Telephone versus In-Person Pharmacist-Led Medication Reviews in Home Dialysis Patients: Evaluating Quality of Care and Patient Satisfaction

The COVID-19 pandemic required pharmacists in a provincial Home Dialysis Clinic to adapt from in-person to telephone-based medication reviews. Studies have shown that in-person pharmacist interventions in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) lead to a reduction of drug therapy problems (DTPs), however, it’s unknown if telephone interventions provide similar outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether differences in quality of care exist between in-person vs. telephone medication reviews in home dialysis patients and to evaluate patient satisfaction with telephone medication reviews. Data from the two most recent in-person medication reviews was compared with the two most recent telephone medication reviews for each patient (n = 46). There were no statistically significant differences in DTPs identified between in-person and telephone medication reviews (p = 0.431). Physician acceptance of pharmacist recommendations was higher for in-person medication reviews (p = 0.009). Patients were satisfied with the care they received with pharmacist-led telephone medication reviews, however, 29% (n = 7) would prefer an in-person medication review once per year with telephone medication reviews the rest of the time. Overall, patients were satisfied with the care they received from telephone medication reviews.