Review Finds Flaws in Cost-Avoidance Studies of Pharmacist Interventions

Published studies gauging acute care costs avoided through pharmacist interventions contain common flaws and likely inflate estimates of cost savings, according to a study published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. 

“Cost-avoidance studies are common in pharmacy practice literature,” researchers wrote. “This scoping review summarizes, critiques, and identifies current limitations of the methods that have been used to determine cost avoidance associated with pharmacists’ interventions in acute care settings.” 

The review spanned 39 studies published in English between July 2010 and January 2021. 

Just 18 of the 39 investigations explained whether a probability for the occurrence of a harmful consequence was assigned, according to the review. 

“Thus, a 100% probability of a harmful consequence was assumed,” researchers wrote.

Of the 39 studies, only 11 identified a specific harm that would occur without the pharmacist intervention. Furthermore, seven failed to identify a clear method for estimating cost avoidance. 

“Among all 39 included articles, only one attributed both a probability to the potential harm and identified the cost specific to that harm,” researchers advised.  

Guidance on consistent methodology for cost-avoidance studies is necessary, they concluded, to better validate the accuracy of findings.

—Jolynn Tumolo 

Reference: 

Narayan SW, Abraham I, Erstad BL, Haas CE, Sanders A, Patanwala AE. Methods used to attribute costs avoided from pharmacist interventions in acute care: A scoping review [published online ahead of print, 2021 May 18]. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2021;zxab214. doi:10.1093/ajhp/zxab214