Impact of Clinical Pharmacists in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic

Abstract

Background: Limited evidence exists regarding pharmacist involvement and impact in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) interdisciplinary clinic care models. The purpose is to describe pharmacist utilization in an interdisciplinary IBD clinic and evaluate clinical impact on patient quality of life. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study comparing outcomes in patients with Crohn’s disease initiated on therapy when the implementation of pharmacy services began (Early Phase) to the expansion of pharmacy services (Recent Phase). The primary outcome compared the proportion of patients referred to a pharmacist and those achieving a Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI) reduction of ≥3 points after therapy initiation. Results: 50 patients were included in the Early Phase and 43 patients in the Recent Phase. Utilization in pharmacy referrals increased from 48% (n = 24) in the Early Phase to 72% (n = 31) in the Recent Phase ( P = 0.03). The proportion of patients achieving a HBI reduction of ≥3 points increased from 35% (n = 14) in the Early Phase to 51% (n = 18) in the Recent Phase ( P = 0.23). Results also found a greater proportion of patients remaining steroid free in the Recent Phase compared to the Early Phase (50% vs 63%; P = 0.01) and C-reactive protein (CRP) improved significantly in the Recent Phase (−11) compared to (−3) in the Early Phase ( P = 0.006). Conclusion: The utilization of pharmacists in an interdisciplinary IBD clinic increased and showed to impact patient care through improving symptom relief as seen by the achievement rate of the HBI score reduction, reducing steroid use after therapy initiation, and making clinically significant interventions.