DR Chris Freeman from the University of Queensland's School of Pharmacy is overseeing a research trial of the concept of having a non-dispensing pharmacist embedded in 14 medical centres in the greater Brisbane area.
The REMAIN HOME study is funded by the HCF Research Foundation as well as the Brisbane South and Brisbane North Primary Health Networks, with Freeman saying it aims to reduce hospital admissions related to medication.
"In Australian hospitals, up to 45% of patients discharged from medical units and 61% from geriatric units have an unplanned readmission within a year," he said, with one of the main groups at high risk of readmission being those taking multiple medicines.
The pharmacists will help improve the transfer of information between hospitals and caregivers, assist in stopping and starting different medicines and assess medication adherence, updating medical centre records and inform community pharmacies of any changes - for more details see www.remainhomestudy.com.
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