Evaluation of drug–drug interaction screening software combined with pharmacist intervention

Background Drug-drug interactions (DDI) in hospitalized patients are highly prevalent and an important source of adverse drug reactions. DI computerized screening system can prevent the occurrence of some of these events. Objective To evaluate the impact of drug–drug interaction (DDI) screening software combined with active intervention in preventing drug interactions. Setting The study was conducted at General Hospital of Vitória da Conquista (HGVC), Brazil. Method A quasi-experimental study was used to evaluate the impact of IM-Pharma, a locally developed drug–drug interaction screening system, coupled with pharmacist intervention on adverse drug events in the hospital setting. Main outcome measure The proportion of patients co-prescribed two interacting drugs were measured in two phases, prior the implementation of IM-Pharma and during the intervention period. DDI rates per 100 patient days were calculated before and after implementation. Risk ratios were estimated by Poisson regression models. Results A total of 6,834 instances of drug–drug interactions were identified; there was an average of 3.3 DDIs per patient in phase one and 2.5 in phase two, a reduction of 24 % (P = 0.03). There was a 71 % reduction in high-severity drug–drug interaction (P < 0.01). The risk for all DDIs decreased 50 % after the implementation of IM-Pharma (P < 0.01), and for those with high-severity, the reduction was 81 % (P < 0.01). Conclusion The performance of IM-Pharma combined with pharmacist intervention was positive with an expressive reduction in the risk of DDIs.