The purpose of this study was to design, evaluate, and determine the cost benefit of a pharmacokinetic service for home-based patients. Four randomly selected patient populations were used in evaluating the service for six months. The experimental group consisted of 17 patients who were under the care of family practice physicians in private practice and who received pharmacokinetic consultation and monitoring by a pharmacist as a home health care service. The retrospective control consisted of the same 17 patients of the experimental group whose past medical history for a period of six months was used. The concurrent control consisted of 17 patients who were concurrently treated by the same family practice physicians in private practice who treated the patients in the experimental group. The fourth group consisted of 17 patients who were concurrently treated by family practice physicians in a general hospital outpatient clinic.
The service was evaluated by comparing the following variables: serum levels ordered, serum levels ordered inappropriately, physicians' office visits, hospitalizations secondary to pulmonary problems, and emergency room visits secondary to pulmonary problems. A one-way analysis of variance, Scheffe's post hoc test, and t test were used to analyze the results. There was a significant difference (P greater than 0.05) in the number of inappropriate levels ordered, physician's office visits, and emergency room visits. The cost of the service was $134 and the benefit was $218. It was concluded that a homebased pharmacokinetic service is cost beneficial in this patient population.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pacific.edu/oai:scholarlycommons.pacific.edu:uop_etds-4333 |
| Date | 01 January 1987 |
| Creators | Mikhail, May Naim |
| Publisher | Scholarly Commons |
| Source Sets | University of the Pacific |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations |
Page generated in 0.0016 seconds