The effect of pharmacist-led interventions on the appropriateness and clinical outcomes of anticoagulant therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Although pharmacist-led interventions in anticoagulant (AC) therapy are widely accepted, there is a lack of evidence comparing their effectiveness with usual care in terms of AC therapy appropriateness and clinical outcomes. We aimed to estimate the comparative effectiveness of pharmacist-led interventions on the appropriateness and clinical outcomes of AC therapy.

Adhering to the PRISMA guidelines, we searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus databases to identify randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental and cohort studies published between 2010 and 2023. A random-effects model was used to calculate pooled intervention effects. We assessed heterogeneity (using Higgins’ I² and Cochran's Q) and publication bias (using Egger's test, the trim-and-fill method, and visualization of the funnel plot). In total, 35 studies involving 10 374 patients in the intervention groups and 11 840 in the control groups were included. The pharmacist-led interventions significantly improved the appropriateness of AC therapy [odds ratio (OR): 3.43, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.33–5.06, P < 0.01]. They significantly decreased total bleeding [relative risk (RR): 0.75, 95% CI: 0.58–0.96, P = 0.03) and hospitalization or readmission (RR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.41–0.99, P = 0.04). However, the impact of the pharmacist-led interventions on thromboembolic events (RR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.46–1.02, P = 0.07) and mortality (RR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.51–1.13, P = 0.17) was not significant.

Pharmacist-led interventions demonstrated superior outcomes in optimizing AC therapy compared with usual care. Further research is needed to evaluate pharmacist-led interventions’ cost-effectiveness and long-term sustainability.

PROSPERO registration number: CRD42023487362.