Marshfield Clinic’s Clinical Pharmacy Services Department has won a national award for reducing the chance that patients will have adverse reactions to prescription drugs.
The award, given by the Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative (PSPC), recognized the department for its role in coordinated care, which helps prevent adverse drug reactions.
Adverse drug reactions can occur because of drug interactions, duplication of therapy or the use of incorrect drugs or dosages, which is why coordinated care among providers and pharmacists is important.
“Medications play an integral role in managing chronic conditions,” said Sara Griesbach, director of clinical pharmacy services at Marshfield Clinic. “Without coordinated care, there is increased potential for adverse drug events, particularly in patients with chronic conditions who are taking many medications.”
Adverse drug events continue to be a leading cause of death and injury in the U.S. Once operational, PSPC teams report rapid improvement in health status during a six to 12 month period. Marshfield Clinic’s team worked with 144 patients, all of whom had at least one medication change as a result of the project.
PSPC is a national reform effort to empower health care providers to improve the health outcomes and safety of high medication risk populations. They do this through cost-effective medication management services tailored for each patient. More than 650 organizations from 48 states participate in PSPC.
Marshfield Clinic, in collaboration with Metastar and Family Health Center of Marshfield, Inc., formed the first team from Wisconsin included in the initiative.
The Marshfield Clinic system provides patient care, research and education in more than 50 locations in northern, central and western Wisconsin, making it one of the largest comprehensive medical systems in the United States.
