Indicators for preventable drug-related morbidity. Practical application in home-based care

Aim The aim of this study is of evaluating Morris' PDRM indicator system in the Italian Health Care System, especially in the context of home‐based health care assistance, so as to assess the reliability of such a system to detect preventable events of drug‐related morbidity (DRM). Methods This is a pilot study which has been carried out on a control group of patients. The results, which have been obtained, have then been used to calculate the incidence of the preventable drug‐related morbidity (PDRM) in the entire population. The sample of patients was taken from the Health District of Chivasso (Local Health Unit 7 in Piedmont). The subjects had all been inserted in the Integrated Home Healthcare Assistance programme in the period from 1st January to 31st December 2004. Results The PDRM is equal to 32, with an incidence of 15.6% in the entire population (205). Seven indicators out of 19 were able to identify PDRM. Of these, the indicator which showed the best detection rate scored 72%. Conclusions The study revealed that this indicator system has the capability of detecting events of PDRM. In addition to this, the version of the system which has been approved by the expert panel has proved executable in the Italian healthcare system, especially in home‐based healthcare. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.