Journal article
Impact of Pharmacists’ Interventions and Simvastatin Dose Restrictions
The Annals of pharmacotherapy, Vol.48(1), pp.54-61
01/2014
DOI: 10.1177/1060028013511323
PMID: 24259645
Abstract
Background: On June 8, 2011, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported safety concerns regarding statin-related myopathies and advised further restrictions on simvastatin dosing. These restrictions reduced the maximum dose for specific patient characteristics, primarily certain concomitant medications. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 2 different pharmacist-conducted educational interventions on appropriate simvastatin use in the primary care setting. Methods: This retrospective cohort analysis was conducted in 2 academic medical center clinics. Patients prescribed simvastatin before June 8, 2011, requiring dosage adjustment based on labeling changes were evaluated for study inclusion. The pharmacists’ interventions included: 30-minute didactic session for prescribers or patient-specific recommendation communicated with the physician during the patient’s follow-up visit. Primary outcomes were the number of patients prescribed FDA-recommended simvastatin doses after pharmacist intervention and the intervention’s impact on low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Results: Medical record review identified 1173 patients prescribed simvastatin prior to June 8, 2011; 126 patients qualified for study inclusion. After controlling for baseline characteristics, the likelihood of patients being prescribed an appropriate dose postintervention increased if they were in the patient-specific recommendation group (odds ratio [OR] = 10.59; 95% CI = 3.43-32.69; P < .0001). LDL change occurred at a similar rate between intervention groups ( P = .652). Conclusion: Following FDA labeling changes for simvastatin, patient-specific recommendations made by pharmacists correlated with a greater likelihood of appropriate simvastatin dosing compared with a one-time didactic education session. Patient-specific recommendations positively affect prescribing habits and making steps to improve patient safety.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Impact of Pharmacists’ Interventions and Simvastatin Dose Restrictions
- Creators
- Bethany R Shoulders - University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy, Knoxville, TN, USAAndrea S Franks - University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy, Knoxville, TN, USA, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, TN, USAPatrick B Barlow - University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, TN, USAJuli D Williams - University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, TN, USAMichelle Z Farland - University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy, Knoxville, TN, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Annals of pharmacotherapy, Vol.48(1), pp.54-61
- DOI
- 10.1177/1060028013511323
- PMID
- 24259645
- ISSN
- 1060-0280
- eISSN
- 1542-6270
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/2014
- Academic Unit
- ICTS; Center for Social Science Innovation; Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education; General Internal Medicine; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984094515402771
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