Impact of a hospital-based therapeutic interchange program on patients' medication access and use after discharge

Healthcare systems are forced to maintain a balance between cost-effective treatments and patient-centered care. One way of reducing costs is by utilizing a hospital-based therapeutic interchange (TI) program. Until now, however, the effect of this TI has not been measured after patients were discharged. This article presents an evaluation of the impact of a hospital-based proton pump inhibitor (PPI) TI program on patients' postdischarge medication access and use. The patients' experiences were examined from day of discharge to four days postdischarge. A study model identifying variables for evaluation was developed using a structure-, process-, and outcome-conceptual framework and by mapping the identified variables to a cause-effect diagram. The results of this investigation demonstrate that a hospital-based PPI TI program did not have any difference in effect on access or medication use problems after discharge when patients who participated in the hospital TI were compared to those who did not.