Implementation of Hospitals' Drug Recommendations in General Practice: Analysis of Costs

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to examine cost-effectiveness to general practitioners of changing the hospital drug treatment following a patient's discharge from hospital. METHODS: In a prospective study the prehospital, hospital and posthospital diagnoses and drug treatment of 130 patients from 15 general practices were recorded, classified according the ICD-10 and compared. An analysis of costs was based on prices in the German drug manual Rote Liste ® 2004. RESULTS: Daily drug costs per patient increased significantly after admission from 4.39€ to 7.74€ (76%). Simultaneously, the number of drugs prescribed increased by 1.3 per patient. The number of prescriptions remained the same following discharge, but treatment modifications by GPs caused a significant decrease in the daily drug costs of 5.89€ (24%) per patient. However, compared to the prehospital drug costs, the cost level remained 25% higher following discharge. CONCLUSIONS: General practitioners' modifications of hospital discharge treatment lead to significant savings in drug costs.