Drs. Joanna Hudson and Benjamin Duhart received one of only two awarded ASHP Foundations grants for their project titled “Clinical Pharmacy Interventions to Improve Transitions of Care and Reduce Hospital Readmissions in End-Stage Renal Disease Patients with Heart Failure and Infection.” This is a 2-year project with the goal of providing evidence that implementation of a pharmacist-led medication evaluation and transitions of care program for ESRD patients who have heart failure or infections is a valuable addition to improve patient outcomes and reduce health care costs. The rationale for this project is that rates of hospital readmission for patients with ESRD are double those of the general Medicare population. ESRD patients admitted for heart failure and infections have a high likelihood of being re-hospitalized for the same indication. A contributing factor is the lack of transitions of care between the inpatient setting and outpatient dialysis facilities. Drs. Hudson and Duhart will work with their interprofessional team to address these problems.

