Implementation of a pharmaceutical care program and medication supply system to a private nursing home

Objetive: the main objective is to describe the activities performed for the implementation of a pharmaceutical care program in the first private nursing home dependent on our pharmacy department, and to detail the resources used for it. This initiative was motivated by the need to comply with the Decree 92/2019, of the Government of Aragon, which regulates pharmaceutical care in the nursing homes of Aragon. The secondary objective is to analyse the economic and activity impact after the implementation. Method: the implantation process was carried out between June and December 2020 in three phases: analysis of the previous situation, pre-implementation and implementation. The program needed very little equipment and human resources to be carried out. The pharmacotherapeutic process contemplates the prescription in a section of the electronic medical record, that synchronises with the prescribing software of the Pharmacy Department (Farmatools (R)). Furthermore, it includes pharmaceutical validation and unit-dose dispensation per patient. Result: the average monthly savings in direct drug costs compared to the previous system were 4.080,81(sic) (48.97%). The application of the program represented a significant increase in the activity of the Pharmacy Department (treatment validation, drug conciliation and preparation and checking of the medication). Conclusion: the implementation of pharmaceutical care programs in nursing homes from hospital pharmacy departments gets to reduce direct costs in drugs. However, these actions must be accompanied by a budget for equipment and human resources in order to develop quality pharmaceutical care.