Home visits by community pharmacists did not reduce readmission rates.
Studies of home management for patients with congestive heart failure have demonstrated the value of specially trained nurses who coach patients on medication use and symptom management. British investigators tested whether pharmacists could play such a role.
Researchers randomized 293 patients, who had been discharged from the hospital after an emergency admission for CHF, to receive either home visits from 17 community pharmacists (2 and 8 weeks after discharge) or usual care. Pharmacists reviewed medications and were trained to provide counseling on symptom self-management. Six months after discharge, no significant differences were noted between groups in numbers of hospitalizations or deaths. In addition, two quality-of-life measures we…