PHarmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical Costs in PALLiative Care Inpatient Services: PHARM-PALL.
Publication Title
Journal of palliative medicine
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-5-2026
Keywords
health care costs; palliative care; pharmacist; pharmacist interventions; pharmacist outcomes; pharmacist value.; washington; olympia; psph
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Inpatient palliative care (PC) pharmacists have been shown to improve clinical and team outcomes. However, data on financial outcomes are still limited.
OBJECTIVES: To quantify the cost avoidance (CA) associated with a full-time inpatient PC pharmacist based on clinical interventions.
METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted at two community hospitals for PC pharmacist interventions from January 2024 through June 2024.
RESULTS: The PC pharmacist performed 1015 interventions, 698 of which were accepted. The associated total CA was $1,336,717 with an annualized CA of $2.68 million. The average CA was $11,935 per PC pharmacist shift, $1,915 per accepted intervention, and $3,359 per patient (398 patients). The potential monetary CA-to-pharmacist salary ratio was 21:1.
CONCLUSIONS: A PC pharmacist may help avoid significant health care costs, particularly in the areas of deprescribing, identifying untreated indications, and using PC expertise to make therapeutic recommendations.
Specialty/Research Institute
Palliative Care
Specialty/Research Institute
Pharmacy
DOI
10.1177/10966218261475748
