Pharmacist's Role in Transitional Care

Effective transitions from the hospital to home setting are as crucial as the patient care provided
during the hospital stay. Likewise, the transition from a community setting to the hospital for acute
care is a period when people are particularly vulnerable to critical medication errors resulting in more
complex and extended care along with attendant increased costs. Even maintaining patients at home
is an active part of the transitions process to avoid newly emerging medication-related problems
from escalating into conditions that might cause patients to cycle back into more intensive inpatient
care. With millions of Americans taking multiple medications for chronic conditions, the costs of poor
medication management surrounding hospital admission and discharge run into the billions of dollars.
Care transitions with a focus on medication management are well known to improve health
outcomes. The distinct medication expert on the multidisciplinary health care team is the pharmacist.
In concert with physicians, nurses, and others who contribute to the overall medical care of patients,
pharmacists reconcile discrepancies in medication therapy that translate into improved outcomes
and reduced readmissions that would otherwise require more extensive interventions and expensive
utilization of services.
At Medicine Man Pharmacy, we can utilize our expertise to effectively transition care from one setting to another. We work with many major hospitals and nursing homes and primary care physicians to get patients transitioned back to their homes in the most seamless practical matter. When it comes to transitional care, personal service is truly the best medicine.