Transitions of Care Pharmacist Impact Following Hospitalization for Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: Patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are at high risk for morbidity and rehospitalizations. Pharmacists can play a vital role in secondary prevention by providing services such as medication reconciliation and patient education upon discharge. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-led transitions of care (TOC) service on readmissions in patients hospitalized with AMI. Methods: This single center, pre-post observational cohort study evaluated adults with AMI who received pharmacist TOC services compared with a historical cohort who did not. Patients were excluded if they underwent cardiac surgery during admission. The primary outcome was the difference in 90-day cardiovascular (CV)-related readmissions. Secondary outcomes included 30- and 90-day all-cause readmissions, 30-day CV-related readmissions, and patients discharged on defect-free guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for AMI. Results: There were 252 patients in each cohort included. No difference was found in 90-day CV readmissions, with a rate of 10.7% in the pre-TOC group versus 9.9% in the post-TOC group (OR 0.937, 95% CI [0.493, 1.769]; P = 0.842). Patients discharged on defect-free GDMT significantly increased from 61.5% pre-TOC to 87.7% post-TOC (OR 5.424, 95% CI [3.204, 9.468]; P < 0.001). There were no significant differences found in other key secondary outcomes. Conclusion and relevance: This study did not find a significant difference in hospital readmissions after implementation of a pharmacist-led TOC service. However, the service was associated with a significant increase in patients discharged on defect-free GDMT. Further studies are needed to confirm the impact of increased GDMT on clinical outcomes.