New Study: Telepharmacist Monitoring ICU Patients Increased Sedation Guideline Compliance, Daily Sedation Interruptions, Interventions

A new study published in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy this month by a crew from UMass Memorial Medical Center and University of Massachusetts Medical School shows promising results for patients in intensive care. From Evaluation of the Impact of a tele-ICU Pharmacist on the Management of Sedation in Critically Ill Mechanically Ventilated Patients:

RESULTS: The addition of third shift tele-ICU pharmacist support was associated with a significant increase in the percentage of patients who received a daily sedative interruption (45% vs 54%; p < 0.0001). This occurred in the context of significant increases in the total number of ICU pharmacist interventions (36 vs 49.4 per 100 patient days, p < 0.0001), the number of therapeutic interventions (20.4 vs 26.1 per 100 patient days, p < 0.001), and the number of sedative-related interventions (0.9 vs 4.4 per 100 patient days, p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: Tele-ICU resources can be utilized to increase compliance with an established ICU sedation guideline and extend the benefits that daytime ICU clinical pharmacy services provide. Increased ICU pharmacist availability may have additional benefits not measured in this study.

This is the second study published this month that points to telepharmacy as an effective method for improving patient outcomes. Thanks Allison Forni, Nancy Skehan, Christian Hartman, Dinesh Yogaratnam, Milka Njoroge, Christopher Schifferdecker, and Craig Lilly!