68 % of the outcomes reported showed that clinical pharmacy services were associated with better improvement in patients ' outcomes compared with the control group .
The involvement of a pharmacist demonstrated an ability to improve CVD outcomes through providing educational intervention , medicine management intervention , or a combination of both .
These interventions result ed in improved CVD risk factors , improved patient outcomes , and reduced number of drug-related problems with a direct effect on CVD control .
These improvements may lead to an improvement in patient quality of life , better use of health care re sources , and a reduced rate of mortality
BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) is considered to be the main cause of death and one of the most common diseases affecting health care systems worldwide .
Many methods have been used to improve CVD outcomes , one of which is to involve clinical pharmacists in the direct care of patients with CVD .
OBJECTIVE To perform a systematic review assessing the effectiveness of clinical pharmacist interventions within a multidisciplinary team in the secondary prevention of CVD , using studies conducted on patients with heart failure , coronary heart disease , or those with CVD risk factors .
Impact of a pharmacist on drug costs in a coronary care unit.
The impact of clinical pharmacy services on direct drug costs in a coronary care unit ( CCU ) was studied . An observational , nonr and omized study was conducted on all patients admitted to the CCU to evaluate the impact of clinical pharmacy services on direct drug costs .  Clinical pharmacy services were introduced into the CCU in July 1998 . Patient characteristics , mean drug costs per admission , mean drug category costs per admission , and total hospital costs per admission  were determined for October 1997 to June 1998 ( nonintervention period ) , July 1998 to March 1999 ( intervention period 1 ) , and April 1999 to December 1999 ( intervention period 2 ) . The Clini-Trend program was used to estimate the total reduction in drug costs associated with documented pharmacist interventions from January to December 1999 . Mean patient age , sex , admitting diagnosis-related group , Medicare case-mix index , ventilator days , length of stay , and number of deaths did not differ significantly among the three study periods . Mean + /- S.D. drug costs per admission for the nonintervention period were $ 374.05 + /- $ 75.51 . With the introduction of clinical pharmacy services , mean + /- S.D. drug costs per admission were $ 381.94 + /- $ 66.16 ( p > 0.1 for intervention period 1 compared with the nonintervention period ) and $ 233.74 + /- $ 84.16 ( p = 0.002 for intervention period 2 compared with the nonintervention period ) . From January to December 1999 , 4151 pharmacist interventions were documented . The estimated reduction in drug costs associated with the interventions totaled $ 372,384 . A pharmacist 's clinical services in the CCU allowed for significant estimated reductions in total drug costs
68 % of the outcomes reported showed that clinical pharmacy services were associated with better improvement in patients ' outcomes compared with the control group .
The involvement of a pharmacist demonstrated an ability to improve CVD outcomes through providing educational intervention , medicine management intervention , or a combination of both .
These interventions result ed in improved CVD risk factors , improved patient outcomes , and reduced number of drug-related problems with a direct effect on CVD control .
These improvements may lead to an improvement in patient quality of life , better use of health care re sources , and a reduced rate of mortality
BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) is considered to be the main cause of death and one of the most common diseases affecting health care systems worldwide .
Many methods have been used to improve CVD outcomes , one of which is to involve clinical pharmacists in the direct care of patients with CVD .
OBJECTIVE To perform a systematic review assessing the effectiveness of clinical pharmacist interventions within a multidisciplinary team in the secondary prevention of CVD , using studies conducted on patients with heart failure , coronary heart disease , or those with CVD risk factors .