Effect of Preoperative Drug Confirmation by Pharmacists on the Surgery Cancellation Rate: A Retrospective Study at the Perioperative Support Center

Pharmacists, as members of the perioperative management team, need to manage patient medication by checking their perioperative medication status to improve medical safety. However, no reports have evaluated the effectiveness of pharmacist interventions on the cancellation rate of surgeries. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the effect of preoperative drug confirmation by pharmacists at the perioperative support center on the surgery cancellation rate. In addition, questionnaires with other medical staff were conducted to evaluate pharmacist interventions in perioperative patients. Since the initiation of pharmacist interventions in 2014, the surgery cancellation rate was found to have decreased gradually. This reduction is suggested to be the result of the increase in the pharmacist intervention rate in preoperative drug confirmation. Furthermore, preoperative drug confirmation performed by pharmacists at the perioperative support center was highly evaluated by other medical staff. These study findings indicate that preoperative drug confirmation by pharmacists can help to reduce the surgery cancellation rate and improve the medical safety of perioperative patients.