Impact of Clinical Pharmacy Services on Medication Cost and Hospitalization Rates in Hemodialysis Patients

Approximately 350,000 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in the United States utilized over $17.9 billion Medicare dollars in 1999. The ESRD population and cost is projected to double by 2010. ESRD patients have a mean of 5 comorbidities per patient and are prescribed a median of eight medications. The average monthly medication cost per patient is approximately $1,200.00. For every dollar spent on medication an additional $1.77 is spent on drug-related problems (DRPs). Dialysis patients are at high risk for DRPs. It is unknown if continued pharmacist intervention in hemodialysis patients will improve patient care, reduce medication utilization and cost, and prevent hospitalization as seen in other populations. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of continued pharmacist intervention in ambulatory hemodialysis patients.