min).
Conclusion: Clinical pharmacists in non-academic interdisciplinary rounds led to diverse clinical interventions that improved medication management and care transitions. These findings support the value of pharmacists in optimizing patient care beyond academic rounding services.

Objective: To assess the clinical impact of an acute care medicine pharmacist in hospital medicine IDRs within an Acute Collaborative Care Unit (ACCU)
Assessment Question: Which of the following statements best reflects the current understanding of clinical pharmacists' roles in hospital medicine interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs)?