Hospital readmissions, ED presentations and health costs drop when general practice-based pharmacists conduct medication reviews for patients newly discharged from hospital, a University of Queensland study suggests.

For the study, the research team compared readmission rates and ED presentations for 129 older patients (mean age 71) who had a medication review following hospital discharge versus 177 patients (mean age 69) who received usual care.

The patients, recruited from 14 general practices in southeast Queensland, were on five or more long-term medications, or had been discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of chronic heart failure or exacerbation of their COPD.

After 12 months, hospital readmissions and ED presentations combined were 31% lower among the patients who received a medication review (181 presentations) compared to patients who received usual care (370 presentations).